A Letter of Commitment
The Rev. James Dobson Sr.'s letter to his soon-to-be wife, Myrtle.
On day three of our radio program "Preparing for Adolescence," Dr. Dobson reads a piece of correspondence from his father, the Rev. James Dobson Sr. In that letter, the Rev. Dobson writes to his soon-to-be wife, Myrtle, about his absolute commitment to the marriage covenant. The following is the text of that letter:
"I want you to understand and be fully aware of my feelings considering the marriage covenant which we are about to enter. I have been taught at my mother's knee and in harmony with the Word of God, that the marriage vows are inviolable and that by entering into them, I am binding myself absolutely and for life. The idea of estrangement from you through divorce, for any reason at all, although God permits one — infidelity — will never at any time be allowed to enter into my thinking. I'm not naive in this.
On the contrary, I'm fully aware of the possibility, unlikely as it now appears, that mutual incompatibility or other unforeseen circumstances could result in extreme mental suffering. If such becomes the case, I am resolved, for my part, to accept it as a consequence of the commitment that I am now making and to bear it, if necessary, to the end of our lives together.
I have loved you dearly as a sweetheart and I will continue to love you as my wife, but over and above that love, over and above the feeling, I love you with a Christian love that demands that I never react in any way toward you that would jeopardize our prospects of entering heaven, which is the supreme objective of both our lives, and I pray that God Himself will make our affection for one another perfect and eternal."
"I want you to understand and be fully aware of my feelings considering the marriage covenant which we are about to enter. I have been taught at my mother's knee and in harmony with the Word of God, that the marriage vows are inviolable and that by entering into them, I am binding myself absolutely and for life. The idea of estrangement from you through divorce, for any reason at all, although God permits one — infidelity — will never at any time be allowed to enter into my thinking. I'm not naive in this.
On the contrary, I'm fully aware of the possibility, unlikely as it now appears, that mutual incompatibility or other unforeseen circumstances could result in extreme mental suffering. If such becomes the case, I am resolved, for my part, to accept it as a consequence of the commitment that I am now making and to bear it, if necessary, to the end of our lives together.
I have loved you dearly as a sweetheart and I will continue to love you as my wife, but over and above that love, over and above the feeling, I love you with a Christian love that demands that I never react in any way toward you that would jeopardize our prospects of entering heaven, which is the supreme objective of both our lives, and I pray that God Himself will make our affection for one another perfect and eternal."