Rejoice in the Knowledge of Eternal Families

Prayerfully select and read from this message the scriptures and teachings that meet the needs of the sisters you visit. Share your experiences and testimony. Invite those you teach to do the same.

The Prophet Joseph Smith: “The Great Parent of the universe looks upon the whole of the human family with a fatherly care and paternal regard; He views them as His offspring” (History of the Church, 4:595).

What Is God’s Plan for Families?

The First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles: “The divine plan of happiness enables family relationships to be perpetuated beyond the grave. 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 Family: A Proclamation to the World,” Liahona, Oct. 2004, 49; Ensign, Nov. 1995, 102).

President Gordon B. Hinckley: “Temple work is concerned with the family, with each of us as members of God’s eternal family and with each of us as members of earthly families. It is concerned with the sanctity and eternal nature of the marriage covenant and family relationships. … Since every man and woman is a child of a Heavenly Father, then each is a member of a divine family; hence, every person is his brother or sister” (“Why These Temples?” Tambuli, June 1992, 4; see Ensign, Aug. 1974, 39).

D&C 110:14–15: “Behold, the time has fully come, which was spoken of by the mouth of Malachi—testifying that he [Elijah] should be sent, before the great and dreadful day of the Lord come—to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers.”

How Can I Receive the Blessings of an Eternal Family?

President Joseph F. Smith (1838–1918): “Our [family] associations are not exclusively intended for this life. … Our affections and our desires are found fitted and prepared to endure … through all eternity” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith [1998], 385–86).

Elder Robert D. Hales of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles: “An eternal bond doesn’t just happen as a result of sealing covenants we make in the temple. How we conduct ourselves in this life will determine what we will be in all the eternities to come. To receive the blessings of the sealing that our Heavenly Father has given to us, we have to keep the commandments and conduct ourselves in such a way that our families will want to live with us in the eternities” (“The Eternal Family,” Ensign, Nov. 1996, 65).

Anne C. Pingree, second counselor in the Relief Society general presidency: “When a woman chooses to have Christ at the center of her own heart, at the nucleus of her personal world, she brings the Lord into the core of her home and family, be it a family of one or a family of many. Wherever she lives and whatever her circumstances, as the heart of the home and the family, what is in each woman’s heart is reflected in the environment and spirit of her home” (“Choose Ye Therefore Christ the Lord,” Liahona and Ensign, Nov. 2003, 110).

Joseph Smith before the Nauvoo Temple, by Dale Kilbourn

Photograph by Craig Dimond, posed by models