willing to sell his birthright is disclosed thus:
‘Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit
shall this birthright do to me?’ (Genesis 25:32.) If
Esau saw his birthright as pertaining only to this
life, he surely did not have an eternal perspective!
Faith, after all, involves perspectives that stretch
both ways—beyond today by remembering of the
past, and by extrapolating our faith into the future.
Such is part of both the utility and the beauty of
faith: a mess of pottage remains a mess of pottage
and no more” (Men and Women of Christ,116).
A “trap to be avoided... is the tendency we have—
rather humanly, rather understandably—to get
ourselves caught in peering through the prism of
the present and then distorting our perspective
about things. Time is of this world; it is not of
eternity. We can, if we are not careful, feel the
pressures of time and see things in a distorted way.
How important it is that we see things as much as
possible through the lens of the gospel with its
eternal perspectives....
“... It is very important that we not
assume the perspectives of mortality in
making the decisions that bear on
eternity!We need the perspectives of
the gospel to make decisions in the
context of eternity. We need to
understand we cannot do the Lord’s
work in the world’s way” (“But for a
Small Moment,” 453–54).
Elder Dallin H. Oaks
“The gospel teaches us that we are the
spirit children of heavenly parents.
Before our mortal birth we had ‘a pre-existent,
spiritual personality, as the sons and daughters
of the Eternal Father’ (statement of the First
Presidency, Improvement Era,Mar. 1912, p. 417; also
see Jeremiah 1:5). We were placed here on earth to
progress toward our destiny of eternal life. These
truths give us a unique perspective and different
values to guide our decisions from those who doubt
the existence of God and believe that life is the
result of random processes” (in Conference Report,
Oct. 1993, 96–97; or Ensign,Nov. 1993, 72).
“The pure in heart have a distinctive way of looking
at life. Their attitudes and desires cause them to view
their experiences in terms of eternity. This eternal
perspective affects their choices and priorities. As
they draw farther from worldliness they feel closer
to our Father in Heaven and more able to be guided
by his Spirit. We call this state of mind, this quality
of life, spirituality” (Pure in Heart,111).
“Seen with the perspective of eternity, a temporal
setback can be an opportunity to develop soul
power of eternal significance. Strength is forged in
adversity. Faith is developed in a setting where we
cannot see what lies ahead” (in Conference Report,
Oct. 1985, 78; or Ensign,Nov. 1985, 63).Elder Merrill J. Bateman
“One can assume that the longer the view a woman
and man have regarding the marital relationship,
the greater the probability of success. The divorce
rate for temple marriages is well below that of civil
marriages, and civil divorce rates are
exceeded by separation rates for open
marriages. (See Tim B. Heaton and
Kristen L. Goodman, ‘Religion and
Family Formation,’ Review of Religious
Research26, no. 4 [June 1985]: 343–59;
John O. G. Billy, Nancy S. Landale,
and Steven D. McLaughlin, ‘The Effect
of Marital Status at First Birth on
Marital Dissolution Among Adolescent
Mothers,’ Demography23, no. 3 [August
1986]: 329–49; Larry L. Bumpass and
James A. Sweet, ‘National Estimates of
Cohabitation,’ Demography26, no. 4
[November 1989]: 615–25.) A view of marriage and
the family based on eternal principles increases the
probability of success. When one takes the long
view, one tries harder to be patient, long-suffering,
kind, gentle, and meek. These characteristics, in
turn, strengthen the marriage” (“The Eternal
Family,” 115).82 ETERNALPERSPECTIVE