As a child, day after day I looked at the picture of the Salt Lake Temple that was hanging on my bedroom wall, and knew that was where I wanted to be married. I wanted to be sealed to my husband for all eternity and have a fairy tale wedding and life. I did get married in the Salt Lake Temple, but the fairy tale life is a myth. I now know that adversity happens, no matter what, and we need to work at our marriage and take care of one another continually.
When my husband and I were sealed in the Salt Lake Temple, we made covenants with each other and with our Heavenly Father. These covenants are the glue that holds our marriage together. We made a covenant to love and cherish each other and to remain faithful to one another. We covenanted to do all we can to make our family and home a safe, successful, spiritual, and happy environment. Elder Bruce C. Hafen says, “Covenant marriage requires a total leap of faith; [a couple] must keep their covenants without knowing what risks that may require of them. They must surrender unconditionally, obeying God and sacrificing for each other.” (1996)
Elder David A. Bednar tells us that as we keep the covenants that we make in the temple, “we begin to realize the fulfillment that our Heavenly Father desires for His children. Ultimate happiness, which is the very object of the Father’s plan, is received through the making and honoring of eternal marriage covenants.” (2006) Knowing that we can obtain "ultimate happiness" helps me understand how covenant marriage fits into our Father’s Plan of Happiness.
Elder Hafen talked about three wolves that can test our marriage. The first is natural adversity. In my mind, this wolf creeps in suddenly, takes us by surprise and can devastate our marriage and life if we allow it. When my three-month-old grandson died of SIDS, we were all reeling from the blow. His parents, my daughter and son-in-law, mourned the loss of that precious boy. With heavy hearts and determination to keep everything intact, they moved on, knowing that they will hold their baby again.
The second is the wolf of our imperfections. When we feel inadequate, we may not try to keep the covenants we have made. We may feel like it’s no use because we are failures. The Lord will qualify us to do what we need to do. He will strengthen us and our marriage if we keep trying.
The third wolf is excessive individualism. I think it’s good to be independent and self-reliant to a certain extent, but when we are a couple, we need to work as a couple, making decisions together that will affect our family unit. We share our lives and become one, each giving 100%.
The blessings of the temple are immense! Through the covenants we make and keep with God, we will be endowed with power; power to resist temptation, power to receive revelation,and power to be sealed to our spouse and children by the Holy Spirit of Promise. What a blessing and a manifestation of our Heavenly Father's love to us!
References
Hafen, Bruce C., Covenant Marriage, Ensign, (1996)
Bednar, David A., Marriage Is Essential to His Eternal Plan. (2006). Retrieved from https://www.lds.org/liahona/2006/06/marriage-is-essential-to-his-eternal-plan?lang=eng
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