MARRIAGE
FOR ETERNITY
SELECTED TEACHINGS
Eternal Increase
First Presidency—Heber J. Grant, Anthony W.
Ivins, Charles W. Nibley
“Man is the child of God, formed in the divine image
and endowed with divine attributes, and even as the
infant son of an earthly father and mother is capable
in due time of becoming a man, so that undeveloped
offspring of celestial parentage is capable, by
experience through ages and aeons, of evolving into
aGod” (in Clark,Messages of the First Presidency,5:244).
Elder Melvin J. Ballard
“What do we mean by endless or eternal increase?
We mean that through the righteousness and
faithfulness of men and women who keep the
commandments of God they will come forth with
celestial bodies, fitted and prepared to enter into
their great, high and eternal glory in the celestial
kingdom of God; and unto them through their
preparation, there will come spirit children. I don’t
think that is very difficult to comprehend. The nature
of the offspring is determined by the nature of the
substance that flows in the veins of the being. When
blood flows in the veins of the being the offspring
will be what blood produces, which is tangible flesh
and bone; but when that which flows in the veins
is spirit matter, a substance which is more refined
and pure and glorious than blood, the offspring of
such beings will be spirit children. By that I mean
they will be in the image of the parents. They will
have a spirit body and have a spark of the eternal or
divine that always did exist in them” (Melvin J.
Ballard—Crusader for Righteousness,211).Elder Bruce R. McConkie
“Mortal persons who overcome all things and gain
an ultimate exaltation will live eternally in the
family unit and have spirit children, thus becoming
Eternal Fathers and Eternal Mothers. (D&C
132:19–32.) Indeed, the formal pronouncement of
the Church, issued by the First Presidency and the
Council of the Twelve, states: ‘So far as the stages of
eternal progression and attainment have been made
known through divine revelation, we are to
understand that only resurrected and glorified beings
can become parents of spirit offspring.’(Man: His Origin
and Destiny,p. 129.)” (Mormon Doctrine,517).The New and Everlasting Covenant
of Marriage
President Brigham Young
“We understand that we are to be made kings and
priests unto God; now if I be made the king and
lawgiver to my family, and if I have many sons, I
shall become the father of many fathers, for they
will have sons, and their sons will have sons, and so
on, from generation to generation, and, in this way,
I may become the father of many fathers, or the
king of many kings. This will constitute every man
a prince, king, lord, or whatever the Father sees fit
to confer upon us.
“In this way we can become king of kings, and lord
of lords, or father of fathers, or prince of princes,
and this is the only course, for another man is not
going to raise up a kingdom for you” (in Discourses
of Brigham Young,195).
“The whole subject of the marriage relation is not
in my reach, nor in any other man’s reach on this
earth. It is without beginning of days or end of
years; it is a hard matter to reach. We can tell some
things with regard to it; it lays the foundation for
worlds, for angels, and for the Gods; for intelligent
beings to be crowned with glory, immortality, and
eternal lives. In fact, it is the thread which runs
from the beginning to the end of the holy Gospel
of Salvation—of the Gospel of the Son of God; it is
from eternity to eternity” (in Discourses of Brigham
Young,195).The ultimate purpose of all
we teach is to unite parents
and children in faith in the
Lord Jesus Christ, that they are
happy at home, sealed in
an eternal marriage.
—President Boyd K. Packer167