The Study of Cohabitation

In the past week, I have been flooding my intellect with the overabundant statistics of Cohabitation. It is both understandable and obvious at how living together, before the bond of matrimony, has such a negative impact on the lives of those who practice it. The number one thing that I have realized, in my whole study, is that everyone, no matter who they are, has an unalienable right to make choices. It is a God given gift for the strengthening of our personal understanding of life. The thing is though, that no matter what choice that person makes, either good or bad, ultimately determines the consequence that inescapably follows. It is true that there happen to be specific laws in this life governing time and eternity. The person that has the audacity to go against such laws will inevitably find discord and unhappiness sneaking into their individual lives. In relating back to cohabitation, the prophets in this dispensation have taught that, "Marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator's plan for the eternal destiny of his children."They also teach that, "Further, we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets." So to sum all this up in a nutshell. If we allow the natural man to take over our lives, we will not find the happiness that we truly desire. Cohabitation skews our perceptions from following the will of God and points our life in the direction of following our natural desires. To expound on this point, I use a quote given by a nationally recocnized scholar on family relationships. In his book, The verdict on cohabitation vs. marriage, Jeffry H. Larson describes his thoughts on the institution of the family. He states, ". “Marriage by definition means, ‘I will always be here for you.’ Marrieds long-term contract encourages emotional investment in the relationship. In contrast, cohabitation for most seems to mean, “I will be here only as long as the relationship meets my needs.” If one desires happiness he cant only think about his desires but all the lives that he will effect by the long term choices he will make. Marriage is essential for true and abiding happiness.


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Presidency, F. Council of Twelve Apostles (1995, November), The family: A proclamation to the world.

 (Larson, J. H. (2001). The verdict on cohabitation vs. marriage. Marriage and Families, 4(1), 7-12.