Through all the days of your lives, you must be as true one to another as the polar star

As the old Church of England ceremony says, you will marry her “for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, for better or for worse.” She will be yours and yours alone, regardless of the circumstances of your lives. You will be hers and hers alone. There can be eyes for none other. There must be absolute loyalty, undeviating loyalty one to another. Hopefully you will marry her forever, in the house of the Lord, under the authority of the everlasting priesthood. Through all the days of your lives, you must be as true one to another as the polar star

Living Worthy of the Girl You Will Someday Marry

April 1998

1990–1999

Gordon B. Hinckley

let your children see that you love one another,

 And again we want to be cleanly in our persons, in our houses and in everything. And mothers, you ought to cultivate in your hearts the spirit of peace; you ought to be like angels of God, full of every virtue. And the father ought to treat the mother right. Has she her infirmities? Yes. And so has he. … Make your homes joyous. And let your children see that you love one another, that they may grow up with the same feeling, and be led from principle to honor their father and mother. These are the kind of feelings that will elevate us.

Chapter 21: Strengthening Families

John Taylor

Teachings of Presidents

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/teachings-john-taylor/chapter-21?lang=eng&verse=#p

What is more amiable and pleasant than those pure, innocent, endearing affections which God has placed in the hearts of the male and female, who are united in lawful matrimony, with a love and affection,

 What is more amiable and pleasant than those pure, innocent, endearing affections which God has placed in the hearts of the male and female, who are united in lawful matrimony, with a love and affection, pure as the love of God, because it springs from him, and is his gift: with bodies chaste and virtuous, and an offspring, lovely, healthy, pure, innocent, and uncontaminated: confiding in each other, they live together in the fear of God, enjoying nature’s gifts uncorrupted, and undefiled as the driven snow, or the crystal stream. But how would this enjoyment be enhanced if they understood their destiny, could unravel the designs of God, and contemplate an eternal union in another state of existence, a connection with this offspring, commenced here, to endure for ever, and all their ties, relationships, and affections strengthened.

Chapter 21: Strengthening Families

John Taylor

Teachings of Presidents

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/teachings-john-taylor/chapter-21?lang=eng&verse=#p

It is vital that Latter-day Saints do not lose their understanding of the purpose of marriage and the value of childre

 It is vital that Latter-day Saints do not lose their understanding of the purpose of marriage and the value of children. That is the future for which we strive. “Exaltation is a family affair,” President Nelson has taught us. “Only through the saving ordinances of the gospel of Jesus Christ can families be exalted.”

The Family-Centered Gospel of Jesus Christ

October 2025

General Conference

Dallin H. Oaks

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2025/10/58oaks?lang=eng&verse=#p

Celestial Marriage

 I recently ran across a letter about marriage written in 1902 by the First Presidency that suggests what this combination of Christ’s total sacrifice and our own total sacrifice will look like:

After reaching the perfected state of life, people will have no other desire than to live in harmony with [righteousness], including that which united them as husband and wife. . . . Those who attain to the first or celestial resurrection must necessarily be pure and holy, and they will be perfect in body as well. . . . Every man and woman that reaches this unspeakable condition of life will be as beautiful as the angels that surround the throne of God; . . . for the weakness of the flesh will then have been overcome and forgotten; and both [husband and wife] will be in harmony with the laws that united them.44

Marriage, Family Law, and the Temple, Bruce C. Hafen, Emeritus General Authority Seventy

January 31, 2014, Speeches.byu.edu

Best of All; If God Made Something Better; He Kept It for Himself

 Pivotal to God’s plan is the family. In fact, a purpose of the plan is to exalt the family. The earth was created so that we as premortal spirit children of our Father in Heaven could come to the earth and obtain physical bodies. We are here to be tried and tested. We are here to “choose liberty and eternal life … or to choose captivity and death.” And best of all, we are allowed to fall in love, to be married, and to invite children into our families

Faith and Families

March 2007

2007

Russell M. Nelson

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2007/03/faith-and-families?lang=eng&verse=#p

Lateral and Vertical Bonds of the New and Everlasting Covenant of Marriage

 President Nelson has also said: “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....

What is required to faithfully keep the new and everlasting covenant of marriage?

President Russell M. Nelson has taught there are two types of bonds when we enter into this eternal marriage covenant: a lateral bond between husband and wife, and a vertical bond with God. To have the blessings of exaltation sealed upon us and remain after this life, we must be true to both the lateral and the vertical bonds of the covenant.

To keep the lateral bond with your spouse, God has counseled us to “love [your] wife [or husband] with all [your] heart, and … cleave unto her [or him] and none else.” For those who are married, to cleave unto her or him and none else means you counsel together in love, you love and care for each other, you prioritize time with your spouse over outside interests, and you call upon God to help you overcome your weaknesses. It also means there is no emotional intimacy or sexual relations of any kind outside of your marriage, including flirting or dating, and there is no pornography, which engenders lust.

To keep the lateral bond in the covenant, each partner must desire to be in the marriage. President Dallin H. Oaks recently taught: “We also know that He [God] will force no one into a sealing relationship against his or her will. The blessings of a sealed relationship are assured for all who keep their covenants but never by forcing a sealed relationship on another person who is unworthy or unwilling.”

What is the vertical bond referred to by President Nelson? The vertical bond is one we make with God.

To keep the vertical bond with God, we are true to the temple covenants we have made regarding the laws of obedience, sacrifice, the gospel, chastity, and consecration. We also covenant with God to receive our eternal companion and to be a righteous spouse and parent. As we keep the vertical bond, we qualify for the blessings of being part of the family of God through the Abrahamic covenant, including the blessings of posterity, the gospel, and the priesthood. These blessings are also the fruit that remains

Fruit That Remains

April 2024

General Conference

Matthew L. Carpenter

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2024/04/34carpenter?lang=eng&verse=#p

Power of Keeping Covenants

My wife says that our marriage yokes us together, and because of that she can do things she couldn’t do before. For example, ever since she was young, she has had a hard time going out in the dark, but it is not hard anymore because I go with her. She is short and cannot reach to the high shelves unless she uses a chair or ladder, but I can reach the things from high shelves for her because I am taller than her. Taking our Savior’s yoke upon us is like that. As we yoke ourselves to Him, we can do things we couldn’t do on our own because He can do the things we cannot do for ourselves.

Elder David A. Bednar said: “Making and keeping sacred covenants yokes us to and with the Lord Jesus Christ. In essence, the Savior is beckoning us to rely upon and pull together with Him, even though our best efforts are not equal to and cannot be compared with His. As we trust in and pull our load with Him during the journey of mortality, truly His yoke is easy and His burden is light.”

President Nelson also taught:

“Yoking yourself with the Savior means you have access to His strength and redeeming power.”

“The reward for keeping covenants with God is heavenly power—power that strengthens us to withstand our trials, temptations, and heartaches better. This power eases our way. Those who live the higher laws of Jesus Christ have access to His higher power.”

“Keeping covenants actually makes life easier! Each person who makes covenants in baptismal fonts and in temples—and keeps them—has increased access to the power of Jesus Christ.”

Do You Want to Be Happy?

October 2023

General Conference

Yoon Hwan Choi

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2023/10/26choi?lang=eng&verse=#p

[A Temple Sealing] is the highest privilege of your membership in the Church of Jesus Christ.

[A Temple Sealing] is the highest privilege of your membership in the Church of Jesus Christ.

The Sealing Power

October 2023

General Conference

D. Todd Christofferson

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2023/10/15christofferson?lang=eng&verse=#p

He will never tire in His efforts to help us, and we will never exhaust His merciful patience with us. In fact, all those who have made a covenant with God have access to a special kind of love and mercy

Once we make a covenant with God, we leave neutral ground forever. God will not abandon His relationship with those who have forged such a bond with Him. In fact, all those who have made a covenant with God have access to a special kind of love and mercy. In the Hebrew language, that covenantal love is called hesed (חֶסֶד).

Hesed has no adequate English equivalent. Translators of the King James Version of the Bible must have struggled with how to render hesed in English. They often chose “lovingkindness.” This captures much but not all the meaning of hesed. Other translations were also rendered, such as “mercy” and “goodness.” Hesed is a unique term describing a covenant relationship in which both parties are bound to be loyal and faithful to each other.

A celestial marriage is such a covenant relationship. A husband and wife make a covenant with God and with each other to be loyal and faithful to each other.

Hesed is a special kind of love and mercy that God feels for and extends to those who have made a covenant with Him. And we reciprocate with hesed for Him. Because God has hesed for those who have covenanted with Him, He will love them. He will continue to work with them and offer them opportunities to change. He will forgive them when they repent. And should they stray, He will help them find their way back to Him.

Once you and I have made a covenant with God, our relationship with Him becomes much closer than before our covenant. Now we are bound together. Because of our covenant with God, He will never tire in His efforts to help us, and we will never exhaust His merciful patience with us. Each of us has a special place in God’s heart. He has high hopes for us.

The Everlasting Covenant, Russell M. Nelson, Liahona October 2022

Strengthening the Partnership Between Husband and Wife

 Let us consider two fundamental principles that strengthen the partnership between man and woman. The first principle is we are all alike unto God. According to gospel doctrine, the difference between woman and man does not override the eternal promises that God has for His sons and daughters. One has no greater possibilities for celestial glory than the other in the eternities. The Savior Himself invites all of us, God’s children, “to come unto him and partake of his goodness; and he denieth none that come unto him.” Therefore, in this context, we are all considered equal before Him.

When spouses understand and incorporate this principle, they do not position themselves as president or vice president of their family. There is no superiority or inferiority in the marriage relationship, and neither walks ahead of or behind the other. They walk side by side, as equals, the divine offspring of God. They become one in thought, desire, and purpose with our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, leading and guiding the family unit together.

In an equal partnership, “love is not possession, but participation, … part of that co-creation which is our human calling.” “With true participation, husband and wife merge into the synergistic oneness of an ‘everlasting dominion’ that ‘without compulsory means’ will flow with spiritual life to them and their posterity ‘forever and ever.’”

The second relevant principle is the Golden Rule, taught by the Savior in the Sermon on the Mount: “And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.” This principle indicates an attitude of mutuality, reciprocity, unity, and interdependence and is based on the second great commandment: “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” It merges with other Christian attributes such as long-suffering, gentleness, meekness, and kindness.

In Partnership with the Lord

October 2022

General Conference

Ulisses Soares

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2022/10/25soares?lang=eng&verse=#p

Strict compliance with the doctrine enunciated by Jesus Christ is the only means by which a perfect social order can be maintained

 The higher requirement of the gospel followed: “And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.” The Mosaic provision had been but permissive, and was justified only because of existing unrighteousness. Strict compliance with the doctrine enunciated by Jesus Christ is the only means by which a perfect social order can be maintained. It is important to note, however, that in His reply to the casuistical Pharisees, Jesus announced no specific or binding rule as to legal divorces; the putting away of a wife, as contemplated under the Mosaic custom, involved no judicial investigation or action by an established court. In our Lord’s day the prevailing laxity in the matter of marital obligation had produced a state of appalling corruption in Israel; and woman, who by the law of God had been made a companion and partner with man, had become his slave. The world’s greatest champion of woman and womanhood is Jesus the Christ.

James E Talmage, Jesus the Christ, Chapter 27, Continuation of the Perean and Judean Ministry

Families Are an Echo of A Celestial Patter and Emulation of God's Eternal Family

Families are not just meant to make things run more smoothly here on earth and to be cast off when we get to heaven. Rather, they are the order of heaven. They are an echo of a celestial pattern and an emulation of God’s eternal family.

Dieter F. Uchdorf, In Praise of Those Who Save, April 2016 General Conference

The Saviors Special Disciple to Me--My Eternal Companion

I cannot speak of giving care without acknowledging the special caregiver in my life—the Savior’s special disciple to me—my eternal companion, [My Wife's Name]. She has given all in compassionate nurturing and love. Her hands reflect His gentle, sustaining touch. I would not be here without her. And with her, I will be able to endure to the end and be with her in eternal life.

"'Come, Follow Me' by Practicing Christian Love and Service",  Elder Robert D. Hales, October 2016 General Conference

To Be Valiant In the Testimony of Jesus

To be valiant in the testimony of Jesus is to take the Lord’s side on every issue. It is to vote as he would vote. It is to think what he thinks, to believe what he believes, to say what he would say and do what he would do in the same situation. It is to have the mind of Christ and be one with him as he is one with his Father.
Bruce R. McConkie, “Be Valiant in the Fight of Faith,” Ensign, Nov. 1974, 35.

How fortunate I am to have such a companion.

President Hinckley’s wife, Marjorie, was both a partner and influencer in his concern for individuals. He recorded: “Everyone she knows seems to love her because she has a genuine interest in people. She is concerned with their problems and their needs. How fortunate I am to have such a companion.
Ensign January 2017, Gordon B. Hinckley: A Prophet of Optimism and Vision

10 Prophetic Principles of Faithfulness

More than 20 years ago, I completed my service as a mission president in South America. My wife, Rhonda, and I have seen great triumph as well as heartbreaking tragedy in the lives of our missionaries during those intervening 20 years.

The majority of our missionaries are happily sealed in the temple, raising righteous children and sending them on missions, and serving faithfully in Church auxiliary and priesthood callings. Some, however, are less active, some have been married and divorced, and some have been excommunicated from the Church.

What has made the difference in the lives of our former missionaries? What might some of them have done differently to avoid personal tragedy? What about you? Where will you be in 20 years? What decisions and commitments do you need to make now and in the future to help you remain faithful?

I suggest 10 principles that will help you.

1. Continually Nourish Your Testimony

2. Follow the Counsel of Living Prophets and Apostles

3. Be Sealed in the Temple and Keep Your Covenants

4. Partner with God in Bringing His Spirit Children to Earth

5. Do Not Indulge in Pornography or Other Immoral Behavior

6. Teach and Live the Gospel in Your Home

7. Honor the Roles of Father and Mother in Raising Children

8. Use Your Moral Agency to Choose to Follow the Savior

9. Develop Faith to Endure to the End

10. Submit Your Will to the Will of God


Prophetic Principles of Faithfulness, C. Scott, Grow, Ensign January 2017

What a Tradgedy

The proclamation continues, “Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity.”

Complete fidelity means being physically faithful as well as emotionally faithful to your spouse. Pornography and online relationships are examples of emotional infidelity. When a spouse engages in pornography, he or she violates a sacred trust of the most intimate nature. The innocent spouse feels betrayed. Confidence and trust in the marriage deteriorate. The harvest of adultery is sown in the seedbed of pornography.

I share some feelings from a man who had been sealed in the temple but lost his family because of pornography and an online relationship with a woman. In sorrow he writes: “I did not heed the words given to me in my patriarchal blessing, which stated that Satan would have no power in my life except that which I would give him. I gave him plenty, and slowly and surely he took it and used that power to destroy my life with my wife and my children. I loved them with all my heart and still do and always will, but that love was not enough to defeat the power I willingly gave Satan in my life to destroy it. The Church’s teachings provided [us] a way to return as a family sealed for time and all eternity to our Heavenly Father, would I have but listened and heeded them, but in the end I did not.”

What a tragedy.

Prophetic Principles of Faithfulness, C. Scott, Grow, Ensign January 2017

I Am Grateful for Each Moment I Am With Her and For the Promise the Lord Has Given That There Will Be No End

Toward the end of our mortal days together, I am grateful for each moment I am with her side by side and for the promise the Lord has given that there will be no end.

General Conference APRIL 2015, The Plan of Happiness,  President Boyd K. Packer

When We Speak of Marriage and Family Life, "What About the Exceptions?"

When we speak of marriage and family life, there inevitably comes tomind, “What about the exceptions?” Some are born with limitations and cannot beget children. Some innocents have their marriage wrecked because of the infidelity of their spouse. Others do not marry and live in single worthiness.

For now I offer this comfort: God is our Father! All the love and generosity manifest in the ideal earthly father is magnified in Him who is our Father and our God beyond the capacity of the mortal mind to comprehend. His judgments are just; His mercy without limit; His power to compensate beyond any earthly comparison. “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable” (1 Corinthians 15:19).

General Conference APRIL 2015, The Plan of Happiness,  President Boyd K. Packer