Ephesians 5:25Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it
The New and Everlasting Covenant of Marriage
In our Heavenly Father’s plan of happiness, a man and a woman can be sealed to one another for time and all eternity. Those who are sealed in the temple have the assurance that their relationship will continue forever if they are true to their covenants. They know that nothing, not even death, can permanently separate them.
The covenant of eternal marriage is necessary for exaltation. The Lord revealed through Joseph Smith: “In the celestial glory there are three heavens or degrees; 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]; and if he does not, he cannot obtain it. He may enter into the other, but that is the end of his kingdom; he cannot have an increase” (D&C 131:1–4).
After receiving the sealing ordinance and making sacred covenants in the temple, a couple must continue in faithfulness in order to receive the blessings of eternal marriage and exaltation. The Lord said: “If a man marry a wife by my word, which is my law, and by the new and everlasting covenant, and it is sealed unto them by the Holy Spirit of promise, by him who is anointed, unto whom I have appointed this power and the keys of this priesthood; … and if [they] abide in my covenant, … it shall be done unto them in all things whatsoever my servant hath put upon them, in time, and through all eternity; and shall be of full force when they are out of the world” (D&C 132:19; for an explanation of the Holy Spirit of Promise, see page 82). (True to the Faith, 2004, 97-101)
Every time I see this Mormon Message tears fill my eyes and hope fills my heart. I love the tenderness between this couple. It isn’t strange to us as members of the Church. It is something we look for to and long for as covenant keepers. It is something we will every marriage could know.
Marriages Made in Heaven
Most people think of a marriage made in heaven as a rare occurrence in which both parties are deeply in love and highly compatible. We like to think that all our marriages are made in heaven. When a man and woman enters one of our holy temples to be married, they covenant (or promise) they will stay together forever—on earth and in heaven after they die, if they are faithful to each other and their promises to the Lord. A temple marriage doesn’t include phrases like, “Till death do you part” or “So long as you both shall live.” If we keep these promises, our children also become part of this heavenly promise—sealed to us forever.
Not every marriage will last. Sometimes, through no fault of one spouse or the other, the marriage will need to dissolve. However, most marriage troubles can be resolved by following the counsel of Elder Dallin H. Oaks.
The Family -- An Heritage of the Lord 