Young Adulthood

While Mormon children are still learning the alphabet and figuring out how to tie their own shoes, they are also singing songs that teach them about the future they should desire.  When they sit in church on Sunday, they will learn songs with words like this one that teach them about their cultural ideal of marrying in a Mormon temple:

"While I am in my early years,

I'll prepare most carefully,

So I can marry in God's temple for eternity.

Families can be together forever

Through Heavenly Father's plan."

Mormon youth are taught that true happiness comes from following the guidelines God has given us, which include staying "morally clean" [abstaining from sexual behaviors] before marriage, getting "sealed' [married for time and all eternity] in the temple, and raising children.  This concept may seem foreign to much of the world in this generation. 

Isn't it best for couples to live together as a "trial run" before getting married?

The trend of living together prior to marriage has skyrocketed over the past couple generations, yet numerous studies have found that cohabitation before marriage actually decreases the likelihood that the marriage will last.  Cohabiting couples also have higher rates of depression, partner physical violence, child physical violence, and sexual violence.

About one-half of cohabiting unions are formalized through marriage and cohabitation is now the modal path of entry into marriage. However, the evidence is remarkably consistent that premarital cohabitation is associated with poorer marital quality and higher levels of marital instability and divorce (e.g., Booth and Johnson, 1988, Dush et al., 2003, Lillard et al., 1995, Smock, 2000, Teachman, 2003 and Thomson and Colella, 1992).

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints states: "In the world today, Satan has led many people to believe that sexual intimacy outside of marriage is acceptable. But in God's sight, it is a serious sin. It is an abuse of the power He has given us to create life. Sometimes people try to convince themselves that sexual relations outside of marriage are acceptable if the participants love one another. This is not true. Breaking the law of chastity and encouraging someone else to do so is not an expression of love. People who love each other will never endanger one another's happiness and safety in exchange for temporary personal pleasure.  When people care for one another enough to keep the law of chastity, their love, trust, and commitment increase, resulting in greater happiness and unity."

With divorce rates so high, why risk getting married?

In 2014, for the first time, the number of unmarried American adults outnumbered those who were married.  Meanwhile, only 30 percent of Millennials say that having a successful marriage is "one of the most important things" in life, according to the Pew Research Center, down from even the 47 percent of Generation X who said the same thing in 1997. Four in 10 Americans went ever further, telling Pew researchers in 2010 that marriage was becoming obsolete. [source: Brooke, J. (2006, May 04). Home alone together. New York Times (New York, NY) Retrieved from http://sks.sirs.com]

It's true that about 45% of all marriages will end in divorce, but that number is much lower for Latter-day Saint couples who marry in the temple (see this article: https://www.lds.org/church/news/marriage-remains-a-reliable-indicator-of-health-happiness?lang=eng). 

Russell M. Nelson, an apostle in the LDS church, explains the importance of marriage for Latter-day Saints:  "“Marriage is the foundry for social order, the fountain of virtue, and the foundation for eternal exaltation. Marriage has been divinely designated as an eternal and everlasting covenant. Marriage is sanctified when it is cherished and honored in holiness. That union is not merely between husband and wife; it embraces a partnership with God.” (“Nurturing Marriage,” Ensign, May 2006, 36).

 Why do Mormons tend to get married at such young ages?

This chart shows the increase in age at the time of first marriage for both men and women in our nation since the 1960's. 
 

Now let's see how the divorce rate has increased since men and women have delayed marriage until they are older when they may be more financially stable, have finished their college educations, or have "sown their wild oats" for many years:

It doesn't appear that delaying marriage is increasing marital happiness.  The average age of Mormon youth has not increased nearly as dramatically in the past 50 years because they have beliefs that some may see as being old-fashioned.  Mormons believe there are 4 purposes for our lives here on Earth:

• Receive a physical body.
• Exercise agency and learn to choose between good and evil.
• Learn and gain experience that will help you become more like your Heavenly Father.
• Form family relationships that may become eternal.

Finding an eternal companion and raising the next generation is one of the fundamental reasons that we are having a mortal experience.  To Mormons, success in family life is more important than any other accomplishment.

Besides the social dynamics that show the importance of marriage, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe that marriage and parenthood are essential for happiness because our families on Earth are patterned after the family we belonged to before birth.  Mormons believe they can be united eternally when they are sealed in temples, so they can be with their spouse and children (as well as the generations that came before them and will come after them) forever.  When seen through an eternal perspective, the challenges associated with marriage and parenthood are far less likely to result in a dissolution of the family.

I recommend you read THIS talk, which goes much farther into detail about both the social and religious viewpoints held by Mormons.