Lessons on the Temple
Lesson No. Ninety-Four

Thoughts Concerning Celestial Marriage

I was given the sealing authority by President Thomas S. Monson on August 22, 2006. Since then I have officiated in hundreds of living celestial marriages. When doing so I seek guidance from the Holy Spirit, and I desire to follow the counsel given by our living Prophet who holds the keys of the sealing power. When officiating at a celestial marriage I often share the following thoughts and explanations:

“The sealing of husband and wife is the crowning ordinance of the temple and the highest blessing of the priesthood that can be given here on earth. Celestial marriage is the ordinance of exaltation.”

“Listen carefully to this most sacred and glorious sealing ceremony. This is wonderful counsel, but you have a lot of things on your minds, and it may be hard to listen carefully. However, if you will return to the temple regularly, and participate in sealings sessions the Holy Spirit will teach you and remind you of these greatest of all blessings.”

“Determine with each other that you will be true and faithful to the covenants you have made so that the promised blessing will be realized, making it possible for your family to endure throughout all eternity. This is wonderful marriage therapy. It doesn’t matter how long a couple has been married, marriages are greatly strengthened when they openly and often express to each other their determination to be true to their covenants so their family will be eternal. This is best done in our family prayers and by regular participation in all of the ordinances of the temple.”

“Be one in your marriage, be one with the living Apostles, and be one with the Lord. The Lord commanded ‘be one; and if ye are not one ye are not mine’ (D&C 38:27). The way we can be certain that we are one with the Lord is if we are one with the First Presidency and the Quorum of Twelve Apostles. Being one with the Lord’s living apostles and prophets is one of the most important teachings of the temple.”

“What the Lord expects of us as husbands and fathers, and as wives and mothers is set forth in The Family – A Proclamation to the World. The Proclamation on the Family was given to the world in 1995 when the principles it teaches were not so controversial then as they are now. This Proclamation is a great example of how the Lord knows what is coming and He prepares His people. If we are to receive the blessings pronounced in the celestial marriage ordinance our feelings and our lives must be in harmony with the Proclamation on the Family.”

“When you were endowed you made a covenant with God to live the ‘Law of Obedience, which includes striving to keep God’s commandments’ (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/temples). Obedience fundamental. President Ezra Taft Benson taught: ‘When obedience ceases to be an irritant and becomes our quest then immediately we are endowed with power.”

“When you were endowed you made a covenant with God to live the ‘Law of Sacrifice, which means doing all we can to support the Lord’s work and repenting with a broken heart and contrite spirit’ (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/temples). Sacrifice is most often learned and experienced in marriage and by raising children. Temple worship always require sacrifice. We should worship at the temple often enough that it is a sacrifice.

The temple is ‘a house of prayer’ (D&C 109:16). In the temple we learn how to pray, and those prayers are answered.

The temple is ‘a house of faith’ (D&C 109:16). As we worship in the temple we learn to see with ‘the eye of faith’ (Alma 5:15; Alma 32:40; Ether 12:19). These verses are the only place in scripture where ‘the eye of faith’ is used, and in each case it suggests the ability to make connections with our behavior today and the consequences tomorrow.

“Testimony – Those who worship in the temple can ‘receive a fulness of the Holy Ghost’ (D&C 109:15). This is the only place in scripture where the phrase “a fulness of the Holy Ghost” is used. The Holy Ghost is the conduit by which we receive spiritual blessings. To receive a fulness of the Holy Ghost suggests that temple worship will bless us in every righteous endeavor. It will bless us in our marriage, in our family, and in all our worthy relationships. Temple worship will bless us in our work and occupation, in callings, and in every righteous responsibility. What a marvelous blessing it is to worship in the House of the Lord.