Eternal Marriage Is an Eternal Journey

Honor the Savior as the source of eternal sealing power

Elder Andersen begins by anchoring eternal marriage in Jesus Christ. Because of the Savior’s victory over death and sin, and because He restored the sealing power, families can be bound together forever through temple ordinances.

Because of our Savior’s victory over death and sin, we will praise His name forever.

Jesus Christ brought other immeasurable blessings. He said to His Apostle Peter, “Whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven.”

The sacred sealing power has been restored to the earth and is found today in His dedicated temples.

If nothing else came out of all of the sorrow and travail and pain of the restoration than the sealing power of the holy priesthood to bind together families forever, it would have been worth all that it has cost.

• The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is foundational to all eternal hope.
• The Savior not only overcame death and sin but also authorized priesthood sealing power.
• That sealing power has been restored in the latter days.
• Temples are the place where eternal family ordinances are performed.
• The Restoration is of immense worth because it returned the power to bind families forever.

• When have you felt deep gratitude for the Savior’s Resurrection and its effect on your family hopes?
• What experiences have helped you feel the sacredness of the temple?
• Have you had a moment when the doctrine of eternal families became especially real to you?
• How has the Restoration of priesthood keys blessed your life or the life of your family?
• What feelings come to mind when you think about being with loved ones forever?

Treasure the covenant made at the temple altar

Elder Andersen reflects on kneeling across the altar from his wife and hearing the words “for time and for all eternity.” He teaches that temple marriage binds a husband and wife to each other and to God through sacred covenants and promised blessings.

One of the most poignant is as I knelt across the altar from Kathy in a holy temple of God.

The hopes, the dreams, the love we shared all burst in a kaleidoscope of anticipation as we heard those unforgettable words: “for time and for all eternity.”

At that moment, kneeling across the altar, we have a growing realization of the depth of our commitment to God and to each other.

The sacred ordinance binds us together with our eternal companion and with God.

We solemnly vow to keep the covenants, and the Lord promises us, as we are faithful, unspeakable blessings in mortality and beyond, including thrones, powers, and dominions in the eternal world.

• The temple sealing is a deeply sacred and unforgettable ordinance.
• Marriage in the temple is a commitment not only to a spouse but also to God.
• Covenants create a binding relationship with eternal significance.
• Faithful covenant keeping brings blessings in this life and in eternity.
• The promises of eternal marriage are majestic and far-reaching.

• If you are married, what do you remember feeling on your wedding or sealing day?
• What has helped you better understand the seriousness and beauty of temple covenants?
• How have you seen commitment to God strengthen commitment in marriage or family life?
• If you are not yet married, what hopes do you have about making covenants in the temple?
• What experiences have increased your appreciation for eternal promises rather than temporary goals?

Let marriage refine your discipleship

Eternal marriage is presented as a refining process that helps disciples become more like Jesus Christ. Within marriage, qualities such as sacrifice, charity, patience, and peacemaking can grow as husband and wife draw closer to the Savior.

Our even greater hope, however, is a desire to refine our very nature, to become more like our Savior, allowing us one day to live with Him.

Within our sacred marriage, bound to God and to each other, we find ourselves in a crucible of spiritual development where vital qualities—sacrifice, charity, patience, and being a peacemaker ... can become a greater part of us.

As we increase our love for the Savior, our love for each other grows.

Like our own discipleship, our eternal marriage is not a short-term experiment but a journey, an eternal journey of becoming who God desires us to become.

• The highest purpose of marriage includes spiritual transformation.
• Marriage can become a setting where Christlike attributes are developed.
• Love for the Savior strengthens love between spouses.
• Eternal marriage should be viewed as a lifelong and eternal process of becoming.
• Marriage is not merely about companionship but about sanctification.

• How has a close relationship helped you become more patient, charitable, or humble?
• When has marriage or family life revealed an area where you needed to repent or grow?
• What Christlike quality have you seen develop through serving a spouse or family member?
• How has loving the Savior influenced the way you love others?
• Can you share a time when a challenge in family life became a spiritual refining experience?

Defend and seek God’s pattern of eternal marriage

Elder Andersen acknowledges that confidence in lasting marriage is declining in the world, but he reaffirms the doctrine that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God. He teaches that disciples of Christ believe in, teach, and seek eternal marriage.

In much of the world, confidence in the lasting nature of marriage is eroding.

In the gospel of Jesus Christ, we proclaim that “marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God.”

We believe in eternal marriage, we teach of eternal marriage, and we seek an eternal marriage.

• Society’s view of marriage is weakening in many places.
• The restored gospel teaches a clear doctrine of marriage.
• Marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God.
• Members should not only believe this doctrine but also teach and pursue it.
• Eternal marriage remains central to God’s plan.

• When have you had to hold to gospel truths about marriage despite changing social views?
• How have you seen righteous marriages bless families, wards, or communities?
• What has helped you gain your own testimony of God’s pattern for marriage?
• How can you speak about eternal marriage with both conviction and compassion?
• Who has influenced you by their faithful example of covenant marriage?

Prepare worthily to make and keep temple covenants

The talk teaches that eternal marriage begins with faithful preparation. Youth and adults prepare by strengthening faith in Jesus Christ, keeping commandments, honoring the law of chastity, and taking upon themselves the name of Christ.

We anticipate our marriage with faith and confidence because we conscientiously prepare for the covenants we make in the house of the Lord.

In our youth, we strengthen our faith in Jesus Christ and keep His commandments, including the law of chastity, a law so many in the world have set aside.

We take upon us the name of Jesus Christ.

• Temple marriage requires spiritual preparation.
• Preparation begins before marriage, especially in youth.
• Faith in Jesus Christ is central to readiness for covenants.
• Obedience, including chastity, is essential preparation.
• Taking upon ourselves the name of Christ shapes covenant living.

• What choices in your youth or adulthood helped prepare you for temple blessings?
• How has obedience to the law of chastity strengthened your faith or future hopes?
• What did you learn while preparing for the temple that still blesses you now?
• How has taking upon yourself the name of Christ influenced your relationships?
• What counsel would you give a young person preparing for temple covenants?

Practice repentance, forgiveness, and steadfast love

Even with preparation, marriage brings weaknesses into view and requires unselfishness, repentance, and forgiveness. Elder Andersen emphasizes enduring love that does not change when circumstances change and keeping covenants etched upon the soul through both joy and sorrow.

But even with our preparation, we of course each have weaknesses, and we realize that our lives will require more unselfishness, more repentance, and more forgiveness.

Love is not love [that] alters when it alteration finds.

While embracing the happiness and sorrows of life’s experiences, we etch our covenants indelibly upon our souls, and we keep our eyes focused heavenward, toward the glorious destination awaiting us.

We know the divine attributes we seek will not all be perfected in this life.

Eternal marriage is an eternal journey.

• No marriage begins with perfect people.
• Successful covenant living requires selflessness, repentance, and forgiveness.
• True love remains steady through change and difficulty.
• Covenants should remain central through both happy and painful seasons.
• Perfection is not expected in mortality; faithful progress is.

• When have you needed to repent or ask forgiveness in an important relationship?
• What experience taught you that real love remains through change?
• How have trials helped you focus more on covenants than convenience?
• What have you learned about being patient with another person’s weaknesses—or your own?
• Can you share a time when heavenward focus helped you through a difficult family season?

Seek the Holy Ghost to avoid deception and strengthen marriage

Elder Andersen teaches that couples deeply need the Holy Ghost. In a world full of deception and distraction, the Spirit helps disciples recognize truth, honor the sealing ordinance, and receive greater understanding and patience.

We profoundly need the gift of the Holy Ghost in our personal lives and in our marriage.

The adversary has become so effective at disguising truth that if you don’t have the Holy Ghost, you will be deceived. Many obstacles lie ahead. The distractions will be many.

One of the deceptions of the world is to discount the sacred importance and the actual power of the sealing ordinance.

Keep your hope in each other and in Jesus Christ. His promises can see us through the obstacles and distractions.

There are times in our marriage that require a stellar dose of patience.

With your hope and faith in Christ, allow the Lord to expand your spiritual gifts of understanding and patience.

• The Holy Ghost is essential in both personal discipleship and marriage.
• The adversary works through deception and distraction.
• One deception is minimizing the importance and power of temple sealing.
• Hope in Christ and in covenant promises helps couples endure.
• The Lord can enlarge spiritual gifts such as patience and understanding.

• When has the Holy Ghost guided you in a marriage or family decision?
• How have you seen worldly distractions weaken commitment, and how have you resisted them?
• What helped you remember the power of your covenants during a difficult time?
• Can you share an experience when the Lord increased your patience or understanding?
• How has hope in Jesus Christ helped you face relationship challenges?

Trust the Lord’s promises for every faithful disciple

Elder Andersen offers reassurance that every true disciple of Jesus Christ who desires eternal marriage will ultimately be sealed to a righteous companion, whether in this life or the next. He also acknowledges that while divorce may at times need to be considered, prophetic caution is necessary.

First, every true disciple of Jesus Christ, if it is his or her desire, will be eternally sealed to a righteous companion of his or her choosing throughout eternity, whether in this life or the next.

Second, the question is asked, “Are there situations where divorce should be considered?” The answer is yes, there are, but the cautions are significant.

• The Lord remembers the righteous desires of faithful disciples.
• Not all promised blessings are fulfilled on mortal timetables.
• Those who desire eternal marriage should not lose hope.
• The doctrine of eternal marriage should be taught with sensitivity to varied circumstances.
• Divorce is a serious matter and should be approached with significant caution.

• How have you seen the Lord honor righteous desires that were not fulfilled immediately?
• What would you say to comfort someone who longs for eternal marriage but has not yet received that blessing?
• How can you teach this doctrine in a way that includes and strengthens single members or those facing hardship?
• When have you had to trust the Lord’s timing in a deeply personal matter?
• How has hope in future blessings sustained you in the present?

Care for each other through prolonged trials

Through the story of a faithful couple facing severe depression, cancer, and neurological challenges, Elder Andersen illustrates covenant love in action. The husband served with prayer, fasting, patience, humility, and hope rooted in eternal promises.

My dad had never experienced mental illness and sought the help of his Heavenly Father.

I can’t count the number of times I walked in on him while on his knees, or the number of Sundays he was quietly fasting again.

He served my mother—and served us—with incredible love, patience, and humility.

He sought the influence of the Holy Ghost, hoping to love, act, and react as the Savior would.

They were bound to one another forever.

As they remained faithful, they would spend eternity together in health and happiness. That promise gave him a perfect brightness of hope.

He loved serving this incredible, precious daughter of God.

Once again, she and my dad doubled down on their commitment to each other and their covenants with the Lord.

They did it together through the final day of her mortal journey.

Eternal marriage is an eternal journey.

• Covenant marriage is tested in real and painful mortal conditions.
• Prayer and fasting can sustain spouses through severe trials.
• The Holy Ghost helps disciples respond as the Savior would.
• Seeing a spouse as a precious child of God changes the way service is offered.
• Hope in eternal promises gives strength during long suffering.
• Faithful couples can remain united through the end of mortal life.

• When have you seen someone care for a spouse or loved one with Christlike devotion?
• How has prayer or fasting helped you through a family trial?
• What difference does it make to view a spouse or family member as a precious child of God?
• Can you share a time when eternal perspective gave you hope in suffering?
• What have you learned from watching others keep covenants during illness or hardship?

Receive divine strength to continue the journey together

Elder Andersen concludes by testifying that God gives strength to covenant couples. The Creator, who neither faints nor grows weary, increases power and enables those who wait upon Him to keep moving forward together.

Who gives you the strength to hold tightly to each other and complete the mortal part of this eternal journey?

“The everlasting God, … the Creator of the ends of the earth,” He who rose on the third day, “[He] fainteth not, neither is [He] weary. …”

“He giveth power [when you are] faint; and [when you] have no might [He] increaseth [your] strength. …”

“[And together, as you] wait upon the Lord … [you] shall mount up with wings as eagles; [together, you] shall run, and not be weary; and … walk, and not faint.”

I solemnly testify of this sacred promise in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

• God is the source of strength for covenant endurance.
• The Savior’s power is available when couples feel weak or exhausted.
• Waiting upon the Lord brings renewed spiritual capacity.
• The journey is meant to be continued together with divine help.
• This promise is certain and testified of by an Apostle.

• When has the Lord strengthened you beyond your natural ability in family life?
• What does it mean to you to “wait upon the Lord” in a relationship trial?
• Can you share a moment when God gave you strength to keep going?
• How have you seen the Savior help two people move forward together?
• What scripture has given you strength in a season of weariness?