Unity in a marriage is essential. Elder Henry B. Eyring, in April 1998 General
Conference said,
“Our Heavenly Father wants our hearts to be knit
together. That union in love is not
simply an ideal. It is a necessity.”
Our purpose here on earth is to grow from our experiences to
become like Him. But He did not intend
for us to do this alone. He designated
families as the desired organization.
Much of that growth takes place as we learn to love others as Christ
loves us. In a marriage, that means
coming to see our spouse as God sees them.
As we learn to do this, we also become united. As we become united, we feel able to face the
challenges that come our way, knowing we are not alone, now or forever.
When
we are united, we experience hope – hope that we can do hard things; hope that
this will all be for our good; hope that we can be together forever; hope that
the covenants we make and keep here on earth can change our natures, qualifying
us for the eternities; hope that we can be forgiven of our sins; hope that we
will always have His Spirit to lead and guide us as we raise a family; hope
that Christ’s Atonement can make up the difference.
When we are united, we experience harmony – meaning there is
no contention; harmony accompanied by personal peace; harmony in our hearts and
minds, thoughts and actions, all working together for a singular purpose; harmony
that comes when our actions are in tune with our Father in Heaven; harmony
within our families as we grow and learn together; harmony that comes as we
forgive one another.
When
we are united, we experience strength – strength to fight the adversary for the
blessings of being together with our families forever; strength to keep the
covenants we have made; strength to do all that is asked of us in our roles as
mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, parents and children; strength to
keep all of the commandments; strength to see past our weaknesses and
reach for the potential Heavenly Father sees in us; strength to forgive each
other as we journey through this life of learning.
Hope, harmony and strength are all attributes that can bless
a marriage and lead to the unity Heavenly Father commanded us to have. When we are unified, we are one, working
together for the same goal. Elder Eyring
went on to say, “We need hope that we can experience unity in this life and
qualify to have it forever in the world to come.”
We don’t do all of this just so we can gain entry to the
celestial kingdom. We do all of this
because we want to be with our partner forever.
H. Wallace Goddard said, “It’s also about becoming qualified for the
life we will presumably be living there (Celestial Kingdom). This requires a transformation of
character.” As we become unified, we
become changed, transformed, and qualified into a character worthy of living
with our families into the eternities.
Eyring, H. B. (1998, May). That
We May Be One. Ensign, 66-69.
Unity in sunset image: retrieved from Dreamstime.com
Hope image: http://www.thecommentator.com/article/6769/unity_and_hope_are_key_to_a_conservative_victory
Harmony image: https://unitedinharmony.org/
Strength image: http://valuableread.com/unity-is-strength
Goddard, H.W. (2007). Drawing heaven into your
marriage. Fairfax, VA: Meridian Publishing.
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