TV and movies often give negative messages about marriage. What is the truth about marriage?

Media often carry many false messages about marriage. One is the idea that marriage somehow ends or dulls romance. As President Boyd K. Packer, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, has said: “If you suppose that the full-blown rapture of young romantic love is the sum total of the possibilities which spring from the fountains of life, you have not yet lived to see the devotion and the comfort of longtime married love. … Mature love has a bliss not even imagined by newlyweds” (“The Plan of Happiness,” Ensign, May 2015, 26).

Another false message is that marriage is no longer popular or even needed. Elder L. Tom Perry of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has said: “Much of the media and entertainment … does not reflect the priorities and values of the majority. … Marriage and family are still the aspiration and ideal of most people” (“Why Marriage and Family Matter—Everywhere in the World,” Ensign, May 2015, 41–42). And Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has taught, “Marriage … is as much a part of the plan of happiness as the Fall and the Atonement” (“Why Marriage, Why Family,” Ensign, May 2015, 52).