We believe that because God our Creator established marriage as a sacred institution between one man and one woman, the idea that marriage is a covenant only between one man and one woman has been the traditional definition of marriage for all of human history (“Traditional Definition of Marriage”). Because of the longstanding importance of the Traditional Definition of Marriage to humans and their relationships and communities and, most importantly, the fact that God has ordained that marriage between one man and one woman, as clearly conveyed in God’s inerrant Scriptures, including for example in Matthew 19:4-6 where, in speaking about marriage, Jesus referred to the fact that “he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,” the Church hereby creates this policy, which shall be known as the “Marriage Policy.” Under the Marriage Policy, the Traditional Definition of Marriage is the only definition of marriage that will be recognized or accepted in our Church.