The Gospel and Marriage

In his book, Drawing Heaven into Your Marriage, H. Wallace Goddard says, “It takes faith in the Lord Jesus Christ to remove evil from our marriages and bring them to vibrant life.” I really liked this quote because I am a firm believer of having a strong marriage only through faith in Christ and being covenant keepers. When I was a teenager, I would often make lists that stated what I wanted in my future spouse. I, of course, had things such as handsome, smart, good sense of humor, etc. I remember ALWAYS having two specific things at the top of every list though. I always listed first, that he had to love God the most, more than me, and that he had to be a worthy priesthood holder. These have always been priorities to me, and I am lucky enough to have found a man that fulfills everything on my teenage lists! It is so important to build a marriage on faith in Jesus Christ though. Through Christ, we can overcome anything, and there are a lot of challenges that come and go in marriages. It would be really hard to do marriage alone without the Savior’s help. Goddard also said, “We cannot have great marriages without His participation.” That is such a simple sentence, but it means so much!

I also really like the story that Goddard shared about Brigham Young. He said, “Brigham Young was once approached by two sisters, each of whom wanted a divorce. I paraphrase his response: ‘If you could only see your husband as he will be in the glorious resurrection, this very husband you now say you despise, your first impulse would be to kneel and worship him.’ He said the same thing to husbands who had "fallen out of love" with their wives. Those are mighty words.” I immediately related to this short story. It reminded me of how I see my husband when we go to the temple together. When we got sealed an we were kneeling across the alter from each other, I remember thinking that my very soon to be husband looked even more handsome than I had ever seen him before. I didn’t know what it was, but I knew that there was something different. Several months later, my husband and I decided to go do sealings at the temple rather than a session. This opportunity allowed me to see him that same way that I did on our wedding day. Each time we go to the temple together and do sealings, I fall in love with him even more. I can see him as a covenant maker there. I see him as having the same eternal goals as me. I see him as being a worthy, faithful priesthood holder who loves God more than me.

To close, I also really liked this quote by Goddard. He says, “When we try to drag our partners to our view of the world, they kick, fight, and scream. When, in contrast, we invite our partners to gaze with us on truths of eternity, we are more likely to find common ground. When we choose to love and appreciate our partners in spite of our differences, we open the door to love.” This idea of “gazing into the eternities” is such a special thing, and I feel like because of my experience of how I saw my husband across the alter, I can say that I have seen that special, open door to love.