The beginning of my studies.

Throughout the years many doctors, scholars and scientists have studied the dynamics of the family and have witnessed the decline of marriage and family. In the publication, The State of Our Unions: Marriage in America 2012, under the direction of W. Bradford Wilcox, professor of sociology at the University of Virginia, a team of scholars study marriage and family in the American society, from the "estimated 50 billion"(pg xi) dollars spent on weddings to the millions divorces that costs billions of dollars all the way down to the economic upsides to being married. In the publication it is noted that "Americans have become less likely to marry. This is reflected in a decline of more than 50 percent, from 1970 to 2010, in the annual number of marriages per 1,000 unmarried adult women (Figure 1)(62)". Even with the billions of dollars that are being spent on the wedding industry, marriage is losing its normality and cohabitation has taken top spot in society as the everyday norm for couples of all ages. As the desire to marry declines, the age at which young adults who choose marriage has risen from "20.3 for females and 22.8 for males in 1960 to 26.5 and 28.7, respectively, in 2011.(62)" It is also noted that "The decline also reflects some increase in lifelong singlehood, though the actual amount cannot be known until current young and middle-aged adults pass through the life course.(62)" 
Even though the recent trends of the American culture are declining, the brethren of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints council often on the importance of marriage and the sacredness of the covenants that have been made in the house of the Lord. In Elder Dallin H. Oaks talk entitled Divorce from the May 2007 Ensign, Elder Oaks speaks about the troubles that may lead a couple to divorce and gives advice to those in the struggle of marriage. In his talk, Elder Oaks said "The kind of marriage required for exaltation—eternal in duration and godlike in quality—does not contemplate divorce. In the temples of the Lord, couples are married for all eternity. But some marriages do not progress toward that ideal. Because “of the hardness of [our] hearts,” the Lord does not currently enforce the consequences of the celestial standard. He permits divorced persons to marry again without the stain of immorality specified in the higher law. Unless a divorced member has committed serious transgressions, he or she can become eligible for a temple recommend under the same worthiness standards that apply to other members." These simple and sacred truths can help followers of the Lord take heart in the challenges that may arise in their marriage and can help prepare those seeking a eternal marriage.