Lessons on the Temple
Lesson No. Twenty-Nine

The Best Marriage Therapy

Participating in a sealing is the Best Marriage Therapy – The sealing of husband and wife is the crowning blessing of the temple and the most important ordinance given to mortals.  Everything we do in the temple and in the Church is in preparation for and in anticipation of the sealing ordinance.  

Couples who regularly participate in sealings sessions enjoy a wonderful opportunity to kneel across the alter and be reminded of their covenants and the importance of marriage and family.

The covenant of exaltation – Celestial marriage is a three-way covenant between husband and wife and each with the Lord.  Each partner covenants with the other and with the Lord that they will live the gospel fully in their individual lives and in their marriage.  The Lord in return promises: “Ye shall come forth in the first resurrection…and shall inherit thrones, kingdoms, principalities, and powers, dominions…and they shall pass by the angels…to their exaltation and glory in all things…which glory shall be a fullness and a continuation of the seeds forever and ever” (D&C 132:19).

Two most important things result from the sealing ordinance:

• An eternal family is organized – Celestial marriage creates a new kingdom of God on the earth which will endure and increase though out eternity if we are true to our covenants.  This kingdom will be presided over by a husband and father and nurtured by a wife and mother.  When we die, we can only take with us the knowledge we have gained, the character we have developed, and this eternal family.  Everything else stays behind and is of no value then.

• We enter into the Patriarchal Order of the Priesthood – The blessings of this priesthood are enjoyed equally by a man and woman in celestial marriage. In this life the Church is organized in the ecclesiastical order of the priesthood.  This is preparatory to the patriarchal order of the priesthood.  Wards and stakes can be organized in various buildings throughout the earth, but an eternal family must be organized in temples dedicated for that purpose.  Our Heavenly Parents live in the patriarchal order of priesthood, and They desire the same for each of us.

Sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise – The Holy Spirit of Promise is another name of the Holy Ghost.  It is the function of the Holy Spirit of Promise to seal for time and for all eternity all of the blessings of the gospel for those who are faithful to the law of celestial marriage.  (See D&C 76:53; 132:7) Our faithfulness is demonstrated “in process of time” (Moses 7:21) usually over a lifetime of living together as husband and wife and being obedient to the laws and ordinances of the gospel.

The Holy Spirit cannot be deceived.  Only those who are worthy will enjoy these blessings.

The Prophet Joseph taught: “In the celestial glory there are three heavens or degrees; And in order to obtain the highest, a man (or a woman) 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).   

I testify that the Lord appointed Joseph Smith to be the head of the dispensation of the fullness of times when “All of the keys, powers, and authorities of past dispensations have been restored” and “Glad and glorious tidings are acclaimed for the living and the dead” (D&C 128: Headnote).  I also testify that President Russell M. Nelson is the Lord’s living prophet at this very time. 

I further testify that if we follow the counsel and teachings of Joseph Smith and the Lord’s living prophet they will lead us to eternal life, the greatest of all the gifts of God. (See 1 Nephi 15:36)