Sunday, August 13, 2017

Lesson 31: “Sealed … for Time and for All Eternity”

Purpose

To help class members understand that eternal marriage is an essential part of Heavenly Father's plan, to help youth prepare for eternal marriage, and to encourage married couples to abide in the marriage covenant.

Preparation


Discussion and Application 

1. Eternal marriage is essential in Heavenly Father's plan.

Read D&C 131:1–4; 132:4–33. These passages contain revelations from the Lord to the Prophet Joseph Smith about eternal marriage. Elder Parley P. Pratt, one of the original members of the Quorum of the Twelve in this dispensation, recalled his feelings when he first heard the Prophet Joseph teach these doctrines:

"I had loved before, but I knew not why. But now I loved—with a pureness—an intensity of elevated, exalted feeling, which would lift my soul. … I felt that God was my heavenly Father indeed; that Jesus was my brother, and that the wife of my bosom was an immortal, eternal companion. … In short, I could now love with the spirit and with the understanding also" (Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt [1975], 298).
  • The First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles have declared that "marriage between man and woman is essential to [God's] eternal plan" ("The Family: A Proclamation to the World," Ensign, Nov. 1995, 102; see also D&C 49:15).

    Why is marriage an essential part of God's eternal plan? (See D&C 131:1–4;1 Corinthians 11:11.)

    Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin of the Quorum of the Twelve said: "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" (in Conference Report, Oct. 1997, 42; or Ensign,Nov. 1997, 32).

    President Boyd K. Packer of the Quorum of the Twelve taught: "The ultimate purpose of all we teach is to unite parents and children in faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, that they are happy at home, sealed in an eternal marriage, linked to their generations, and assured of exaltation in the presence of our Heavenly Father" (in Conference Report, Apr. 1995, 8; or Ensign, May 1995, 8).

    President Joseph Fielding Smith said: "Marriage, as understood by Latter-day Saints, is a covenant ordained to be everlasting. It is the foundation for eternal exaltation, for without it there could be no eternal progress in the kingdom of God" (Doctrines of Salvation, comp. Bruce R. McConkie, 3 vols. [1954–56], 2:58).
  • If a husband and wife are not married in the temple for time and eternity, what will be the status of their marriage when one of them dies? (See D&C 132:7, 15–18.)
  • When a man and woman are married for time and eternity in the temple, they make a covenant with the Lord. What blessings will they receive if they are true to their covenant? (See D&C 131:1–4; 132:19–24, 30–31.)
  • What blessings does temple marriage bring in mortality?

2. Youth should prepare now for eternal marriage.

  • Why do you think temple marriage is emphasized so much to the youth of the Church?

    President Spencer W. Kimball said: "Marriage is perhaps the most vital of all … decisions and has the most far-reaching effects, for it has to do not only with immediate happiness, but also with eternal joys. It affects not only the two people involved, but also their families and particularly their children and their children's children down through the many generations" ("Oneness in Marriage," Ensign, Mar. 1977, 3).
  • What are some things that young men and women can do to prepare to be married in the temple?
  • How does dating during teenage years influence marriage later in life?

3. After a husband and wife are sealed in the temple, they must abide in the covenant to receive the promised blessings.

"I was just sure the first ten years would be bliss. But during our first year together I discovered … there were a lot of adjustments. Of course, they weren't the kind of thing you ran home to mother about. But I cried into my pillow now and again. The problems were almost always related to learning to live on someone else's schedule and to do things someone else's way. We loved each other, there was no doubt about that. But we also had to get used to each other. I think every couple has to get used to each other." Sister Marjorie P. Hinckley, wife of President Gordon B. Hinckley (in Sheri L. Dew, Go Forward with Faith: The Biography of Gordon B. Hinckley[1996], 118).

It takes love, work, and dedication to have a successful marriage. When a man and woman are sealed in the temple, they will receive the promised blessings only if they "abide in [the] covenant" (D&C 132:19).
  • Read D&C 42:22. This commandment applies equally to men and women. What does it mean to love a husband or wife with all one's heart? What does it mean to cleave to a husband or wife and none else?
    President Spencer W. Kimball explained:
    "When the Lord says all thy heart, it allows for no sharing nor dividing nor depriving. …

    "The words none else eliminate everyone and everything. The spouse then becomes preeminent in the life of the husband or wife, and neither social life nor occupational life nor political life nor any other interest nor person nor thing shall ever take precedence over the companion spouse. …

    "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).

    President Gordon B. Hinckley gave this simple counsel to married couples: "Be fiercely loyal one to another" (Ensign, Feb. 1999, 4).
  • When a man and woman are married in the temple, they covenant to be true to one another and to be true to the Lord. What are some things that married couples can do to strengthen their love for each other and for the Lord?


4. Faithful Saints will not be denied the blessings of eternity

Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve counseled:
"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" (in Conference Report, Oct. 1993, 101; or Ensign, Nov. 1993, 75).
Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve counseled: "If you are single and haven't identified a solid prospect for celestial marriage, live for it. Pray for it. Expect it in the timetable of the Lord. Do not compromise your standards in any way that would rule out that blessing on this or the other side of the veil. The Lord knows the intent of your heart. His prophets have stated that you will have that blessing as you consistently live to qualify for it. We do not know whether it will be on this or the other side of the veil. But live for it. Pray for it" (in Conference Report, Apr. 1999, 33; or Ensign, May 1999, 27).


5. Plural marriage

In the Book of Mormon, the prophet Jacob taught: "For there shall not any man among you have save it be one wife. … [But] if I will, saith the Lord of Hosts, raise up seed unto me, I will command my people; otherwise they shall hearken unto these things" (Jacob 2:27, 30). At various times throughout biblical history, the Lord commanded people to practice plural marriage. For example, He gave this command to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, and Solomon (D&C 132:1).

The revelation to practice plural marriage in this dispensation
In this dispensation, the Lord commanded some of the early Saints to practice plural marriage. The Prophet Joseph Smith and those closest to him, including Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball, were challenged by this command, but they obeyed it. Church leaders regulated the practice. Those entering into it had to be authorized to do so, and the marriages had to be performed through the sealing power of the priesthood. See also:
  1. Plural Marriage in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
  2. Mercy Thompson and the Revelation on Marriage
  3. The Messenger and the Manifesto
The Church's position on plural marriage today
In 1890, President Wilford Woodruff received a revelation that the leaders of the Church should cease teaching the practice of plural marriage (Official Declaration 1, pages 291–92 in the Doctrine and Covenants; see also the excerpts from addresses by President Woodruff that immediately follow Official Declaration 1).

In 1998, President Gordon B. Hinckley made the following statement about the Church's position on plural marriage: "This Church has nothing whatever to do with those practicing polygamy. They are not members of this Church. … If any of our members are found to be practicing plural marriage, they are excommunicated, the most serious penalty the Church can impose. Not only are those so involved in direct violation of the civil law, they are in violation of the law of this Church" (in Conference Report, Oct. 1998, 92; or Ensign,Nov. 1998, 71).

Plural marriage in the eternities
Latter-day Saints today do not practice polygamy. However, because temple marriage covenants are eternal in nature, some Saints may have questions about plural marriage in the eternities. Elder Dallin H. Oaks, who remarried after his first wife died, explained that although we do not know everything about the eternities, we do know that if we are faithful, our temple marriage covenants are eternal in nature: "There are a lot of people that live on this earth that have been married to more than one person. Sometimes those marriages have ended with death; sometimes they've ended with divorce. … For people who live in the belief, as I do, that marriage relations can be for eternity, then you must say, 'What will life be in the next life, when you're married to more than one wife for eternity?' I have to say I don't know. But I know that I've made those covenants, and I believe if I am true to the covenants that the blessing that's anticipated here will be realized in the next life" (in "Elder Oaks Interview Transcript from PBS Documentary," July 20, 2007, mormonnewsroom.org).
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