(RNS) Single Mormon men who are postponing marriage should get to it right away, church President Thomas S. Monson said Saturday (April 2) at an all-male priesthood session of the church’s 181st Annual General Conference.

Monson acknowledged there may be financial or emotional reasons for them to hesitate, or maybe they are just having too much fun — “taking extravagant vacations, buying expensive cars and toys and just generally enjoying the carefree life with your friends” — to settle down.

“Brethren,” Monson said, “there is a point at which it’s time to think seriously about marriage and to seek a companion with whom you want to spend eternity.”

Turning to the tough topic of divorce, Monson said canceling a “sealing” or temple marriage is “the saddest and most discouraging responsibility I have.”

“It may be the result of financial problems, lack of communication, uncontrolled tempers, interference from in-laws, entanglement in sin,” Monson said. “In most cases, (though), divorce does not have to be the outcome.”

The vast majority of those seeking a “sealing cancellation,” previously known as “temple divorce,” are women who wanted to save their marriages, but couldn’t overcome the challenges in the end.

Monson said he recognized some Mormon marriages cannot be saved, but most “can be and should be.” “Do not let your marriage get to the point,” Monson said, “where it is in jeopardy.”

– PEGGY FLETCHER STACK, Salt Lake Tribune

(Peggy Fletcher Stack writes for The Salt Lake Tribune. Dave Noyce contributed to this story.)