Dear Family,
Well another tax season is over and behind me, 15 years, wow. Well I am a free woman again, for a few months at least.
I will still have plenty to keep me busy as I have been called into Young Women again as the 2
nd Counselor. We have a small group of YW, so the Presidency rotates through turns teaching on Sunday, (unless it is a lesson where the girls need to be separated for age appropriate discussions). I really like this method as it give me lots of time to prepare for each lesson I teach and come up with cool handouts for the girls.
Anyway, my lesson for next Sunday the 9
th is all prepared and ready to go and I wanted to share with you some thoughts. Our lesson is on Temple Marriage. My first thought will be on the Young Women level, (not married or don’t have a Temple Marriage) and then I will move on to those of us who currently have Temple Marriages.
I hope and pray that no one is offended or feels bad in any way after reading my thoughts, remember these are my thoughts, EXCEPT where a prophet or General Authority or scripture is referenced. I really want each and every one of our families to be together in the Celestial kingdom, no one missing, all present and accounted for. I have given this a lot more thought as my children have grown into adults and now that I am a gramma. I wonder if I taught them enough, was I a good enough example? Did my children see that the Temple and a Temple Marriage is essential to our ultimate goal?
[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."
· •
Is temple marriage important to
you? Why?
· •
How committed are you to
marrying in the
temple?
· •
Will a young
woman/man who has made a
commitment to
marry in the
temple be more
selective of the young
men/women she/he will
date?
Elder LeGrand Richards related the following story:
“This was a girl that was the daughter of one of the families that I presided over when I was president of a stake down in California. …
“She started keeping company with a young man who had been baptized a member of the Church, but he was not active in the Church. Then he finally got serious and he proposed to her. Do you know what she said? She said, ‘I will never marry a man who does not honor his priesthood and his membership in the Church. I am going to be able to point to my children and say, “You follow your father.” ’
“Their courtship ended right there. He was not willing to pay the price”
· •
When do you think this young woman
made the
commitment to be
married in the
temple?
· •
How did her
commitment to be married in the
temple affect her
decision about the young
man?
· • What
can you
do now to
prepare f
or a
temple marriage? be
morally clean, respect and
support the
priesthood,
pay tithes, practice the law of the
fast, be
honest, obey the
Word of
Wisdom, set a good
example, maintain clean
speech,
pray regularly,
honor parents.)
God's plan of happiness
allows us to
choose for ourselves.
As with the
patterns of the
shopper,
we may
choose celestial marriage or lesser alternatives.
Some marital
options are
cheap,
some are
costly, and
some are
cunningly crafted by the
adversary.
Beware of his
options; they
always breed
misery!
The
best choice is a
celestial marriage. Thankfully, if a lesser choice has previously been made, a choice can now be made to upgrade it to the best choice. That requires a mighty change of heart and a permanent personal upgrade. Blessings so derived are worth all efforts made.
President Spencer W. Kimball told the following true story:
“A few years ago a young couple who lived in northern Utah came to Salt Lake City for their marriage. They did not want to bother with a temple marriage, or perhaps they did not feel worthy. At any rate, they had a civil marriage. After the marriage they got into their automobile and drove north to their home for a wedding reception. On their way home they had an accident, and when the wreckage was cleared, there was a dead man and a dead young woman. They had been married only an hour or two. Their marriage was ended. They thought they loved each other. They wanted to live together forever, but they did not live the commandments that would make that possible. So death came in and closed that career. They may have been good young people; I don’t know. But they will be angels in heaven if they are. They will not be gods and goddesses and priests and priestesses because they did not fulfill the commandments and do the things that were required at their hands.
“Sometimes we have people who say, ‘Oh, someday I will go to the temple. But I am not quite ready yet. And if I die, somebody can do the work for me in the temple.’ And that should be made very clear to all of us. The temples are for the living and for the dead only when the work could not have been done. Do you think that the Lord will be mocked and give to this young couple who ignored him, give them the blessings? The Lord said, ‘For all contracts that are not made unto this end have an end when men are dead.’ (
D&C 132:7)” (in Conference Report, Japan Area Conference 1975, pp. 61–62).
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.
So once you have made it to the Temple and have been
married to the
right person, in the
right place, by the
right authority, it is not over, you have not reached you ultimate goal yet. We must
obey that
sacred covenant faithfully so that we will be assured exaltation in the celestial kingdom. The work truly begins, but you are on the right road with a good start.
I know this is long, sorry, I could go on but will stop for now. I would love to see the day when we could ALL be in the Temple together, we could fill up a session room with just our family, wouldn’t that be HEAVEN ON EARTH?
Love each of you,
Diane
