Eternal Marriage

In the last couple of weeks I’ve shared thoughts on marriage trends and the fight on traditional marriage. This week’s post is all about eternal marriage. As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I believe that marriage performed under proper authority- inside the temple, by a priesthood holder- can last beyond death into the eternities. I’m so grateful for this knowledge! Not only can the marriage be eternal, but the children are eternally bound to their parents. This covenant is made between husband, wife, and the Lord.

Elder Bruce C. Hafen said, “Marriage is by nature a covenant, not just a private contract one may cancel at will. Jesus taught about contractual attitudes when he described the ‘hireling,’ who performs his conditional promise of care only when he receives something in return. When the hireling ‘seeth the wolf coming,’ he ‘leaveth the sheep, and fleeth … because he … careth not for the sheep.’ … Many people today marry as hirelings. And when the world comes, they flee” (Hafen, 1996). This covenant is so important and worth any sacrifice to make it work.
I once heard a man in my church congregation speaking of his wife, as his “current wife”. He’d had multiple ex-wives, and his description alluded that he may have another one sometime. Do I know all of the circumstances in his life? No, I did know a number of them, but I’m sure there was much more behind that situation. However, it felt like his marriages were contracts rather than covenants. It was sad to me.
This week in seminary, I’m teaching about “The Family: A Proclamation to the World.” As I’ve studied it, I’ve been reminded of how important it is to stand up for the truths taught in it. “Righteous marriage is a commandment and an essential step in the process of creating a loving family relationship that can be perpetuated beyond the grave” (Bednar, 2006). We may not all be living the Family Proclamation, but we should strive to live it. I’ve focused with the seminary students that they should think of what they can do to improve their family situations, now, by improving on one of the principles within the proclamation, but also to think of their future families. What is something you can aim to do to help your family live the proclamation? How can you bring more happiness into your homes?
Some students mentioned being an example to others, loving Jesus Christ, loving our families more, being forgiving. There’s so much that we can do to improve our marriage and family relations. One student said that living by the doctrine in The Family Proclamation, that their lives will be better, fuller, and happier. It was a pretty neat insight from a fifteen year old.

President Russell M. Nelson has said, “In God’s eternal plan, salvation is an individual matter; exaltation is a family matter” (Nelson, 2008). That’s the power that comes from being sealed in an eternal family. We can be with our Father in Heaven and our Savior Jesus Christ by receiving these ordinances and keeping our covenants. I’m so thankful for this possibility in our families!

References

Bednar, D. A. (2006, June). Marriage is Essential to His Eternal Plan. Retrieved from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: https://www.lds.org/study/ensign/2006/06/marriage-is-essential-to-his-eternal-plan?lang=eng
Hafen, B. C. (1996, November). Covenant Marriage. Retrieved from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: https://www.lds.org/study/ensign/1996/11/covenant-marriage?lang=eng
Nelson, R. M. (2008, April). Salvation and Exaltation. Retrieved from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints: https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2008/04/salvation-and-exaltation?lang=eng

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Power Relations and Children

Image
I had some interesting things to study this week in my marriage class. I have really loved reading M. Russell Ballard’s book Counseling with our Councils. I’ve had to read parts of it for a couple different classes, and every time I read from it, I come away with wanting to implement some aspect of it in my life. I have been able to use it in my church calling multiple times this semester. I also read an article called Who is the Boss? Power Relationship in Families, that was given at a BYU Conference on Family Life. Additionally, I also read a talk by Henry B. Eyring that was given in 1998, That We May Be One. I love how all of these materials can help me become a better disciple of Christ and improve my relationships! Adding children to the picture changes everything! Relationships change. Have you ever seen when a child works his parents against the other one? I get caught in this one all the time and I’m not a parent! My nephew will ask me for a popsicle. I tell him he’s got
Read more

Hot Topics in Marriage!

This semester we’ve talked about types of relationships, how to turn towards one another, and how to build better marriages. This week we included in-law relations and finances. Two, sometimes, very hot topics! The meshing of two people together, coming from completely different backgrounds is hard! Discussing how you are going to proceed in your marriage in relationship to in-laws and finances is important! I hate discussing finances! I tend to not like to talk about things that I don’t feel very educated about. I’m sure that’s not too unusual. I remember growing up, I knew that my Grandpa Dan paid cash for every car he ever bought! I don’t remember really sitting down with my mom and talking about her finances. I remember one time overhearing her talking to some insurance guy right after my dad died, and whatever number she was talking about seemed really high, and I thought we’d never be able to afford that. But really, I have no idea what she was talking about, I just remember
Read more

Turning Toward One Another

I love the topic of study for this week! It’s “staying emotionally connected.”  I think this is such an important topic! Have you ever talked to a couple that recently are empty-nesters? We’ve all seen movies where the wife is all of a sudden worried, because they don’t know if they are going to like being “just a couple” after the time of raising a family. In the Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work , John Gottman stresses the importance turning toward each other. He talks about how people think that going on a two week vacation to the Bahamas is enough to strengthen, or even save, a marriage. It’s actually the little things that are going to matter in the long run. “It is kept alive each time you let your spouse know he or she is valued during the grind of everyday life” (Gottman, 2015). He said that there are two obstacles to turning toward your spouse. One is “’missing’ a bid because it’s wrapped in anger or other negative emotions” and the second is “being distracted b
Read more