eternal marriage

ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE

SELECTED TEACHINGS

President Spencer W. Kimball

“The more clearly we see eternity, the more obvious
it becomes that the Lord’s work in which we are
engaged is one vast and grand work with striking
similarities on each side of the veil....

“If we live in such a way that the considerations
of eternity press upon us, we will make better
decisions” (Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball,25).

“If we looked at mortality as the whole of existence,
then pain, sorrow, failure, and short life would be
calamity. But if we look upon life as an eternal
thing stretching far into the premortal past and
on into the eternal post-death future, then all
happenings may be put in proper perspective”
(Faith Precedes the Miracle,97).

President Ezra Taft Benson

“One apparent impact of the women’s movement
has been the feelings of discontent it has created
among young women who have chosen the role of
wife and mother. They are often made to feel that
there are more exciting and self-fulfilling roles for
women than housework, diaper changing, and
children calling for mother. This view loses sight

of the eternal perspective that God elected women

to the noble role of mother and that exaltation is

eternal fatherhood and eternal motherhood. (‘To

the Elect Women of the Kingdom of God,’ Nauvoo

Illinois Relief Society Dedication, 30 June 1978.)”

(Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson,548).

President Gordon B. Hinckley

“God is weaving his tapestry according to his own

grand design. All flesh is in his hands. It is not our

prerogative to counsel him. It is our responsibility

and our opportunity to be at peace in our minds

and in our hearts, and to know that he is God, that

this is his work, and that he will not permit it to

fail” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1983, 5; or Ensign,

May 1983, 6).

Elder Bruce R. McConkie

“Eternal life, which from an eternal perspective is

‘the greatest of all the gifts of God’ (D&C 14:7), is

reserved for those who believe and obey” (New

Witness for the Articles of Faith,358).

“Marriage and the family unit are the central part

of the plan of progression and exaltation. All things

center in and around the family unit in the eternal

perspective. Exaltation consists in the continuation

of the family unit in eternity” (Doctrinal New

Testament Commentary,1:546).

“It is the hope of a better life to come that enables

the saints to stand against the perils and enticements

of this world. Whenever men gain the Lord’s eternal

perspective of whence they came, why they are

here, and what lies ahead in the eternal realms

of living and being, they are able better to govern

the deeds done in the flesh. A knowledge of the

resurrection thus leads to personal righteousness”

(Doctrinal New Testament Commentary,2:396).

Elder L. Tom Perry

“Are we investing, first and foremost, in the things

that are eternal in nature? Do we have an eternal

perspective? Or have we fallen into the trap of

investing in the things of this world first and then

forgetting the Lord?” (in Conference Report, Apr.

1987, 40; or Ensign,May 1987, 34).

Elder Neal A. Maxwell

“The questions we ask can make plain our paucity

of perspective. One of the reasons why Esau was

“ALL THINGS FOR THEIR GLORY ARE

MANIFEST, PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE,

AND ARE CONTINUALLY BEFORE THELORD”

(D&C 130:7).

Past Present Future

Man’s View

God’s View

A view of marriage and the family

based on eternal principles

increases the probability of success.

—Elder Merrill J. Bateman

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