In the summer of 2016, I moved in with my sister and her family. At the time she had three children at the ages of 4, 2 and newborn. On my day off from work I decided to go to the temple. As I was getting ready and about to leave my 4 year old nephew asked me where I was going. I told him I was going to the temple. He replied “because you’re not married yet?”. I just about died of laughter!
I share this experience because as I was reading “What I hope you would teach your children about the temple” By Ezra Taft Benson he talks about how many times parents shy from teaching their children about the importance of covenant marriage because of the sacred nature of the temple ordinances. I thought about that experience and found it sweet that with such a young mind he knew that temples are where you get married. My sister showed the importance of the temple and marriages by letting her son know that is where you marry to be sealed for all time and eternity.
But what is special of a covenant marriage in the temple? In Bruce C. Hafen’s article “Covenant Marriage” he shares his view of the difference between a covenant and a contract marriage between partners. “Contract companions each give 50 percent; covenant companions each give 100 percent“. In Heleman 5:12 we learn that Satan will send “mighty winds” to knock us off our foundation, but a covenant marriage is built on Christ and from the scripture we can understand that he can not knock us off as long as we stay firm to our covenants.
Prior to returning home form my mission, my mission president and his wife gave us leaving missionaries a fireside. One of the statements made was when picking a spouse make sure he/she had their priorities straight. The priority list is as follows “first the lord, second your spouse, and third your children”. When I think about having a covenant marriage I think about how I need to follow Christ and seek his kingdom first. Joseph Fielding Smith in his address “Fullness of the Priesthood” he says “There is nothing in all this world as important to each of us as putting first in our lives the things of God’s kingdom, as keeping the commandments, as magnifying our callings in the priesthood, as going to the house of the Lord and being offered the fullness of the blessings of our Father’s kingdom.” I know that when we put Christ first in our lives that our marriage and our family will be blessed and we will be able to withstand the storm Satan WILL send. Satan will not stop trying to knock us down.
Marriage Insights 