Introduction

Attention Getter: What are the most important questiona that you will answer in your life? Most people consider the question "Who will I marry?" one of the most important, but they don't give much thought to the question "How will I marry".
Adaptation: Most will marry, but marriage failure common

According to the "Statistical Abstract of the United States: 1997," published by the Commerce Department's Census Bureau, in 1995, 1.2 million divorces took place in the United States .

Anything that you can do to increase the likelyhood of a sucessful marriage should definitly be considered.

Specific Purpose: I want to convince you that Betrothal is a better process for getting married than Dating and will help you have a more successfull marriage.
Orienting Material: I would like give you two definitions each for Dating and Betrothal:

Date: n 3: a meeting arranged in advance; "she asked how to avoid kissing at the end of a date" [syn: appointment, engagement] 6: a participant in a date; "his date never stopped talking" [syn: escort]
v 1: go on a date with; "Tonight she is dating a former high school sweetheart" 4: date regularly; have a steady relationship with; "Did you know that she is seeing her psychiatrist?" "He is dating his former wife again!" [syn: go steady, go out, see] (WordNet ® 1.6: http://www.dictionary.com/cgi-bin/dict.pl?db=wn&term=date&config=define)
Dating: Temporary romantic relationship focused on current enjoyment/pleasure without future commitments; ususally one of a series (© 1994, 1997 Jonathan Lindvall: http://www.boldchristianliving.com/articles/compchrt.htm)
Betrothal: n. The act of betrothing, or the fact of being betrothed; a mutual promise, engagement, or contract for a future marriage between the persons betrothed; betrothment; affiance. (Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary: http://www.dictionary.com/cgi-bin/dict.pl?db=web1913&term=Betrothal&config=define)
Betrothal: Romantic relationship publicly announced, irrevocable commitment to marriage; allows couple to "fall in love" before marriage, but after commitment is made (© 1994, 1997 Jonathan Lindvall: http://www.boldchristianliving.com/articles/compchrt.htm)

Credibility: I am trying to use the Betrothal process, but I am not betrothed.
Preview Transition: I will show you that the objections to Betrothal don't stand and that Betrothal has many benefits over dating.

Body

  1. Objections

    1. Old fashioned -> so is sex

    2. Forced Marriage -> not by definition given.
      Once betrothed, it is irrevocable, but no one forced you to betroth.

    3. Boring to only be with one person -> Breakups aren't fun

    4. How to know who -> can't cover in an 8-min speech.

    5. Need to try people out before commit -> Not if choose correct
      People are dynamic and complicated, so you will never really know what someone will be like many years down the road, so dating people to try them isn't very effective.

    6. No One does it -> Granted, I don't personally know anyone who has.

      1. I have seen quotes of people who did it and really liked it, but you could probably find similar quotes for dating.
      2. That fact that it is rare isn't necessarily bad. Some of you may think it is better just because no one else does it.

    (Transition: Now that I have hopefully relieved all of you fears about Betrothal, I will explain some of the benefits, which is my second point.)
  2. Benefits

    1. Less Break-ups

      1. By the definitions
      2. Break-ups hurt

    2. Less need of facade to impress

      1. Dating: Impress in hopes of continuing/furthering realtionship
      2. Betrothal: commitment negates need to impress

    3. Preserves self for marriage partner
      Don't have baggage of old relationships

    4. Medical: AIDS and other STD's
      Not every dating relationship goes this far, but many do.

    5. After marriage, don't compare spouse to past flings
      Past flings are inevitablely better than your spouse in one way or another.

    6. Better Preparation for a successful marriage

      1. Dating is preparation for divorce.("one of a series")
      2. Dosen't condition to give up when the going get tough

Conclusion

Summary: I Summary, I have addressed the objections to Betrothal and shown how Betrothal is superior to Dating.
Clincher: So if a successful marriage is important to you, start it the best way that you can be using Betrothal!