In His House

The following is taken from a filmstrip produced under the direction of the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve. It is a sequel to the motion picture For Time and Eternity, which has been shown throughout the Church and is available for showing through Church distribution centers. In that film Jan, a young Latter-day Saint girl, chooses not to marry her fiancé when he decides on a civil rather than a temple marriage.

In this new filmstrip Jan is preparing for a temple marriage with another young man. Through their conversation with her fiancé’s bishop, we learn about some of the blessings that will come to them as a result of their choosing the Lord’s way of marriage. (Copyright First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Produced by Brigham Young University Motion Pictures Department.)

1. Congratulations, Bruce! I’m certainly happy for you and Jan.

2. We’re really happy too, bishop. Now that I’ve been interviewed by you, and Jan by her bishop, we’d like to talk to you about going to the temple.

3. This decision to marry is without question one of the most important decisions you’ll make in this life. I’m sure you’ve been busy getting ready for the wedding. But important as these physical preparations seem, they are not nearly as important as the spiritual preparations for an eternal marriage.

4. Each of you is a very special person. Because of your performance in the premortal existence, you actually earned the right to be born in this dispensation, when you can have the gospel.

5. It is important that you understand that the family is the fundamental unit in the gospel plan. The whole Church centers around the family for its benefit and furtherance, both in this life and in the next. Being married in the temple and living the gospel is the Lord’s way of achieving this family togetherness.

6. Most ordinances of the Church can be performed anywhere with the proper authority. But some are so sacred that they are performed in temples.

7. Marriages performed in the temple sealing rooms are saving ordinances, just as is baptism.

8. And you know how important baptism is. The Savior, both by his example and his teachings, taught us that we must observe the saving ordinances—that just being good isn’t enough.

9. When you enter the temple, you will receive instructions and learn the important events of our eternal journey.

10. You’ll learn about the creation of this world,

11. and about our first parents being placed in the Garden of Eden.

12. You’ll learn how Satan tempted Adam and Eve,

13. and how they were cast out of the garden and out of the presence of God into our world, with its opposition in all things.

14. Here they learned about the joys as well as the discomforts of life.

15. After Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden of Eden and placed in the world where we now live,

16. they were taught the gospel, and they entered into covenants of obedience with God, just as you will in the temple. How well we keep these covenants determines the nature of the life we will enjoy after this mortal experience.

17. You have both been taught that in the eternal world there are kingdoms of glory. You will inherit one of these, depending on your performance in this life.

18. The aim of the gospel and the purpose of temple marriage are not only to keep us together, but also to make us eligible for Heavenly Father’s highest reward for us—exaltation in the celestial kingdom. This kingdom is symbolized by the celestial room.

19. Exaltation in the celestial kingdom is important because only there can we continue to enjoy the family relationship that we’ve established here. It is the part of our eternal journey that the gospel is preparing us for.

20. Your marriage in the temple will be a covenant with each other and with your Father in heaven, because you will promise to be true to him as well as to stay true to each other as husband and wife.

21. When you kneel at the altar in the temple, you will be sealed by the power of the holy priesthood. This marriage can then become an eternal union that will survive death.

22. This power binds wives to husbands and children to parents in a happy union that will last forever. The wonderful part of this plan is that besides being together, you will share a love that will continue to develop.

23. The Lord has told us in section 132 of the Doctrine and Covenants [D&C 132] that unless we enter into celestial marriage, we cannot reach the highest degree of glory in the celestial kingdom. He also makes clear what will happen to those who never receive the blessings of a temple marriage either in this life or by someone else’s temple work. The Lord has said:

24. “Therefore, if a man marry him a wife in the world, and he marry her not by me nor by my word, and he covenant with her so long as he is in the world and she with him, their covenant and marriage are not of force when they are dead, and when they are out of the world; therefore, they are not bound by any law when they are out of the world.

25. “Therefore, when they are out of the world they neither marry nor are given in marriage; but are appointed angels in heaven; which angels are ministering servants, to minister for those who are worthy of a far more, and an exceeding, and an eternal weight of glory.” (D&C 132:15–16.)

26. So remember, as you progress together, to seek after the good things in life. Treat each other with the kindness and respect you deserve as children of our Father in heaven, and your love will continue to grow. This eternal union is a big part of your preparation for exaltation in the celestial kingdom. In this life it will give you a basis for joy and understanding. It will enhance your love and make your home life more beautiful while you build your future together here on earth.

[photos, illustrations] Pictures copyright by the Corporation of the President, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints