This month in Young Womens and Sunday School, you're learning all about Marriage & Family. You'll probably cover a variety of topics, one of them being about the importance of Temple Marriage. Last Sunday my Laurels and I had a good discussion about it, and I just wanted to share some of my thoughts from the lesson.
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Say hello to my wedding day!
My husband and I were married in the Logan Temple on a FREEZING day in January.
Seriously, don't get married in the snow. Haha.
Even though I remember the biting cold and can see our red noses and frozen fingers in this picture,
it's not what I remember the most about my wedding day.
I remember being in the temple, waiting in a room with my then-fiance.
The Sealer who was going to perform our wedding ceremony came and spoke to us for a few minutes. Honestly, I can't remember much of what advice he actually gave us :)
He left for a few minutes to go see if our parents and other family/friends were all there.
In just those few moments of being alone, a deep feeling of peace came over me.
I knew that I was in the right place, at the right time, and with the right person...those three things that you will hear people say a lot.
But why does that matter? What does the temple have to offer that a civil marriage can't?
One of the major differences between The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and other religions, is that doctrinally we believe in ordinances and covenants that last after death. Specifically, we believe that to live in the highest degree of glory with our Father in Heaven, we need to be married and sealed in the temple. Marriage is not just a lifetime commitment but an eternal covenant.
You can read more about this in
D&C 131:1-4 and in
True to the Faith.
The other difference this creates is that a husband and wife in a temple marriage don't commit "until death do us part" but they make a covenant for eternity! Now this obviously doesn't mean that every temple marriage is perfect and that some don't end in divorce. Everyone has their agency to first MAKE covenants and then choose how to KEEP them. And sometimes a spouse or both spouses don't keep their covenants for various reasons. But if both spouses live faithfully and keep their covenants, their love can last forever!!! Doesn't that sound like the best love story ever!
I found this great story on Pinterest (of course!) from
Seth Adam Smith that illustrates the idea of a temple sealing very well - (and if you click on the picture it will take you to
Google Drive to download this handout!) I gave each of my Laurels an empty mason jar and then read this out loud to them:
I just LOVE that analogy. Getting to the temple and being sealed to your spouse is VERY important, just like we discussed before. But it is also very important how you keep those covenants. How you build a marriage that you WANT to last eternity. And the beauty of the gospel of Jesus Christ is that when you create those good fruits and happy relationships, they CAN last forever. God can seal all good things to last eternally.
Elder Scott gave a beautiful talk entitled "
The Eternal Blessings of Marriage" that you should read! Basically during the entire talk he speaks of his sweet wife who had passed away and you can see a glimpse of the beauty and love that comes in a committed and covenant marriage.
Now is the time, as a Young Woman, to decide what kind of marriage that you want. Make the goal now to be sealed in the temple so that there is no question about what you want later on. I promise you the blessings of the temple are real and deep. You will find greater purpose and knowledge within it's walls. You will find joy and happiness. You will feel the love of God.
And the joy and love of your temple marriage can last beyond death...it can last forever!
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Individual Worth Value Experience #4: You are preparing now to fulfill a unique mission on the earth. Read Doctrine & Covenants 88:119. In your journal make a list of your hopes and dreams for your future home, family, and education and some important things you would like to accomplish in your life, including becoming a wife and mother. Then write a plan that will help you achieve your goals. Share this plan with a family member, leader, or friend.
Virtue Value Experience #3: Prepare to be worthy to enter the temple and to participate in temple ordinances. Read Alma chapter 5. Make a list of the questions Alma asks. Answer the questions for yourself, and make a list of the things you can and will do to prepare yourself to be pure and worthy to enter the temple and receive all the blessings our Heavenly Father has promised His beloved daughters.
