Eternal Families

Hello, everyone! It's been a while. This semester has gone a little differently than I thought it would. I visited with my mom right before classes started again in mid-April. As I was preparing to leave her to come home I had this overwhelming sadness come over me. I honestly felt like it might be the last time I would see her alive, or in the very least, the last time she would remember who I was. I felt this urgency to drop-out of the Pathway program and I couldn't really explain why. Little did I know the trials and heartache, as well as the lessons and blessings that awaited me this go around. It is with great sadness that I share the news that my mom, Ruth, has passed away. It is also with great joy that I exclaim- Families are Forever!!!

In my religion class, we are studying The Eternal Family, as part of deepening our understanding of The Family: A Proclamation to the World given to the world in 1995 by a living prophet and apostles of the Lord. I cannot begin to tell you how much studying the principles and doctrines of eternal families has strengthened my testimony of Jesus Christ, and the Plan of Salvation also referred to as the Plan of Happiness. I am always amazed that our Heavenly Father really does know the end from the beginning. He puts us right where we need to be and blesses us with the people we need in our lives, just in the nick of time. Those situations, places, and people are specifically for us as individual children of God. This is His way to give us additional help when we are dealing with our various struggles and trials in this mortal life.

In my studies this semester there are six units, each having a focus on different aspects of The Family: A Proclamation to the World. There are so many good things to share in each unit, but I will keep my focus on the things that touched me the most.

Unit 1: Eternal Truths

The first unit focuses on the first paragraph of the proclamation, where we learn that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator's plan for our eternal destiny. In a talk entitled Teaching the Doctrine of the Family, Julie B. Beck said, "The Creation of the earth provided a place where families could live. God created a man and a woman who were the two essential halves of a family."  It brings me great comfort to know that our lives here on earth have a purpose and that through our obedience and the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we will have the opportunity to be with our families forever.

Unit 2: Gender and Eternal Identity

The second unit focuses on the second paragraph of the proclamation, where we learn that all human beings, male and female, are created in the image of God and that we are each a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents. Not only that, but our gender is an ESSENTIAL characteristic of our individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity.

In Genesis 1:26-27 we learn, "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:... God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them."

In a talk entitled, The Women in Our Lives, Gordon B. Hinckley said, "In His grand design, when God first created man, He created a duality of the sexes. The ennobling expression of that duality is found in marriage. One individual is complementary to the other. As Paul stated, 'Neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord' ( 1 Cor. 11:11).There is no other arrangement that meets the divine purposes of the Almighty. Man and woman are His creations. Their duality is His design. Their complementary relationships and functions are fundamental to His purposes. One is incomplete without the other".

Because I am a woman and because I was touched by a particular section of a talk entitled, The Joy of Womanhood, by Margaret D. Nadauld, I am sharing it here. She said "God sent women to earth with some qualities in extra capacity. In speaking to the young women, President Faust observed that feminity 'is the divine adornment of humanity. It finds expression in your ... capacity to love, your spirituality, delicacy, radiance, sensitivity, creativity, charm, graciousness, gentleness, dignity, and quiet strength. It is manifest differently in each girl or woman, but each ... possesses it. Femininity is part of your inner beauty'".  I absolutely LOVE the beautiful way in which our feminity is described. It makes me proud to be a woman.

Unit 3: Covenants and Ordinances

The third unit focuses on the third paragraph of the proclamation, where we learn that through sacred ordinances and covenants available in holy temples, it is made possible for individuals to return to Heavenly Father and for families to be united eternally.

A covenant is a sacred agreement between God and a person or group of people. God sets specific conditions, and He promises to bless us as we obey those conditions.

An ordinance is a sacred, formal act performed by the authority of the priesthood. Some ordinances are essential to our exaltation. They include baptism, confirmation, ordination to the Melchizedek Priesthood (for men), the temple endowment, and the marriage sealing. With each of these ordinances, we enter into solemn covenants with the Lord. I am thankful for the knowledge I have about eternal families. The picture I'm sharing is of the Washington D.C. Temple and it's where my husband and I were sealed for all eternity. Lucky for me, I'm in love with my best friend.

The following video explains the purpose of temples. I hope you enjoy it!

Unit 4: Law of Chastity and Sanctity of Life

The fourth unit focuses on the fourth and fifth paragraph of the proclamation,

where we learn that we are to multiply and replenish the earth as God commanded Adam and Eve. However, the sacred powers of procreation are to be employed only between a man and a woman who are lawfully wedded as husband and wife. Also affirmed is the sanctity of life and its importance in God's eternal plan.

Heavenly Father has very clear guidelines and commandments where chastity is concerned.
Genesis 1:28 says, "And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth..."

In the For the Strength of Youth pamphlet, it says, "Physical intimacy between husband and wife is beautiful and sacred. It is ordained of God for the creation of children and for the expression of love between husband and wife. God has commanded that sexual intimacy be reserved for marriage... Do not have any sexual relations before marriage, and be completely faithful to your spouse after marriage."

I love the following statement by Rabbi Immanuel Jakobovits that was quoted by James E. Faust, in a talk entitled The Sanctity of Life. Jakobovits said, "One human life is as precious as a million lives, for each is infinite in value." 

The picture of that cute baby girl is my baby girl. She's not a baby anymore, but she certainly has infinite value and worth as a daughter of Heavenly Father. Not only to Him but to me as well. I'm so grateful for the children I was able to bear and raise.

If you are pregnant and are contemplating aborting your unborn child, please reconsider. If you are unable to care for your unborn child, please consider placing your baby up for adoption. There are so many people out there that would love to provide a home for the baby you are unable to care for. All lives will be blessed if you decide to choose the route of adoption rather than abortion.

Unit 5: Happiness in Family Life

The fifth unit focuses on the sixth paragraph of the proclamation, where we learn that husbands and wives have a responsibility to love and care for each other and their children. Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for them, teach them to love and serve one another, and to observe the commandments of God and to be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Parents will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations.

One of my favorite things in this unit is an excerpt from an address that Gordon B. Hinckley gave. He said, "Never forget that these little ones are the sons and daughters of God and that yours is a custodial relationship to them, that He was a parent before you were parents and that He has not relinquished His parental rights or interest in these His little ones. Now love them, take care of them. Fathers, control your tempers, now and in all the years to come. Mothers, control your voices; keep them down. Rear your children in love, in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Take care of your little ones. Welcome them into your homes, and nurture and love them with all of your hearts. They may do, in the years that come, some things you would not want them to do, but be patient, be patient. You have not failed as long as you have tried. Never forget that."

Unit 6: Protect the Family
The sixth unit focuses on the eighth and ninth paragraphs from the proclamation, where we learn that individuals who violate the covenants of chastity, abuse their family, or fail to fulfill family responsibilities are warned that they will one day stand accountable before God. Furthermore, there is a warning that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets. We are to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as a fundamental unit of society.

In a talk by M. Russel Ballard, entitled Let Our Voices Be Heard, he said:

"Let me say again that the family is the main target of evil’s attack and must therefore be the main point of our protection and defense. As I said once before, when you stop and think about it from a diabolically tactical point of view, fighting the family makes sense to Satan. When he wants to disrupt the work of the Lord, he doesn’t poison the world’s peanut butter supply, thus bringing the Church’s missionary system to its collective knees. He doesn’t send a plague of laryngitis to afflict the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. He doesn’t legislate against green Jell-O and casseroles. When evil wants to strike out and disrupt the essence of God’s work, it attacks the family. It does so by attempting to disregard the law of chastity, to confuse gender, to desensitize violence, to make crude and blasphemous language the norm, and to make immoral and deviant behavior seem like the rule rather than the exception...We need to remember Edmund Burke’s statement: 'The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing'."

Jeffrey R. Holland gave great counsel from his talk entitled, Israel, Israel, God Is Calling, when he said, "How we respond in any situation has to make things better, not worse. We can’t act or react in such a way that we are guilty of a greater offense.... That doesn’t mean that we don’t have opinions, that we don’t have standards, that we somehow completely disregard divinely mandated “thou shalts” and “thou shalt nots” in life. But it does mean we have to live those standards and defend those “thou shalts” and “thou shalt nots” in a righteous way to the best of our ability, the way the Savior lived and defended them. And He always did what should have been done to make the situation better—from teaching the truth, to forgiving sinners, to cleansing the temple. It is no small gift to know how to do such things in the right way!"

I hope that while we are tolerant of one another, we don't forget that the Lord's way is the correct way. It is the sure way to bring us everlasting happiness and eternal joy. Life can be hard at times, really hard, but with the help of our Savior Jesus Christ, we can do hard things. Our weaknesses can become our strengths.

While I miss my mom in this mortal life, I am so grateful to know that families are forever, that this is not the end for her- but just another step in her journey into the eternities, and most importantly that I will see her again.

I have a testimony of eternal families. I am grateful for the opportunity I've had to study The Family: A Proclamation to the World in more depth. I hope this blog post helps in some small way to strengthen your understanding of how important families are to our Heavenly Father. 

As always, thank you for stopping by. I would love to hear your thoughts and feelings about families and what we can do to strengthen them in these perilous times.