1. Doctrine and Covenants 131-132 Marriage

2. On May 16, 1843, Joseph Smith traveled to Ramus, Illinois. While staying at the home of Benjamin and Melissa Johnson, he performed their sealing as husband and wife for eternity. He also taught them how eternal marriage is related to the celestial kingdom: D&C 131

3. I believe the saddest and most discouraging responsibility I have each week is the handling of cancellations of sealings. Each one was preceded by a joyous marriage in the house of the Lord, where a loving couple was beginning a new life together and looking forward to spending the rest of eternity with each other. And then months and years go by, and for one reason or another, love dies. It may be the result of financial problems, lack of communication, uncontrolled tempers, interference from in-laws, entanglement in sin. There are any number of reasons. In most cases divorce does not have to be the outcome. President Thomas S. Monson “Priesthood Power” April 2011 Conference

4. Choose a companion carefully and prayerfully; and when you are married, be fiercely loyal one to another. Priceless advice comes from a small framed plaque I once saw in the home of an uncle and aunt. It read, “Choose your love; love your choice.” There is great wisdom in those few words. Commitment in marriage is absolutely essential. President Thomas S. Monson “Priesthood Power” April 2011 Conference

5. Wedding facts In the United States, 70% of Americans agree that a bride should change her last name. The Fijians believe that the god Nangganangga, who watches over married couples, will not let an unmarried man enter heaven and will turn him to ash if he dies before he is married. The Penan nomads who live on the island Borneo (southwest of the Philippines) maintain that women do not have a soul until their wedding day.

6. Wedding facts Early Roman brides carried a bunch of herbs under their veils to symbolize fidelity and fertility and to ward off evil. These herbs were as a precursor to the modern bridal bouquet. Las Vegas is the top wedding destination with over 100,000 weddings a year, followed by Hawaii at 25,000 weddings a year. Wedding rings are often placed on the third finger of the left hand because ancient Egyptians believed the vein in that hand ran directly to the heart.

7. Wedding facts In many cultures, the groom historically often kidnapped the bride, and the groom’s friends would help him, leading to the modern-day groomsmen. At the alter, the groom always stood on the bride’s right side so his right hand—or his sword hand—would be free to fight/defend a jealous rival. Over 74% of first-time brides receive a diamond engagement ring, with the diamond. The Greeks thought diamonds were tears of the gods and the Romans thought diamonds were splinters from stars. Because eyebrows are considered intensely alluring in the Orient, historically the bride’s eyebrows were shaved entirely on her wedding day, rendering her powerless to attract another man.

8. D&C 131:1-4 In what ways does celestial marriage prepares people for exaltation?

9. D&C 131:1-4 “Reason 1: The man and the woman contribute differently but equally to a oneness and a unity that can be achieved in no other way. The man completes and perfects the woman and the woman completes and perfects the man as they learn from and mutually strengthen and bless each other. … “Reason 2: By divine design, both a man and a woman are needed to bring children into mortality and to provide the best setting for the rearing and nurturing of children” (Elder Bednar, “Marriage Is Essential to His Eternal Plan,” Ensign, June 2006, 83–84).

10. Who Said It? “Marriage requires a high degree of tolerance ” “Marriage requires a high degree of tolerance ”

11. Who Said It? “Marriage requires a high degree of tolerance ” “Marriage requires a high degree of tolerance ” President Gordon B. Hinckley President Gordon B. Hinckley (Ensign, Mar. 1997, 60)

12. Tolerance Webster’s dictionary (Tolerance): 1: capacity to endure pain or hardship 2: sympathy for beliefs or practices differing from one's own

13. What if you think you won’t get married or won’t have a successful marriage or don’t have a desire to get married? True to the Faith: “Some members of the Church remain single through no fault of their own, even though they want to marry. If you find yourself in this situation, be assured that ‘all things work together for good to them that love God’ (Romans 8:28). As you remain worthy, you will someday, in this life or the next, be given all the blessings of an eternal family relationship” (True to the Faith: A Gospel Reference [2004], 99).

14. “More sure word of prophecy” Read Doctrine and Covenants 131:5 and look for what the phrase “more sure word of prophecy” means. How do you think it would feel to receive such a guarantee? Why?

15. “Cannot have an increase”? D&C 131:4 Read Doctrine and Covenants 131:7–8

16. “When troubles come, the parties to a contractual marriage seek happiness by walking away. They marry to obtain benefits and will stay only as long as they’re receiving what they bargained for. But when troubles come to a covenant marriage, the husband and wife work them through. They marry to give and to grow, bound by covenants to each other, to the community, and to God. Contract companions each give 50 percent; covenant companions each give 100 percent.” Bruce C. Hafen, Ensign, Nov. 1996, 26

17. “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it…that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.” Ephesians 5:25-27

18. Mormon Message: Marriage and Divorce

20. “To seal is to ratify, to justify, or to approve. Thus an act which is sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise is one which is ratified by the Holy Ghost; it is one which is approved by the Lord; and the person who has taken the obligation upon himself is justified by the Spirit in the thing he has done. (Elder Bruce R. McConkie Eternal Marriage Student Manual p. 136, Mormon Doctrine p. 361) D&C 132:5-7

21. Why should we seek temple marriage? THREE CASE STUDIES: D&C 132:15, 18, 19

22. Love and Marriage President and Sister Monson Engagement story

23. Doctrine and Covenants 131-132 Marriage