D&C 132:13-18

132:13-18 - The Lord continues describing the frailty of temporal things saying that “everything that is in the world… shall be thrown down, and shall not remain after men are dead, neither in nor after the resurrection, saith the Lord your God. For whatsoever things remain are by me; and whatsoever things are not by me shall be shaken and destroyed. Therefore, if a man marry him a wife in the world, and he marry her not by me nor by my word, and he covenant with her so long as he is in the world and she with him, their covenant and marriage are not of force when they are dead, and when they are out of the world; therefore, they are not bound by any law when they are out of the world.” This is a really difficult doctrine for me to understand and I think that it has to do with those who reject the covenant of eternal marriage, not those who had no option. Would it be that for me if I got married to a non-member outside of the temple? Maybe because the Lord said that those who are not married by his word are angels “for these angels did not abide my law; therefore, they cannot be enlarged, but remain separately and singly, without exaltation.” This is tough, I’ve always wondered why it was so important to get married in the temple, well that’s not true. I understood that it was important to get married in the temple when I was a child, but now as an adult facing the prospects of not getting married again in this lifetime to a member of the Church, it’s tempting to think “well I can just marry him now and then he’ll accept the gospel and we can be sealed in the next life.” But that’s not really the point, is it? The point is to be married in the temple now or just wait. Yes, I will wait or I will be single, next time I marry it will be for forever. The IM quotes President Spencer W. Kimball as making some good points saying, “How final! How frightening! Since we know well that mortal death does not terminate our existence, since we know that we live on and on, how devastating to realize that marriage and family life, so sweet and happy in so many homes, will end with death because we fail to follow God’s instructions or because we reject his word when we understand it. It is clear in the Lord’s announcement that righteous men and women will receive the due rewards of their deeds. They will not be damned in the commonly accepted terminology but will suffer many limitations and deprivations and fail to reach the highest kingdom, if they do not comply. They become ministering servants to those who complied with all laws and lived all commandments.” I liked that President Kimball pointed out that this existence is forever, gives it a very eternal perspective. I also thought that it’s important to note that he said family life will end “because we reject his word when we understand it.” This goes back to what I was talking about earlier, it’s when we reject it after we know that it’s a problem, not when we never knew in the first place. The IM asks “How important is it to be married by proper authority now?” And answers by quoting Elder James E. Talmage as saying, “in the resurrection there will be no marrying nor giving in marriage; for all questions of marital status must be settled before that time; under the authority of the Holy Priesthood, which holds the power to seal in marriage for both time and eternity.”