ETERNAL MARRIAGE

1. Determine that there will never be anything that will come between you that
will disrupt your marriage. Make it work. Resolve to make it work. There is far
too much of divorce, wherein hearts are broken and sometimes lives are
destroyed. Be fiercely loyal one to another. . . A good marriage requires time.
It requires effort. You have to work at it. You have to cultivate it. You have to
forgive and forget.
President Gordon B. Hinckley, Lifes Obligations, Ensign, February 1999, pp.
17-18.

2. There is no more important commitment in time or in eternity than

marriage. You have heard wise counsel to make marriage a priority in early
post-mission plans. The faithful priesthood servant will do it wisely. In
considering marriage, he will see that he is choosing the parents of his
children and the heritage they will have. He will make the choice with earnest
searching and prayerful consideration. He will ensure that the person he
marries shares his ideals for family and his convictions of the Lords purpose
for marriage and that she is a person to whom he would be willing to trust his
childrens happiness.
President Henry B. Eyring, Eternal Families, Priesthood Session, April 2016
General Conference

3. It is only with the companionship of the Holy Ghost that we can hope to be
equally yoked in a marriage free from discord. I have seen how that
companionship is crucial for felicity in a marriage. The miracle of becoming
one requires the help of heaven, and it takes time. Our goal is to live together
forever in the presence of Heavenly Father and our Savior.
President Henry B. Eyring, To My Grandchildren, Sunday morning session,
October 2013 General Conference.

4. The kind of marriage required for exaltationeternal in duration and godlike

in qualitydoes not contemplate divorce. In the temples of the Lord, couples
are married for all eternity. . . Bishops do not counsel members to divorce,
but they can help members with the consequences of their decisions. Under
the law of the Lord, a marriage, like a human life, is a precious, living thing. If
our bodies are sick, we seek to heal them. We do not give up. While there is
any prospect of life, we seek healing again and again. The same should be
true of our marriages, and if we seek Him, the Lord will help us and heal us.
Dallin H. Oaks, Divorce, April 2007 General Conference, Sunday morning
session.

5. Marriage between a man and a woman is fundamental to the Lords doctrine

and crucial to Gods eternal plan. Marriage between a man and a woman is
Gods pattern for a fullness of life on earth and in heaven. Gods marriage
pattern cannot be abused, misunderstood, or misconstrued. Not if you want
true joy. Gods marriage pattern protects the sacred power of procreation and
 the joy of true marital intimacy. . . His way includes chastity before marriage
and total fidelity within marriage. The Lords way is the only way for us to
experience enduring happiness. His way brings sustained comfort to our souls
and perennial peace to our homes. And best of all, His way leads us home to
Him and our Heavenly Father, to eternal life and exaltation. This is the very
essence of Gods work and glory.
Russell M. Nelson, Decisions for Eternity, October 2013 General
Conference, Sunday afternoon session.

6. In our Heavenly Fathers great priesthood-endowed plan, men have the

unique responsibility to administer the priesthood, but they are not the
priesthood. Men and women have different but equally valued roles. Just as a
woman cannot conceive a child without a man, so a man cannot fully exercise
the power of the priesthood to establish an eternal family without a woman.
In other words, in the eternal perspective, both the procreative power and the
priesthood power are shared by husband and wife. And as husband and wife,
a man and a woman should strive to follow our Heavenly Father. The Christian
virtues of love, humility, and patience should be their focus as they seek the
blessings of the priesthood in their lives and for their family.
Elder M. Russell Ballard, This is My Work and Glory, April 2013 General
Conference, Saturday morning session.

7. I strongly urge you and those who advise you to face up to the reality that
for most marriage problems, the remedy is not divorce but repentance. Often
the cause is not incompatibility but selfishness. The first step is not
separation but reformation. Divorce is not an all-purpose solution, and it often
creates long-term heartache. . . Latter-day Saint spouses should do all within
their power to preserve their marriages. . . To avoid so-called
incompatibility, they should be best friends, kind and considerate, sensitive
to each others needs, always seeking to make each other happy. They should
be partners in family finances, working together to regulate their desires for
temporal things. . . a good marriage does not require a perfect man or a
perfect woman. It only requires a man and a woman committed to strive
together toward perfection.
Dallin H. Oaks, Divorce, April 2007 General Conference, Sunday morning
session.

8. Loving the mother of his childrenand showing that loveare two of the
best things a father can do for his children. This reaffirms and strengthens the
marriage that is the foundation of their family life and security.
D. Todd Christofferson, Fathers, April 2016 General Conference, Sunday
morning session.

9. So, brothers and sisters, in this long eternal quest to be more like our Savior,
may we try to be perfect men and women in at least this one way nowby
offending not in word, or more positively put, by speaking with a new tongue,
the tongue of angels. Our words, like our deeds, should be filled with faith
and hope and charity, the three great Christian imperatives so desperately
 needed in the world today. With such words, spoken under the influence of
the Spirit, tears can be dried, hearts can be healed, lives can be elevated,
hope can return, confidence can prevail. I pray that my words, even on this
challenging subject, will be encouraging to you, not discouraging, that you
can hear in my voice that I love you, because I do. More importantly, please
know that your Father in Heaven loves you and so does His Only Begotten
Son. When They speak to youand They willit will not be in the wind, nor in
the earthquake, nor in the fire, but it will be with a voice still and small, a
voice tender and kind. It will be with the tongue of angels. May we all rejoice
in the thought that when we say edifying, encouraging things unto the least
of these, our brethren and sisters and little ones, we say it unto God.
Jeffrey R. Holland, The Tongue of Angels, April 2007 General Conference,
Saturday afternoon session.

10.What the restored gospel brings to the discussion on marriage and family is
so large and so relevant that it cannot be overstated: we make the subject
eternal! We take the commitment and the sanctity of marriage to a greater
level because of our belief and understanding that families go back to before
this earth was and that they can go forward into eternity. . . The entire
theology of our restored gospel centers on families and on the new and
everlasting covenant of marriage. In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints, we believe in a premortal life where we all lived as literal spirit
children of God our Heavenly Father. We believe that we were, and still are,
members of His family. We believe that marriage and family ties can
continue beyond the gravethat marriages performed by those who have the
proper authority in His temples will continue to be valid in the world to come.
Our marriage ceremonies eliminate the words till death do us part and
instead say, for time and for all eternity. We also believe that strong
traditional families are not only the basic units of a stable society, a stable
economy, and a stable culture of valuesbut that they are also the basic
units of eternity and of the kingdom and government of God. We believe that
the organization and government of heaven will be built around families and
extended families.
L. Tom Perry, Why Marriage and Family Matter Everywhere in the World,
April 2015 General Conference, Saturday morning session.