Cleave

GENESIS: 2

24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

DOCTRINE AND COVENANTS

SECTION 42

22 Thou shalt love thy wife with all thy heart, and shalt cleave unto her and none else.

SECTION 25

13 Wherefore, lift up thy heart and rejoice, and cleave unto the covenants which thou hast made.

With my marriage coming up in a little less than a year, I have developed a strong interest to know exactly what I am committing myself to. While thinking about the subject a single word kept coming back to me: cleave.

cleave

   [kleev]

1.

to adhere closely; stick; cling.

2.

to remain faithful: to cleave to one's principles in spite of persecution.

I like the slogan I've often seen on television, "Verb, it's what you do", not, "Verb, it's what you ought to be doing." The word cleave is a verb. Once we understand what words mean, it is makes "to engrave them upon our hearts" a more meaningful commitment. In the world today, the society in which I have been raised, cleaving to one's wife is not portrayed well. The commitment of marriage is seen as limiting and degrading to a man, while living an immoral, single life with "no strings attached" is glorified and set as the role model for us by media and celebrities.

Though, I'm sure many of us are already well aware of this.

Have any of you seen Dick Van Dyke? It's one of my very favorites, in fact, I would say it is my favorite television program. In a particular episode titled The Man from Emperor, the main character Rob Petrie is faced with the very same issues I described above. His reactions and defense for his family strong values are admiral and warm my heart. Below is a link to watch the conclusion of the episode. For a little background, Rob has just come home from a business meeting to discuss a job offer from a magazine known as Emperor, which is known for it's very scandalously dressed women. I think it was meant to be a Playboy imitation of sorts.

http://www.hulu.com/watch/114054/the-dick-van-dyke-show-the-man-from-emperor?c=1237:1522

Though the link is only of the conclusion of the episode (about 5 mins) I hope you will take time to watch the full episode (25 mins). It' not only funny, but teaches even more good values.