Eternal Marriage

To receive the highest order of the priesthood, a man must enter into the temple of the Lord and make sacred covenants with his sweetheart. Man cannot make it into Celestial kingdom without having made that scared covenant of marriage. Marriage in the temple should be the goal of every member of the church, whether they are currently worthy or not. The temple provides a place for all members to receive answers to their prayers and guidance for their life. The only way to gain the blessings of the temple is through making and keeping sacred covenants inside a dedicated house of the Lord and through regular attendance. Because the devil will never get to participate in the sacred blessings one receives from the Holy house of the Lord, he has made it his ultimate goal to tempt and sway those who are preparing to go to the temple and those who have made those sacred covenants. His plan is to destroy the very foundation of God's plan for his children. He seeks to make us miserable like he is. To destroy all hope and desire for the highest kingdom of our Lord. But we must not be swayed.

Great blessings and protection come from temple and the covenants made within. It is a place for the Creator to reside and to lift and inspire those seeking His wisdom and love. The temple is a place to make covenants for the dead by proxy. To bind on earth, the children of the Lord who have passed on and were unable to make those covenants themselves. It is the ultimate place for the work of the Lord to continue, next to the home. The family is centeral to the Plan of Salvation and we as members of this great church need to learn all that is available to us to help our fellow children of God receive those blessings gained through the temple. Speaking of the temple and the blessing we receive from it will help teach those around us about the importance of the temple in this life and the next life to come. Baring testimony of the temple can help lift and inspire those who are learning of the temple and who want to attend themselves. We have been called to serve those around us, and teaching what we can about that holy place will surely spread the one of the Lord and bless the lives of our family and friends.

Temple attendance is a very sacred thing to me personally. Attending the holy temple every Thursday gives me strength and wisdom for my life. I can testify that the temple is the best place for the members of the church.

The June 2015 Supreme Court ruling on gay marriage.

In the Supreme Court Obergefell vs. Hodges document, Chief Justice Roberts, points out that the basis for Justice Kennedy's speaking of dissent for the court, is a modern view of marriage. While the minority who is pro same sex marriage may use the modern age definition of marriage to ground their point, they cannot properly justify the argument for same sex marriage because the information provided is from cases over the past 100 years. The history of the world has information all about times when same sex marriage and relations have happened, but none of the facts show a fully functioning culture that survived to present day. History in itself has proved that same sex relations can only last for so long because of the need for procreation. In the beginning of time, the Lord provided a way for procreation to be protected in a sacred and healthy manner. Marriage, even though defined differently than its original meaning, will forever be between a man and a woman because it was created buy the most holy one who is a just God. The Lord has made it clear that marriage is to be between man and woman. The Brethren of The Church continue to teach us through revelation and scripture that the sacredness of marriage is not to be trifled with. Marriage is the defining standard for man and woman. There is no greater call that can surpass that of a holy union between man and woman who make covenants between each other to fully commit their lives to bringing children into the world and raising them to one day become a worthy husband or wife and disciple of the Lord.

In our present day, we as members of this church, we need to stand up and defend the sacredness of marriage. The adversary will always fight what is good and holy. He will use many tempting ideas to persuade the righteous to join his side but we must not give in. Through constant prayer, scripture study, regular temple attendance and partaking of the sacrament with a humble heart, we will be able to withstand the temptations of the devil and will be strong leaders and righteous members of this church who can stand up for good and defend the sacredness of marriage.

The beginning of my studies.

Throughout the years many doctors, scholars and scientists have studied the dynamics of the family and have witnessed the decline of marriage and family. In the publication, The State of Our Unions: Marriage in America 2012, under the direction of W. Bradford Wilcox, professor of sociology at the University of Virginia, a team of scholars study marriage and family in the American society, from the "estimated 50 billion"(pg xi) dollars spent on weddings to the millions divorces that costs billions of dollars all the way down to the economic upsides to being married. In the publication it is noted that "Americans have become less likely to marry. This is reflected in a decline of more than 50 percent, from 1970 to 2010, in the annual number of marriages per 1,000 unmarried adult women (Figure 1)(62)". Even with the billions of dollars that are being spent on the wedding industry, marriage is losing its normality and cohabitation has taken top spot in society as the everyday norm for couples of all ages. As the desire to marry declines, the age at which young adults who choose marriage has risen from "20.3 for females and 22.8 for males in 1960 to 26.5 and 28.7, respectively, in 2011.(62)" It is also noted that "The decline also reflects some increase in lifelong singlehood, though the actual amount cannot be known until current young and middle-aged adults pass through the life course.(62)" 
Even though the recent trends of the American culture are declining, the brethren of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints council often on the importance of marriage and the sacredness of the covenants that have been made in the house of the Lord. In Elder Dallin H. Oaks talk entitled Divorce from the May 2007 Ensign, Elder Oaks speaks about the troubles that may lead a couple to divorce and gives advice to those in the struggle of marriage. In his talk, Elder Oaks said "The kind of marriage required for exaltation—eternal in duration and godlike in quality—does not contemplate divorce. In the temples of the Lord, couples are married for all eternity. But some marriages do not progress toward that ideal. Because “of the hardness of [our] hearts,” the Lord does not currently enforce the consequences of the celestial standard. He permits divorced persons to marry again without the stain of immorality specified in the higher law. Unless a divorced member has committed serious transgressions, he or she can become eligible for a temple recommend under the same worthiness standards that apply to other members." These simple and sacred truths can help followers of the Lord take heart in the challenges that may arise in their marriage and can help prepare those seeking a eternal marriage.