Why Strive for A Temple Marriage?

In The Family: A Proclamation to the World it says, "The family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity."

The word essential means, "the utmost importance, necessary". Necessary? You mean it is necessary for us to get married? Yes! We have been commanded by God to marry and even more importantly in to marry in the temple. Temple marriages seal us together for time and all eternity and is the only way that we are able to make it to the highest degree of glory after life. 

Doctrine and Covenants 131:1-4
1 In the celestial glory there are three heavens or degrees;
2 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];
3 And if he does not, he cannot obtain it.
4 He may enter into the other, but that is the end of his kingdom; he cannot have an increase.

Why would you want to settle for second best? Strive for first! 

I highly recommend the talk given by Elder Bednar called Marriage Is Essential To His Eternal Plan. It goes in more depth of why we would want a temple marriage and why it is essential to God's plan for us. 

Challenge for today's topic:
Plan a day to go to the temple. If you cannot enter the temple for whatever reason make a plan to become worthy of a temple recommend. Or just go to the temple sit outside and write in your journal. The temple is a great place to receive inspiration.

This is the beautiful Rexburg temple that I am privileged to live so close to. 

Becoming a Quality Person Now

Our first goal in becoming the person that we want to be, is to identify who we want to be. 

In this short excerpt from a fireside given by Marvin J. Ashton, he tells us why we need to strive to be a quality person. Becoming a Quality Person Now- Marvin J. Ashton 

Next, write a list of qualities you hope to have or be working on at the end of this short program. What habits do you want to have formed? What kind of person do you want others to know you as? What qualities does God want to bless you with? What qualities will be necessary to have in order to be a great mother/father? What qualities/traits do you want your children to learn from you?

President Henry B. Eyring tells us the importance of planning for the best in his CES fireside "The Family", but here is the excerpt I find the most pertinent to this discussion...

"There are things we can start to do now. They have to do with providing for the spiritual and the physical needs of a family. There are things we can do now to prepare, long before the need, so that we can be at peace knowing we have done all we can.

To begin with, we can decide to plan for success, not for failure. Statistics are thrown at us every day to persuade us that a family composed of a loving father and mother with children loved, taught, and cared for in the way the proclamation enjoins is going the way of the dinosaurs, toward extinction. You have enough evidence in your own families that righteous people sometimes have their families ripped apart by circumstances beyond their control. It takes courage and faith to plan for what God holds before you as the ideal rather than what might be forced upon you by circumstances.

There are important ways in which planning for failure can make failure more likely and the ideal less so. Consider these twin commandments as an example: “Fathers are to . . . provide the necessities of life . . . for their families” and “mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children.” Knowing how hard that might be, a young man might choose a career on the basis of how much money he could make, even if it meant he couldn’t be home enough to be an equal partner. By doing that, he has already decided he cannot hope to do what would be best. A young woman might prepare for a career incompatible with being primarily responsible for the nurture of her children because of the possibilities of not marrying, of not having children, or of being left alone to provide for them herself. Or she might fail to focus her education on the gospel and knowledge of the world that nurturing a family would require, not realizing that the highest and best use she could make of her talents and her education would be in her home. Because a young man and woman had planned to take care of the worst, they might make the best less likely."

If we prepare for failure that is most likely what we will get... so lets prepare for the best!

About The Blogger

     My name is Jerica Jackman and I am the youngest of four and the only girl. I have a great family which I love to pieces. I brag about them any chance I get! I am a senior at Brigham Young University-Idaho studying Healthcare Administration, but also taking many family relationship classes. I have always loved the idea of marriage and family and hope to have a family of my own someday.
     Growing up in California I was always surrounded by many different types of family situations. Some with single-parent homes, some with broken marriages, and some with parents that loved each other and tried their best to make it work. I love all of my friends parents, I look up to them and I still keep in touch with many of them. Over the years I had heard the phrase, "Jerica, how come your family is so perfect?" many times. I don't remember what I ever said in reply to that question but as I have grown up that question still runs through my mind. Today, I know that my family is not perfect and we have our own struggles as do all of you, but I think I know why our family seemed to run so smoothly. It is because of the gospel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I probably missed many missionary opportunities to help other families figure this out too, but hopefully I can make up for it now.
     The purpose of this blog is to help those who want to, become the best person they can be. To prepare themselves for marriage, family, and eternal life. In the classes that I am currently taking, I have been so enlightened on how to be the best that I can now, so I can be the best I can then. Some of the tasks, talks, and activities will be ones that I have learned in the classroom, and some that I have learned in my own home. But, I encourage you to make this opportunity one that pushes you to grow and become the best you can. I hope you will have your eyes opened to the opportunities that can be yours if you put your trust in God.