By the time Margaret Fell and George Fox were married in 1669, they had known each other for nearly twenty years, forming an allegiance, friendship and partnership in leadership for almost two decades. During these years they had begun building the theological and spiritual framework of the Quaker movement, dealing with the movement's internal struggles and external persecutions, and at times sharing prison sentences. Fox and Fell shared a vision of marriage that reflected and fulfilled their doctrine of marriage. According to Fox and Fell, their marriage was motivated by spiritual leadings from the Lord', a requirement for all early Quaker unions, but was additionally to be accomplished as a testimony that all might come up out of the wilderness. The biblical images used throughout the following testimonies are indicative of the Quaker's fluid use of scriptural language, utilised to give meaning to their current surroundings and spiritual events, including the momentous occasion of the marriage between Fox and Fell.