Side-by-Side Forever : ETERNAL MARRIAGE

ETERNAL MARRIAGE

My parents joined the church when I was a little girl. Still, to this day, I remember the day I went to the Temple and was sealed to my parents. I remember the little white shoes I wanted to wear but were too big, so I wore just socks on my feet. I remember the old lady that was babysitting me. I remember the dolls I played with and the elevator ride. They were not ready for us yet, so we rode up and down and up and down until they were. Even though I was young, I knew of the seriousness of that day. From that day forward I committed to marrying only a return missionary and only in the temple. I would be the first in my line to do just that.

Marrying in the temple meant I did not have very many family members in the sealing room. Grandparents, aunts and uncles, all waited outside of the temple. Even with that I never wavered in my decision. This coming May I will have been married 42 years. I feel as strong as ever that the Temple is the place to get married.

COVENANT MARRIAGE VS CONTRACT MARRIAGE

Elder Bruce C. Hafen gave an excellent talk on ‘Covenant Marriage’ versus ‘Contract marriage.’

“When troubles come, the parties to a contractual marriage seek happiness by walking away. They marry to obtain benefits and will stay only as long as they’re receiving what they bargained for. But when troubles come to a covenant marriage the husband and wife work them through. They marry to give and to grow, bound by covenants to each other, to the community, and to God. Contract companions give 50 percent; covenant companions give 100 percent.”

JUST A FEW RANDOM THOUGHTS ON WHY MARRIAGE

Two compelling doctrinal reasons help us to understand why eternal marriage is essential to the Father’s plan. (by David A. Bednar)

1. The natures of male and female spirits complete and perfect each other, and therefore men and women are intended to progress together toward exaltation.

a. For divine purposes, male and female spirits are different, distinctive, and complementary.

b. The unique combination of spiritual, physical, mental, and emotional capacities of both males and females were needed to implement the plan of happiness. Alone, neither the man nor the woman could fulfill the purposes of his or her creation.

c. The man complete and perfects the woman and the woman completes and perfects the man as they learn from and mutually strengthen and bless each other.

2. By divine design, both a man and a woman are needed to bring children into mortality and to provide the best setting for the rearing and nurturing of children.

a. Complete sexual abstinence before marriage and total fidelity within marriage protect the sanctity of this sacred channel.

b. A home with a loving and loyal husband and wife is the supreme setting in which children can be reared in love and righteousness and in which the spiritual and physical needs of children can be met.

c. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity.

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