Eternal Marriage

Today in Young Women's, we were taught about marriage and choices we need to make now to help us decide who we will marry when it is time. Also, about how important it is to write down the qualities you are searching for in a spouse, so you can be looking for them while you are dating. My teacher referenced 2 Corinthians 6:14. It talks about being "yoked together" like two oxen carrying a wagon. The weight must be equal for anything to get done, and progress to be made. Elder Russell M. Nelson said:

http://lds.org/church/leader/russell-m-nelson?lang=eng

"[The] proclamation on the family helps us realize that celestial marriage brings greater possibilities for happiness than does any other relationship.

The importance of choice may be illustrated by a homespun concept that came to mind one day when I was shopping in a large retail store. I call it “patterns of the shopper.” As shopping is part of our daily life, these patterns may be familiar.

Wise shoppers study their options thoroughly before they make a selection. They focus primarily on the quality and durability of a desired product. They want the very best. In contrast, some shoppers look for bargains, and others may splurge, only to learn later—much to their dismay—that their choice did not endure well. And sadly, there are those rare individuals who cast aside their personal integrity and steal what they want. We call them shoplifters.

The patterns of the shopper may be applied to the topic of marriage. A couple in love can choose a marriage of the highest quality or a lesser type that will not endure. Or they can choose neither and brazenly steal what they want as “marital shoplifters.”

The subject of marriage is debated across the world, where various arrangements exist for conjugal living. 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. I also assert the virtue of a temple marriage. It is the highest and most enduring type of marriage that our Creator can offer to His children."

I also love what President Hinckley has counseled on this topic: "There is no substitute for marrying in the temple... It is the only place under the heavens where marriage can be solemnized for eternity. Don't cheat yourself. Don't cheat your companion. Don't shortchange your lives."

I am glad that I have made choices thus far that have not prevented me from going to the temple. I have already decided that the only place possible for me to get married someday is in the temple. Let us all decide, if we haven't already, to make the temple our goal and to do our best to partake of the blessings we can find there.