Families Can Be Together Forever

The family is the most important unit in time or eternity. And families can be together forever. Is it possible that the cruelest words in the English language are, “until death do us part?” Marriage can endure forever because of the loving kindness of our Savior. The same loving companionship that exists here on earth in our family can exist on the other side of the veil for those who plan for it.

Genesis clearly states that Adam and Eve were married. (Genesis 2:25) Apparently God married Adam & Eve. Since He is Eternal, the marriage of Adam and Eve must have been eternal or forever. It is recorded in Genesis, “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” (Genesis 2:24) There is no mention of being separated at death. Also Paul said, “Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord.” (1Cor. 11:11) Where God is concerned, a man and a woman are not complete before him with out marriage. A man and a woman form a complete unit here and in eternity.

God has provided the way for his children to be together forever. The ancient prophet Elijah was given the keys of the sealing power. The Savior explained the sealing power to Peter in Matthew 16:18, “And I will give unto you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” A week later on the Mount of Transfiguration, Elijah appeared to the Savior and Peter, James and John and bestowed the sealing power on the three apostles. These Apostles then had the authority to bind on earth and it would be bound in heaven. This means that marriages that were performed under this authority would endure beyond the grave forever. Without this authority, no marriage will endure beyond this life.

In the last 2 verses of the Old Testament (Malachi 4:5-6) Elijah was to come before the coming of the “great and dreadful day of the Lord” to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to the fathers. Why would he do this? So that the sealing power could again be restored to the earth and so that families could be sealed together for eternity. If this did not take place, Malachi said, “The earth would be smitten with a curse.” Is it possible that God actually wants his children organized into families? I know that he does!

On April 3, 1836, the Lord suddenly appeared to his prophet in the Kirtland Temple as prophesied by Malachi, (Malachi 3:1) along with Elijah, Moses and Elias. The sealing power was bestowed on Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery by the ancient prophet Elijah. So, just as Peter, James and John received the sealing power so also did Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery.

Once again upon this earth, husband and wife could be sealed together forever, married for time and eternity with the attendant blessing of having all of their children sealed to them in a complete family unit. Millions of families have been sealed together since that time. These marriages are only performed in the temples of God. And now for the good news. If you love your spouse and family, you too can prepare yourselves and come to the temple and have this blessing.

In Matthew 22:30, the Lord said, “in the resurrection they neither marry nor or given in marriage but are as the angels of God in Heaven.” The Christian world has misunderstood this to think that there is no marriage in heaven. It only means there is no marrying or giving in marriage after the resurrection. Marriage like baptism is an earthly ordinance. They are not performed after the resurrection. They have to be done now. Those who are not married now for time and eternity will be as the angels and will remain separate and single for eternity.
What man is there that truly loves his wife can bear the thoughts of bidding her an everlasting farewell at their death? What father and mother can lay their little ones in the grave and think that they are gone forever, that their relationship with that child is terminated? Whenever I see something really beautiful my first thought is, I wish my wife could be here, or I wish my children could see this. If I was to be separated from my wife and family at death forever, then that would make this life with my family like heaven to me and God’s heaven would be like hell to me without my family. But that is not the way it is. I testify that we can be together forever as a family and I testify that God wants us to be TOGETHER FOREVER!