Wise shoppers study their options thoroughly, others hunt for bargains only to find later that their choices did not last – finally, there are those who simply steal what they want. The same patterns hold in marital selection.
Temple marriage with covenants of fidelity kept throughout life can endure beyond death.
Even if marriage is defined legally as allowing for homosexual marriage – temple marriage will be limited to worthy heterosexual covenants.
Marriage is not only {encouraged}, it is a divine commandment.
In His own time, no blessings shall be withheld from His faithful saints.
Beware of the marital options that are cunningly crafted by the adversary – they always {result in misery}.
- My purpose in speaking out on this topic is to declare, as an Apostle of the Lord, that marriage between a man and a woman is sacred – it is ordained of God.
While salvation is an individual matter, exaltation is a family matter. (Russell M. Nelson, “Salvation and Exaltation,” Ensign, May 2008, 7-10. Notes)
Scriptures declare that “it is lawful that [a man] should have one wife, and they twain shall be one flesh, and all this that the earth might answer the end of its creation.” Another affirms that “the man [is not] without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord.” Thus, marriage is not only an exalting principle of the gospel; it is a divine commandment.
To qualify for eternal life, we must make an eternal and everlasting covenant with our Heavenly Father. This means that a temple marriage is not only between husband and wife; it embraces a partnership with God.
When a family is sealed in the temple, that family may become as eternal as the kingdom of God itself. Such a reward requires more than a hopeful wish. On occasion, I read in a newspaper obituary of an expectation that a recent death has reunited that person with a deceased spouse, when, in fact, they did not choose the eternal option.
These truths are absolute. Members of this Church invite all people to learn them and to qualify for eternal life. We invite all to gain faith in God the Eternal Father and in His Son, Jesus Christ, to repent, to receive the Holy Ghost, to obtain the blessings of the temple, to make and keep sacred covenants, and to endure to the end. Mercifully, God’s great plan of happiness and its eternal blessings can be extended to those who did not have the opportunity to hear the gospel in mortality. Temple ordinances can be done vicariously for them. But what of the many mature members of the Church who are not married? Through no failing of their own, they deal with the trials of life alone. Be we all reminded that, in the Lord’s own way and time, no blessings will be withheld from His faithful Saints. The Lord will judge and reward each individual according to heartfelt desire as well as deed.
In fact, each marriage starts with two built-in handicaps. It involves two imperfect people. Happiness can come to them only through their earnest effort. Just as harmony comes from an orchestra only when its members make a concerted effort, so harmony in marriage also requires a concerted effort. That effort will succeed if each partner will minimize personal demands and maximize actions of loving selflessness. . . Harmony in marriage comes only when one esteems the welfare of his or her spouse among the highest of priorities. When that really happens, a celestial marriage becomes a reality, bringing great joy in this life and in the life to come.
God’s plan of happiness allows us to choose for ourselves. As with the patterns of the shopper, we may choose celestial marriage or lesser alternatives. Some marital options are cheap, some are costly, and some are cunningly crafted by the adversary. Beware of his options; they always breed misery!
- Celestial marriage is a pivotal part of preparation for eternal life. It requires one to be married to the right person, in the right place, by the right authority, and to obey that sacred covenant faithfully. Then one may be assured of exaltation in the celestial kingdom of God. I so testify in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
- Instruction:
- Members of this Church invite all people to learn the absolute truths about marriage and to qualify for eternal life:
- to gain faith in God the Eternal Father and in His Son, Jesus Christ
- to repent
- to receive the Holy Ghost
- to obtain the blessings of the temple
- to make and keep sacred covenants
- to endure to the end
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