Doctrine & Covenants Lesson # 31
Introduction
There comes a time when one has to teach a lesson for
which one has no personal experience—well I should amend that. I do have
personal experience of being sealed to my parents after my mother died, and of
taking part in proxy sealings, but as to eternal marriage, it remains a mystery
to me. Not that I haven’t read a lot about it, and tried to observe how it
works in other people, so this lesson is going to be mostly about your
experiences—those of you who have at one time entered into the new and
everlasting covenant—and principles gleaned from our reading this week.
However, I will put in two quotes, one of which I cannot
footnote but I know I heard it: from Elder Faust “you and God are a family.”
And another from Elder Oaks which has been reiterated by the brethren before and
since:
“We know that many worthy and
wonderful Latter-day Saints currently lack the ideal opportunities and
essential requirements for their progress. Singleness, childlessness, death,
and divorce frustrate ideals and postpone the fulfillment of promised
blessings. In addition, some women who desire to be full-time mothers and
homemakers have been literally compelled to enter the full-time workforce. But
these frustrations are only temporary. The Lord has promised that in the eternities
no blessing will be denied his sons and daughters who keep the commandments,
are true to their covenants, and desire what is right. Many of the most
important deprivations of mortality will be set right in the Millennium, which
is the time for fulfilling all that is incomplete in the great plan of
happiness for all of our Father’s worthy children. We know that will be true of
temple ordinances. I believe it will also be true of family relationships and
experiences” (Ensign, Nov. 1993, 75).
One aspect of this lesson that we probably won’t touch on
is plural marriage. The additional material linked at the end of this blog
should answer any questions you might have on this subject.
1. Eternal marriage is essential in Heavenly Father’s
plan.
In the Proclamation on the Family we read, “marriage
between man and woman is essential to [God’s] eternal plan.” Just a few years
ago, this statement would have stood unchallenged, now it is countered by every
echelon of society. But our purpose here is to talk about eternal
marriage—that embarked upon in the temples. What is the difference to you? I’d
like to hear from you on Sunday. Here are a couple of quotes from Bruce R.
McConkie and Richard G Scott to get you thinking
In exactly the same sense that
repentance and baptism is the gate which puts us on the path leading to
salvation in the celestial kingdom, so this order of marriage called celestial
marriage opens the door and puts us on the path whereby we may press forward to
eternal life and exaltation in the highest heaven of the celestial world.[1]
Two of the vital pillars that sustain
Father in Heaven’s plan of happiness are marriage and the family. Their lofty
significance is underscored by Satan’s relentless efforts to splinter the
family and to undermine the significance of temple ordinances, which bind the
family together for eternity. The temple sealing has greater meaning as life
unfolds. It will help you draw ever closer together and find greater joy and
fulfillment in mortality.[2]
The manual gives us a list of blessings that a married
couple can claim in the eternities as a result of adhering to this covenant:
·
They will be together “in time, and through all eternity”
(D&C 132:19). Their children may also be part of their
eternal family
·
They will be exalted in the highest degree of the
celestial kingdom with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ (D&C 131:1–3; 132:23–24).
·
They will “inherit thrones, kingdoms, principalities, …
powers, [and] dominions” (D&C 132:19).
·
They will continue to have seed, or spirit children,
throughout eternity (D&C 132:19, 30–31; see also D&C 131:4).
·
“They shall be gods, because they have all power” (D&C 132:20–21).
Can you list the blessings you receive now as a result of
this covenantal relationship? Here is a quote from Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin to
give you some impetus:
The sweet companionship of eternal
marriage is one of the greatest blessings God has granted to His children.
Certainly, the many years I have shared with my beautiful companion have
brought me the deepest joys of my life. From the beginning of time, marital
companionship of husband and wife has been fundamental to our Heavenly Father’s
great plan of happiness. Our lives are touched for good, and we are both
edified and ennobled as we savor the sweet blessings of association with dear
members of the family (Ensign, Nov. 1997, 32).
2. After a husband and wife are sealed in the temple,
they must abide in the covenant to receive the promised blessings.
Notice the manual’s heading does not say should abide
but must abide. Is that an easy task? No of course not, as I am sure
many of you can attest, no matter if you have been married for a few weeks,
months, or decades. Does the commandment in D&C 42:22 help: “Thou shalt
love thy wife with all thy heart, and shalt cleave unto her and none else.” Of
course that applies to wives as well. President Nelson counseled:
Mortal misunderstandings can make
mischief in a marriage. 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.[3]
President Kimball has this to say:
Marriage presupposes total allegiance
and total fidelity. Each spouse takes the partner with the understanding that
he or she gives totally to the spouse all the heart, strength, loyalty, honor,
and affection, with all dignity. Any divergence is sin; any sharing of the
heart is transgression. As we should have “an eye single to the glory of God,:
so should we have an eye, an ear, a heart single to the marriage and the spouse
and family (Faith Precedes the Miracle [1972], 142–43).
Today, distractions are no longer just physical but
virtual. How much time do we spend with others on social media when we could be
with our spouse and family? If we imagine for a moment that we are physically
with other people when we are on social media, does that feel like we are deviating
from what Pres. Kimball describes? It is worth thinking about. But to leave
with a positive note, here is another quote from Elder Scott:
I know what it is to love a daughter
of Father in Heaven who with grace and devotion lived the full feminine
splendor of her righteous womanhood. I am confident that when, in our future, I
see her again beyond the veil, we will recognize that we have become even more
deeply in love. We will appreciate each other even more, having spent this time
separated by the veil.[4]
Additional resources for this lesson
- “Our
Hearts Rejoiced to Hear Him Speak”: This article gives context for the
revelations now found in Doctrine and Covenants 129, 130, and 131.
- “Plural
Marriage in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints”: This
Gospel Topics essay discusses the origins of plural marriage in the
Church, the practice in early Utah, and the end of plural marriage in the
1890s and early 1900s.
- “Mercy
Thompson and the Revelation on Marriage”: This article tells the story
of Mercy Thompson to introduce early teachings on eternal and plural
marriage.
- “The
Messenger and the Manifesto”: This article gives historical context
for Official Declaration 1.
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