Why Temple Marriage?        

Latter-day Saints believe that when worthy couples are married in the temple, they are sealed together as husbands and wives for all time and all eternity. This means that unlike civil marriages, marriage in the temple is designed to perpetuate beyond mortality and into the next life. During a temple wedding, a couple makes sacred covenants and are sealed together by priesthood authority – the same authority Jesus Christ gave to Peter and other apostles declaring that “whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:19). Without this sealing authority, marriage and family relationships could not continue beyond the grave, hence the statement declared in many civil weddings: “till death do you part.”

Temple Marriage is a Requirement for Receiving Eternal Life

Eternal life means living in the presence of God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. It is living eternally with families and loved ones in the Celestial Kingdom – a place where God lives. It is the greatest of all gifts of God for His children. One of the requirements for receiving this gift is receiving the sealing ordinance of temple marriage.

“In the celestial glory there are three heavens or degrees;

“And in order to obtain the highest, a man must enter into this order of the priesthood [meaning the new and everlasting covenant of marriage];

“And if he does not, he cannot obtain it” (Doctrine and Covenants131:1-3).

Thus, in order to receive eternal life and be with their families forever, every person must work for a temple marriage and married couples must keep the covenants associated with it such as staying faithful to each other. The Lord commands: “Thou shalt love thy wife with all thy heart, and shalt cleave unto her and none else” (Doctrine and Covenants 42:22).

Couples who have previously been married by civil law may be sealed in temples and receive all the promised blessings that come from making and keeping their covenants. Single people must seek the guidance of the Lord and follow the guidelines set by the Church as they prepare themselves to marry in holy temples.

Mormons who joined The Church of Jesus Christ in their adulthood certainly have different experiences of coming to learn the gospel from those members who grew up in Mormon families. We, as adults, can learn many wonderful principles of the gospel by observing how Mormon children learn the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Mormon Children Learn Basic Doctrines

I am a child of God,I am a child of God,
and He has sent me here,
has given me an earthly home
with parents kind and dear.

and so my needs are great;
help me to understand His words
before it grows too late.

I am a child of God,
rich blessings are in store;
if I but learn to do His will,
I’ll live with Him once more.

Lead me, guide me, walk beside me,
help me find the way.
Teach me all that I must do
to live with Him someday.

Those are the words to an oft-sung children’s hymn “I Am a Child of God.” This song is a perfect example of how Mormon children learn core doctrine in a simple way. The Church of Jesus Christ has an entire hymnal devoted to children’s songs. Mormon children learn these songs at home and during church on Sundays. The children’s Sunday school segment is called Primary, and part of Primary each Sunday is dedicated to singing songs and learning about the gospel of Jesus Christ through music.

Primary songs teach children about many principles of the gospel: the birth and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Plan of Salvation, Joseph Smith, stories in the Book of Mormon, service, kindness, prayer, Christ’s Second Coming, the creation of the earth, and eternal families. Primary songs are a great example of how children learn the gospel of Jesus Christ—they learn essential doctrine in simple ways. Just because a child is young and lacks worldly understanding does not exclude them from being able to reach important spiritual understanding.

Mormon Children Learn by the Holy Ghost

Mormon children aren’t so different from you or me. They learn the gospel perhaps through different, more juvenile methods, but they learn by the same power: the power of the Holy Ghost. Parents and teachers may present the gospel tenets to them through object lessons, games, and songs, but children ultimately come to an understanding of those doctrines and principles through the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost is the ultimate teacher.

Mormon children are capable of developing their own testimonies, or witnesses, of gospel truth, and those testimonies are a direct result of their interactions with the Holy Ghost. Children are more open to spiritual experiences than adults often are, and they are also less susceptible to temptation and sin. Learning the gospel is easier for children because they are inherently more in tune with the Spirit (a term interchangeable with the Holy Ghost). We learn the gospel of Jesus Christ by the same power that children do. Our witnesses can be just as pure and just as clear as they are for children.

We Can Learn Much about Gospel Learning through Mormon Children

Jesus Christ taught His people that “except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3–4). Why do we need to become like children?

Children see first with spiritual eyes rather than worldly ones. Children have a much purer sense of right and wrong than adults do; they believe in goodness. Likewise we must return to a state wherein we can believe in good and stand up for right. We must seek Jesus Christ in our learning and go to Him with our questions. When we humble ourselves before Him, we allow ourselves to be taught more effectively by Him.

Mormon children also aren’t so different from children of other faiths, they just have greater access to the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. All children are more spiritually in tune with the Holy Ghost than adults are, and Mormon children simply have parents who open up spiritual communication further and actively teach them the doctrine of Christ. As we move forward, we need to seek the humility and spiritual confidence inherent in children’s nature. We can learn so much from them about truth and living a Christ-centered life.

The Mother’s Role in the Family

In 1995 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (inadvertently referred to as the Mormon Church by the media and others) issued a statement titled “The Family: A Proclamation to the World” which defined the official position of the church on family, marriage, gender roles, and human sexuality. Gordon B. Hinckley, then President and Prophet of the LDS Church, first read the Proclamation on 23 September 1995, at the Church’s General Relief Society Meeting, stating that the purpose was to “warn and forewarn” the world to the danger of deviating from its standards. The proclamation is displayed in Church buildings, and many Latter-day Saints have framed copies in their homes.

The proclamation opens with the clarion statement that “marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and [that] the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children.” It further states,

Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children. “Children are an heritage of the Lord” (Psalm 127:3). Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, and to teach them to love and serve one another, observe the commandments of God, and be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives—mothers and fathers—will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations. . . .

By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners.

Mothers, although primarily responsible for the nurturing of their children do so with the loving support of their husbands. They realize that the father is the Priesthood authority in the home, and they respect and honor that authority, and teach their children to do likewise.

The True Heartbeat of Any Home

This author firmly believes that if a person wants to gauge the true thermometer of any home, it is best to get to know the mother – the Matriarch of that home. It is the mother who sets the atmosphere of the home, no matter what that atmosphere may be. And when she is away, or if she passes away and is called back home to the Father, her presence is sorely missed, as there is a sudden, noticeable change in that atmosphere.

Edwin Hubbell Chapin, an American preacher and editor of the Christian Leader, once said:

No language can express the power, and beauty, and heroism, and majesty of a mother’s love.  It shrinks not where man cowers, and grows stronger where man faints, and over wastes of worldly fortunes sends the radiance of its quenchless fidelity like a star.

A mother’s love is radiated throughout the home in everything that she does – from taking care of her children, to supporting her husband in any way that she is able, to making the home a little bit of “Heaven on earth”, not only for her family, but for all who enter the portals of the home.

A mother relentlessly gives of her time, talents, and abilities to be of service to her family, as well as to others, many times putting her own needs and desires on the shelf, insisting that satisfying the needs of others should always have top priority. As mother and author, Tenneva Jordan so eloquently quipped, “A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie.”

Indeed, mothers could be considered the “unsung hero” of the home due to her many sacrifices, unfailing love, and endless devotion. And let us not forget those mothers who spend countless hours on their knees praying to the Father on behalf of their children – when they are small and maturing into adulthood, and even long after they have reached adulthood and have started lives of their own. President Abraham Lincoln probably stated it best when he said, “I remember my mother’s prayers and they have always followed me.  They have clung to me all my life.”

Her Children Will Arise and Call Her Blessed!

How do Mormons honor motherhood? On Mother’s Day, they may begin with a family prayer, have breakfast together as a family (which the father and/or one of the children may prepare) at home, and then go to Church together as a family. Usually at the end of Sacrament services, the young men of the congregation will present the mothers present with a small gift such as a flower, some chocolates, or something that expresses appreciation for motherhood and all that it means.

After Church services are over, mothers may be blessed to go home to a meal that has been especially prepared for her by her family who loves her dearly. This is her special day, and father, and children, shower her with small tokens of their love and appreciation for all that she does. Those gifts can range from something that was purchased at a store to the self-made tokens which express love and appreciation given by the younger children of the family.

But, Mother’s Day is not the only day that Latter-day Saints give honorable recognition to motherhood. Every day is a day to celebrate motherhood. Children are taught from their youth to love, honor, obey, and respect their mother. Father’s teach their children through their own example of loving and respecting their wives.

How do Mormons honor motherhood? As the wise man, Solomon, taught us, “Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her” (Proverbs 31:28)

Additional Resources:

Mothers and fathers roles within a family

The Family: A Proclamation to the World

Strengthening Families

Raise a daughter well by loving her mother

This was not the first time Caleb lost family members in death: three siblings died from malignant brain tumors and twin siblings died at birth. From the moment that Caleb’s dad told him that his mother and two more siblings had died, his testimony of his family being together eternally “was confirmed with an overwhelming peace that has never left him.”

“The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” a declaration by the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ detailing the eternal nature of the family and the responsibilities of family members, reminds Latter-day Saints—as well as the world—that God intends that His children keep their family structures intact: “The divine plan of happiness enables family relationships to be perpetuated beyond the grave.”

The proclamation also teaches that “Sacred ordinances and covenants available in holy temples make it possible for individuals to return to the presence of God and for families to be united eternally.” The Church of Jesus Christ builds temples throughout the world so that members who meet specific entrance requirements may go to the temple and make covenants with God. (There are currently 168 LDS temples operating, planned, or under construction in the world.

Instead of feeling angry about the tragic death of his mother, Caleb “felt grateful for a merciful Father in Heaven who would reunite his mother with her five children who had passed away years earlier.” He said, “I knew at that moment that God loved every one of us. There is no way my mom could have handled losing two more of her children.”

Questioning or blaming God is a natural reaction when tragedy strikes. Caleb looks to his father as an example of feeling gratitude instead of questioning God. “Instead of asking, ‘Why are you doing this to me?’,” Caleb’s father asks God this question: “‘Why are you trying to make me more like you?’ It is this perspective that has helped the Ceran’s understand why they go through the trials they do.”

Caleb has also been blessed by forgiving the drunk driver who hit their car. “I’ve never even thought to be angry at him, which sometimes makes me feel like I’m not a normal person,” Caleb said. “I hope that one day he’ll be able to find that hope and joy and find forgiveness through the Savior, so he can live a meaningful life.”

Caleb maintains a positive attitude in his life, which is a reflection of his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and in his belief that he will be with his mother and siblings again. “He often thinks about what his mom would think of his life or if she’d be proud of him.” He senses that his beloved family members are aware of him and are “guiding” him.

In 2008, Caleb’s father remarried and Caleb feels deeply grateful for his stepmother and four stepsiblings. In 2010 the family grew again when the family hosted four children from the Ukraine for two weeks. The Ceran’s decided that “they wanted to adopt three of the children who were siblings” which they were able to do despite changes in Ukrainian adoption laws. Caleb’s adopted siblings are “honestly some of my best friends. I feel like I’m in a movie or something. It’s just too good to be true that we have them.”

Life hasn’t been completely easy for Caleb, however. During his senior year of high school, he began “to struggle with resurfacing emotions of loss and to feel pain he’d never experienced before. Although he felt like a truly happy person, he realized he hadn’t completely been able to heal from his loss.” But again his faith in Jesus Christ helped him overcome that pain and he said he now has “so much more compassion for others” and that “one of the greatest blessings” of his trials has been to “speak with other people who have dealt with trials.”

Caleb has relied upon prayer, scripture study, and playing the piano to get him through his difficulties and to bring him peace. He recently recorded a CD, which he dedicated, in part, to his mom and a friend who moved to Germany. Caleb said he wanted to write the song “Part of Me” because both his friend and his mom are part of him. “I just had that feeling where I know part of me is missing, but I know that it will come back.” He said the song is an expression of gratitude for the way they touched his life and inspired him. “It’s a song to let them know I’ll never forget them.”

The Church of Jesus Christ recently released a video that includes Caleb sharing his testimony on the 2013 theme for the youth of the Church: “Stand Ye in Holy Places.”

This article was written by Paula Hicken, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Paula Hicken was an editor with the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship from 2000 to 2013. She earned her BA degree in English from Brigham Young University. She edited Insights, the Maxwell Institute newsletter, and was the production editor for Faith, Philosophy, Scripture, Hebrew Law in Biblical Times (2nd ed.), Third Nephi: An Incomparable Scripture, and was one of the copy editors for Analysis of the Textual Variants of the Book of Mormon. She also helped manage the Maxwell Institute intellectual property and oversaw rights and permissions. She has published in the Ensign, the Liahona, the LDS Church News, and the FARMS Review.

Reference:

Megan Marsden, “Mormon young man faces loss of three family members with faith,” Deseret News, February 11, 2013.

The Proclamation on the Family

From Mormon Channel