The Lord Provides Abundantly When We Act

As a boy, I delighted in making my parents feel old. It got such a good reaction every time. I teased them about gray hairs and new wrinkles and the aches and pains that come with age. These were beyond the horizon of my own future and didn’t seem like anything I would ever need to worry about, but I had a lot of fun asking my parents if they remembered when the pyramids were built or if they knew anyone that fought in the Civil War.

Now I can testify of Alma’s words when he said, “that which ye do send out shall return unto you again” (Alma 41:15). As I continue to age, my kids have carefully observed all of the signs of my mortality and make sure I don’t forget about them. They used shocked voices to exclaim that I was “born in the 1900s” or that something I like is more than thirty years old. All of this is a just restoration of the judgements I once made of my parents.

What I did not anticipate is that my doctor would some day join the fray. I was chagrined recently when I complained about a few things I was experiencing and all he said was, “yeah, that happens.” As we talked, he reminded me of a few basic pillars of health that help all of us enjoy a better quality of life: We need to eat real food, get enough sleep each night, drink plenty of water, and be sure to exercise.

It is insightful to me to realize that none of these are things we can make happen on our own. We can plant seeds in fertile soil, but it is the Lord that makes nutritious grains, fruits, and vegetables grow. We can have a relaxing bedtime routine, but the Lord gives us the gift of sleep. We can dig a well, but the Lord sends the rain and snow to recharge the aquifers we use. We can go for a walk or a hike, but the Lord’s consecrated creation is what makes the right neurons fire or hormones flow so that exercise is a benefit our bodies.

King Benjamin taught that we depend on the Lord to provide our every breath and preserve our lives from moment to moment (Mosiah 2:21). Thankfully, the Lord who created the sands of the sea and the stars in the sky desires to bless us with his abundance.

King David declared:

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever (Psalm 23).

Perhaps this is why the Lord taught the earliest missionaries that they should take “no thought for the morrow, for what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, or wherewithal ye shall be clothed… For your Father, who is in heaven, knoweth that you have need of all these things.” 

The Lord continued, “Neither take ye thought beforehand what ye shall say; but treasure up in your minds continually the words of life, and it shall be given you in the very hour that portion that shall be meted unto every man" (D&C 84:80-85).

At the end of his fourteen-year mission to the Lamanites, Ammon confirmed that missionary success is a gift from God and not necessarily something that we earn on our own. “Yea, he that repenteth and exerciseth faith, and bringeth forth good works, and prayeth continually without ceasing—unto such it is given to know the mysteries of God; yea, unto such it shall be given to reveal things which never have been revealed; yea, and it shall be given unto such to bring thousands of souls to repentance, even as it has been given unto us to bring these our brethren to repentance” (Alma 26:22, emphasis added).

We have to plant the seed, but the Lord is the one that makes it grow. We have to dig the well, but the Lord is the one that makes the water flow. We have to enter the covenants of baptism and confirmation, but He is the one who blesses us with His spirit to be with us. We have to share our testimony with others, but the Lord carries it to their hearts and helps them know it is true. We have to go to the temple, but He is the one who reveals truth to our minds and hearts and unites our families for eternity.

The Lord provides for his faithful children even in the most difficult of circumstances. He provided the escape for the Israelites through the Red Sea and then made manna fall from heaven and water splurge from a rock to support them through the desert. Nephi wrote that, while his people endured many hardships in the wilderness, they were able to have children and “so great were the blessings of the Lord upon us, that while we did live upon raw meat in the wilderness, our women did give plenty of suck for their children, and were strong, yea, even like unto the men” (1 Nephi 17:2).

Nephi continued with his testimony that “thus we see that the commandments of God must be fulfilled. And if it so be that the children of men keep the commandments of God he doth nourish them, and strengthen them, and provide means whereby they can accomplish the thing which he has commanded them; wherefore, he did provide means for us while we did sojourn in the wilderness” (1 Nephi 17:3).

The Lord invites us to come partake of his abundance, to yoke ourselves to him so he can carry our burdens, and to ask, seek, and knock so that we might receive, find, and have His door opened unto us. But we must come, we must yoke ourselves to him, we must ask, seek, and knock, or at least we must give our best effort with faith that he will make up for any shortfalls we may have.

Being a disciple of Jesus Christ is not for the faint of heart. He expects that we will be tired sometimes, sacrifice some of our time and priorities, get a few grey hairs and experience some aches and pains as we strive, however imperfectly, to follow in his footsteps and do His work.

The secret, which I have only learned in what my children would call my “ripe old age,” is that it is not about us. The Lord has declared that He can do His own work. None of us could stop the work from progressing any more than we could stick our puny arm into the Mississippi River and change its course.

Yet, it is all about us. We are His Work and His Glory. He wants to provide us with strong testimonies and the protection of sacred covenants. He wants us to experience the thrill of revelation and the joy of helping someone change. He wants to provide the temporal things we need and teach us about service, sacrifice, and consecration. He wants to bless us with knowledge of the mysteries of His kingdom and inspiration that will help us better understand the world around us. He wants to provide all of this and more, ultimately, because He is our father and He, in his perfect love for us, wants us to not only return to live with him but to be exalted above the stars and enjoy the kind of life that He lives.

Living that kind of life, eternal life in the celestial kingdom of God, means we must first learn to make the choices that will lead us to exaltation. So He invites us to plant the seeds, make the covenants, share our burdens, and lose ourselves in coming to Him. He promises that, if we give our best effort and strive to keep the commandments, He will take it from there. He will provide. If we have been merciful, we will have mercy restored to us again. If we have been just, we will have justice restored to us again. If we have been good, we will have goodness as our reward. “For that which ye do send out shall return to you again, and be restored” (Alma 41:14-15).

For the record, I don’t remember when the pyramids were built and I have never met anyone who fought in the Civil War. But I have lived long enough to know by my own experience that God lives, that Jesus Christ is my Savior, that they want to bless us with greater abundance than we now enjoy, and that we can receive of that abundance as we make acting with greater faith and focus on our Savior a priority in our lives.

Stars to Guide Us

A classic Christmas song heralds the twelve days of Christmas with gifts marking each one. While Americans sometimes tire of that particular Christmas song, many European and South American cultures celebrate all twelve days from December 25 to January 6 as part of the holiday season.

Each of the twelve days of Christmas has a particular meaning a purpose. The first day, of course, is a celebration of the birth of Christ. In some cultures, it is the messenger of the baby Jesus, rather than Santa, that provides gifts for the children on this day. The second day, Boxing Day, is a day for giving gifts to the poor, and so on.

The final day of Christmas has dual meaning. Twelve is a symbol in scriptures for authority and completeness; for God in heaven and His government. The twelfth and final day is therefore celebrated as Epiphany, a celebration of Christ's achievement and glory. It is also Three Kings Day, a grand finale in recognition of Melchior, Caspar and Balthazar, or the three magi who are traditionally believed to have completed their travel from the east to worship the Christ child on this day.

The Gospel of Matthew teaches that the three magi or wise men followed a star that guided them to Jesus' location outside of Jerusalem. Stars had been used for navigation for thousands of years prior to this historic visit and continued to be the primary method for mariners and explorers to determine latitude, longitude and course until the late twentieth century.

In fact, a thousand years ago the largest empire in the world was established on an advanced understanding of celestial navigation. This empire was not in London, Paris, Madrid, Shanghai, Moscow or Rome. It was not the result of conquest nor secured with cannons. Its' leaders are not heralded in most history books or known in popular culture. Yet, the mighty Polynesian Empire once controlled an area of the Pacific Ocean nearly twice as large as the United States or Europe. Despite limited technology and the perils of sea travel, the Polynesians' knowledge of the stars allowed for epic voyages, the development of strategic alliances and one of the most impressive trade networks in the history of the world. From Aotearoa to Easter Island to Hawaii, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga and Tahiti, the Polynesian Triangle dominated more than six million square miles of the Pacific.

In the northern hemisphere, celestial navigation focuses on the position of the North Star. When the sun has set, travelers on land and sea look for the bright, unchanging star at the end of the Little Dipper's handle to set their course. While other stars move throughout the night, the North Star is positioned almost directly above the northern axis of the earth and so appears due North as the world turns.

Interestingly, the North Star is actually three stars: Polaris A, Polaris B, and Polaris Ab. Polaris A is roughly six times the size of our sun and two thousand times brighter. Orbiting around a common center of mass and located approximately 323 light years away, the three stars are indistinguishable to the naked eye.

Just as the stars have guided wise men, emperors and explorers, the Lord has provided lights to guide us back into his presence. Elder Boyd K. Packer has counseled us to, "Set that sextant in your mind to the word covenant or the word ordinance. The light will come through. Then you can fix your position and set a true course in life" (May 1987).

Ordinances are sacred acts performed by the authority of the priesthood and designed by God to teach spiritual truths. Five ordinances are essential to our salvation and exaltation: baptism, confirmation, ordination to the Melchizedek Priesthood for men, endowment and sealing. Each of these ordinances, like stars along a plotted course, are accompanied by specific covenants and blessings.

A covenant is a sacred promise between God and his children. God sets the conditions for each covenant and offers blessings for our obedience. We are all given agency to choose to enter the covenant or not, but we cannot expect to reach the Lord's desired destination for us unless we plot the course he has outlined. That is, we have no claim on the promised blessings, including our own salvation and/or exaltation, unless we have agreed to the terms.

Baptism, for example, is the first of the essential saving ordinances. We enter a covenant when we are baptized by immersion in water by one having authority. The prophet Alma taught:

Behold, here are the waters of Mormon (for thus were they called) and now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another's burdens, that they may be light; Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life--

Now I say unto you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have entered into a covenant with him, that ye will serve him and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you (Mosiah 18:8-10)?

Alma outlined both requirements and blessings for the faithful who are baptized, but it is clear in scripture that we must be baptized to return to the presence of our Heavenly Father. Christ taught his followers that "strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it" (Matthew 7:14). More explicitly, he taught Nicodemus: "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God" (John 3:5).

Similar requirements and blessings are associated with the remaining essential ordinances. The Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood requires greater discipline and effort but offers greater rewards:

For whoso is faithful unto the obtaining these two priesthoods of which I have spoken, and the magnifying their calling, are sanctified by the Spirit unto the renewing of their bodies. They become the sons of Moses and of Aaron and the seed of Abraham, and the church and kingdom, and the elect of God. 

And also all they who receive this priesthood receive me, saith the Lord... And he that receiveth me receiveth my father; And he that receiveth my Father receiveth my Father's kingdom; therefore all that my Father hath shall be given unto him. And this is according to the oath and covenant which belongeth to the priesthood (D&C 84:33-39).

Even greater than the ancient Polynesian Empire is the Kingdom of God spread out across the cosmos. We are invited to join this glorious kingdom. To do so, we must do as the wise men did millennia ago and seek the Lord by following the lights he has provided. In accepting covenants we will be strengthened and taught along our path. We will be able to to see the next step and learn what we need to know. We can be endowed with divine power and sealed to our families for time and for all eternity. Many other blessings are available to those who will seek divine light.

Success in this journey can take more than our lifetime, but we must not allow our efforts to tire or fade. Those who are faithful in keeping the covenants they have made and endure the crosses of the world are promised to be made perfect in Christ, to complete their journey in the presence of our Eternal Father, and to take their place in His grand and glorious kingdom. Then we will feel to rejoice in the Epiphany of Christ with the poet who exclaimed:

How great the wisdom and the love

That filled the courts on high

And sent the Savior from above

To suffer, bleed, and die!

He marked the path and led the way,

And ev'ry point defines

To light and life and endless day

Where God's full presence shines.

How great, how glorious, how complete

Redemption's grand design,

Where justice, love, and mercy meet

In harmony divine!

(Eliza R. Snow, 1804-1887)

Promises and Plural Marriage

One of the greatest Old Testament prophets is Abraham, originally called Abram. The scriptures record that he was one of the most valiant spirits in the premortal world and chosen to be a leader in the kingdom of God before he was born (Abraham 1-5). Forced to leave his homeland after religious persecution threatened his life, Abraham would go on to receive great revelations and a special covenant from the Lord with promises of priesthood, property and posterity "as innumerable as the stars". Hundreds of millions that have and do live on the earth regard Abraham as the "father of the faithful" and many refer to the place of the righteous dead as "sitting down next to Abraham" or "Abraham's bosom" (Luke 16:22-23).

Those who rightfully consider Abraham among the righteous have reason to consider the account given in Genesis 16: "Now Sarai Abrahm's wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar. And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the Lord hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai. And Sarai Abram's wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife" (verses 1-3).

The Lord has commanded the faithful in every generation to keep sexual relations within the bounds of marriage, to not commit adultery, to cleave unto a spouse and unto none else; yet here and hereafter the Lord seems okay with Abraham's plural marriage to not only Hagar but several other women as well. How can this be?

This is the question that the prophet Joseph Smith asked the Lord in the summer of 1843. "Inasmuch as you have inquired of my hand to know and understand wherein I, the Lord, justified my servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as also Moses, David and Solomon, my servants, as touching the principle and doctrine of their having many wives and concubines," the Lord responded, "Behold, and lo, I am the Lord thy God, and will answer thee as touching this matter" (D&C 132:1-2).

The following 64 verses detail the Lord's doctrine of eternal marriage. "If a man marry a wife by my word, which is my law," the Lord instructs, "it shall be done unto them in all things whatsoever my servant hath put upon them, in time, and through all eternity; and shall be of full force when they are out of the world... to their exaltation and glory" (D&C 132:19). Those married in holy temples by those authorized to exercise the appropriate priesthood keys can expect relationships far beyond the bounds of this life.

With that background, the Lord provided several reasons why righteous women and men obey the principle of plural marriage at certain times. The first is because God has commanded it and made it his law at those times.

"God commanded Abraham, and Sarah gave Hagar to Abraham to wife. And why did she do it? Because this was the law; and from Hagar sprang many people. This, therefore, was fulfilling, among other things, the promises. Was Abraham, therefore, under condemnation? Verily I say unto you, Nay; for I, the Lord, commanded it" (D&C 132:34-35, emphasis added).

The Lord's perspective is different than our own. "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts" (Isaiah 55:8-9). God's commandments are designed by an omniscient Father to execute his plan for his children and complete his mission for our immortality and eternal life.

At certain times, the Lord's commandment to a particular individual or group may surprise us because it is different from what we would expect it to be under normal circumstances. There are several examples of this in the scriptures including Nephi killing Laban, Moses killing the master builder, and several specific instances of plural marriage. "Abraham was commanded to offer his son Isaac; nevertheless, it was written: Thou shalt not kill. Abraham, however, did not refuse, and it was accounted unto him for righteousness" (D&C 132:36).

In the case of Abraham and Hagar, the Lord seems to be saying that the fulfillment of his promise to Abraham is of greatest importance. This is a powerful reassurance for us to whom the Lord has promised forgiveness, salvation and exaltation. As promised, the union of Abraham and Hagar has resulted in millions of posterity who revere their father Abraham.

The proliferation of children and grandchildren is another obvious reason for the Lord to command the faithful to practice plural marriage, particularly when their numbers are few. The Lord explained to Jacob: "For there shall not any man among you have save it be one wife; and concubines he shall have none... For if I will, saith the Lord of Hosts, raise up seed unto me, I will command my people; otherwise they shall hearken unto these things" (Jacob 2:27, 30). 

At such times, plural wives "are given unto [a man] to multiply and replenish the earth, according to [the Lord's] commandment"; but also "to fulfill the promise which was given [to the wives] by my Father before the foundation of the world, and for their exaltation in the eternal worlds, that they may bear the souls of men" (D&C 132:63).

Finally, the law of plural marriage is part of the "restitution of all things" promised before the Second Coming of Christ (Acts 3:20-21, D&C 132:40). As in other dispensations, the Lord required early members of the church in our dispensation to follow this law.

This was not a desirable or easy thing for those required to follow this commandment. Marriage has been weakened and redefined over several decades in modern Western culture; it was much less selfish and much more sacred in the 1840s. Joseph Smith delayed for a decade until the Lord sent an angel with a drawn sword who threatened to remove him from his place if he did not obey. When first taught the principle of plural marriage, Heber C. Kimball "became sick in body [from anxiety], but his mental wretchedness was too great to allow of his retiring, and he would walk the floor till nearly morning, and sometimes the agony of his mind was so terrible that he would wring his hands and weep like a child, and beseech the Lord to be merciful" (as told by Vilate Kimball, wife of Heber C. Kimball, in Orson F. Whitney, Life of Heber C. Kimball [1967], 325-38).

President John Taylor recalled, "I had always entertained strict ideas of virtue, and I felt as a married man that [plural marriage] was to me, outside of this principle, an appalling thing to do... It was a thing calculated to stir up feelings from the innermost depths of the human soul... Nothing but a knowledge of God, and the revelations of God, and the truth of them, could have induced me to embrace such a principle as this" (in B.H. Roberts, The Life of John Taylor, Third President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints [1963], 100). And Brigham Young summarized, "I was not desirous of shrinking from any duty nor failing in the least to do as I was commanded, but it was the first time in my life that I had desired the grave, and I could hardly get over it for a long time. And when I saw a funeral I felt to envy the corpse its situation, and to regret that I was not in the coffin" (in "Provo Conference," Deseret News, Nov. 14, 1855, 282).

A restricted number of the early Saints were tested and tried by the principle of plural marriage. Those who obeyed the voice of the Lord and his prophet received the promised blessings of posterity, divine power and assistance, hearts full of rejoicing, forgiveness of sin and preparation for exaltation.

"Plural marriage did result in the birth of large numbers of children within faithful Latter-day Saint homes. It also shaped 19th-century Mormon society in may ways: marriage became available to virtually all who desired it; per-capita inequality of wealth was diminished as economically disadvantaged women married into more financially stable households; and ethnic intermarriages were increased, which helped to unite a diverse immigrant population. Plural marriage also helped create and strengthen a sense of cohesion and group identification among Latter-day Saints. Church members came to see themselves as a 'peculiar people,' covenant-bound to carry out the commands of God despite outside opposition" (in Plural Marriage in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, www.lds.org/topics).

We do not know all the reasons why the Lord sometimes requires the faithful to live the principle of plural marriage. We know that it is carefully guarded and governed by priesthood keys: "For I [the Lord] have conferred upon you [the president of the Church] the keys and power of the priesthood, wherein I restore all things... And again, verily I say unto you, that whatsoever you give on earth, and to whomsoever you give any one on earth, by my word and according to my law, it shall be visited with blessings and not cursings, and with my power, saith the Lord, and shall be without condemnation on earth and in heaven" (D&C 132:45, 48). Plural marriage is acceptable only when commanded of the Lord and authorized only through the keys held by the president of the Church. It has been strictly forbidden since 1904.

We are not asked to live the principle of plural marriage today, but we can benefit from the promises given as a result. We can see the Lord's pattern and restoration in modern times and have greater faith in the divine origins of the modern Church. We can see that the Lord always makes a way to keep his commandments and prepare our hearts to hearken to his voice, as Abraham did. Perhaps best of all, we can know and be assured that when we keep the commandments of God, he will always keep his promises.

Jesus Christ is the Way

At the last supper, the Savior shared a final sermon with his disciples. After teaching that he would soon leave them, Thomas asked, "Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me" (John 14:5-6).

The disciples' subsequent questions provide some evidence that they did not immediately understand what Christ had taught them. He was not a stone path or a list of instructions and he had just said he would no longer be with them to lead them. How could he be the way?

The answer is myriad, but any number of responses may be useful to our understanding of and relationship with our Savior. In direct reply to Thomas' inquiry, for example, the Savior indicates that he is the way back to the presence of the Father. Each of us, as sinful mortals, are unworthy to enter the Father's presence and incapable of withstanding His glory (D&C 67:11-13). Through Christ's suffering in Gethsemane, his death on the cross and his resurrection, we can overcome sin and death.

The apocryphal Gospel of Phillip records, "Until Christ opened the way, it was impossible to go from one level to another [death and resurrection]. He is the great opener of the way because he gave us the plan by which we can progress. He is the way."

President Joseph F. Smith taught that an innumerable company of the just who had died prior to the resurrection of Christ, and who viewed the separation of their spirits from their bodies as a form of bondage, anxiously awaited the opening of the way to resurrection and the presence of God. "These the Lord taught, and gave them power to come forth, after his resurrection from the dead, to enter his Father's kingdom, there to be crowned with immortality and eternal life" (D&C 138).

Christ was also the way from our premortal existence to life on this earth. Under the direction of the Father, he was the creator of the earth. All things were made by him and without him was not anything made that was made (John 1:3).

As we counseled in heaven before this world was, we knew that this life would include pain and sorrow that could be overwhelming. The cost was too great unless a way was provided that we could be comforted in our trials and benefited by our challenges. Through obedience to his commandments, frequent repentance and the acceptance of sacred covenants, Christ has made it possible for us to inherit all that our Father has. We can experience joy as exquisite as our pains.

Christ is the way we commune with God. He is our great mediator in prayer, in covenant and in judgement. We take his name upon ourselves through baptism and other ordinances as a symbol of our willingness to follow him and his commandments.

Christ is the way we can repent. His life is a model for how we should live and he gives us power to change and improve when we seek his direction. Though our sins be as scarlet, Christ can make us as pure as fresh-fallen snow.

Christ is the way we can heal from hurt and injustice. He knows our sorrows and counts our tears. He is the master physician who knows how to provide comfort and counsel for imperfect bodies, aching hearts and troubled minds. His way is the only way to replace scars and scabs with confidence and peace.

Christ is the way we can be unified with each other and bring peace to our communities, our nations and the world. When he comes again, he will rule for a thousand years of peace as King of Kings and reign as Lord of Lords. No other political power or priority can bind our hearts as one.

Christ is the way we can know our mission on the earth and have power to accomplish it. He has overcome all things so that we might be empowered to do those things he commands us to do.

Ultimately, Christ is the way we must go for lasting joy, an understanding of our divine nature and eternal progression in this life and beyond. He is the source of all truth and life. His life provided the perfect example of the path that leads back to the presence of God. As we follow his example, we will be blessed to come to the Father through the tender mercy of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Adam and Eve and Full Partnership in Marriage

After God had created all the wonders of the Earth, his last creation was a man he called Adam. Because it was not good for man to be alone, God created a woman, Eve, to be, 'an help meet for him' (Moses 3:18):

And I, the Lord God, caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam; and he slept, and I took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh in the stead thereof; And the rib which I, the Lord God, had taken from man, made I a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said: This I know is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave unto his wife; and they shall be one flesh (Moses 3:21-24).

In today's language, we might say that Eve was created to be 'an aid worthy of' or 'equal to' Adam, or more simply, Eve was created to be Adam's wife. This phrase, as well as many others throughout the creation passages especially, indicate the relationship of Adam and Eve was one of two corresponding parts of the same great whole. Eve is called a 'help meet' indicating her equality and similarity to Adam. A rib is used metaphorically to express how Adam and Eve fit together as if of one body. The oneness of man and woman, their cleaving to and caring for each other apart from the physical and spiritual support of parents again shows how men and women correspond to make what President Spencer W. Kimball taught is, 'a complete man, which is husband and wife' (Ensign, Mar. 1976, p. 71).

In The Family: A Proclamation to the World, modern prophets teach us that it is 'by divine design' that 'both a man and a woman are essential for bringing children into mortality and providing the best setting for the rearing and nurturing of children.' A man is not physically complete without a woman, nor is a woman without a man.

Yet the completeness of a husband and wife goes far beyond the physical or procreative powers alone. A man is not spiritually complete without a woman, nor is a woman without a man (see Handbook 2: 1.3.1). The marriage covenants required for exaltation can only be accepted together (D&C 131:1-4). These are not arbitrarily imposed, but rather designed to guide us to become perfect or complete (see Matthew 5:48, footnote b). Through these covenants we become one and the same with our spouse in the eyes of God's law. Procreative acts may be the consummation of the marital covenant, but it is the covenant itself which welds our souls together.

The physical and spiritual unity of a husband and wife can create a depth of feeling beyond what we observe in any other relationship. Adam expressed the closeness he felt with Eve as if she were, "bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh'. These feelings come as we leave behind our single lives and establish our marriages as the first priority. This requires cleaving to each other, which means our striving to keep the covenants we have made to God and each other will be more important than any other person or interest.

President Kimball taught that, "Even the children must take their proper but significant place" (Ensign, Mar. 1976, p. 72). If we will dedicate the necessary time to building a healthy marriage, study after study has shown that a mother and father working together in love and unity will provide the best possible upbringing for their children. In fact, happily married couples are more productive in many aspects of their lives, not just parenting-- the interdependent whole is significantly more effective than the sum of its parts.

Understanding that a married man and women are two parts of one whole helps us see how seemingly selfish actions only damage ourselves as we indirectly attack our own souls. Unfortunately, too many only realize the depth of their spiritual connection with their spouse when it has been severed. Worse than the pain of losing an arm or a leg, divorce is a dismemberment for which there is no medication or prosthesis. Just as none of us are able to regrow a limb or even a hair of our heads without our Father in Heaven, healing after (or hopefully before) divorce can only come through the atonement of Jesus Christ.

Our first parents provided an example of a marriage that was the full partnership God intends every marriage to be. After being driven from the Garden of Eden, not unlike the way many of us eventually move away from the free rent and food of our parents' homes, Adam, 'began to till the earth... and to eat his bread by the sweat of his brow... And Eve... did labor with him' (Moses 5:1).

Elder Marion G. Romney referenced this passage when he said, 'The word with... is very significant. It means more than physical labor. It connotates a common purpose, understanding, cooperation and love.' He continued, 'Even when circumstances justify a wife's working away from home to support her family, she should be laboring 'with', not on her own nor in conflict with her husband... In Latter-day Saint families the husband and wife must be one' (Relief Society Magazine, Feb. 1968, pp. 85-86).

Adam and Eve worked together, prayed and worshiped together, sacrificed together, taught their children the gospel together, and mourned over wayward children together (see Moses 5:1, 4, 12, 27). They were united with each other and with God.

 The Family: A Proclamation to the World includes this guidance:

Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities. By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners.

Despite our different roles at times, husbands and wives can enjoy full partnership with their spouse when they take care to work with each other rather than merely working near each other. We must pray together, respect each other, forgive each other and have fun together.

A full partnership means we will always have a friend with whom we can frequently counsel about the decisions and activities of our family. It means having someone by your side as you approach the Lord with your questions. It means having a therapist when you're struggling to learn and grow, a copilot when there's a long drive ahead and someone to laugh with you when you just can't hold it in any longer.

We will experience the greatest happiness in marriage when we are willing to commit all we have and are to the fidelity and success of our marriage covenants. That is, we will experience the greatest happiness in marriage when we are willing to commit all we have and are to the happiness of our spouse.

Adam and Eve, as man and wife, were unified physically and spiritually. They worked together in full partnership, progressed together down the path of life, and were recognized in the eyes of the Lord as one.

As with our first parents, so it may be with us. Each of us may become perfect or complete as we, having already become one with Christ through baptism, join ourselves by covenant to a man or woman with whom we correspond and fit together. Most often we will choose to share a common name as an outward symbol of our inward covenant. Then, working together in full partnership and having our covenants sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise, we may find joy in this life and exaltation in the world to come.