Can I Be With My Family Forever?

This post is according to my beliefs and doctrine revealed through modern day prophets. If you would like to know more about this, check out mormon.org and learn more about it.

Many of us may be familiar with the phrase "Till death do you part." For me, I always noticed that it mentions that death is the end of the marriage. I was recently asked to talk about "why do Mormons marry in the temple?" And the simple answer to that is, in the temple, we can be married for "all time and eternity" by someone with the authority from God to do so. But why cant we be married forever the normal way?

Let me start from the basics.

"...marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children." (The Family: A Proclamation To The World)

God has established us in families from the beginning. In fact when He created Adam and Eve, He soon after performed their marriage making them family (Gen 2:21-24). But why is marriage so important to God? Personally, I think that marriage to someone we love brings us joy, and that is what God wants for us is joy. 

"Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ."(The Family: A Proclamation To The World) 

I really like what it says about the family should be a man and a woman who are married and then have children. I have noticed that the family unit is strongest with this system. 

I mentioned before that Gods eternal plan is for us to have joy, and part of that is finding an eternal companion. Someone who we can be happy with forever! This is why we get married in the temple. Today's world sees marriage as just two people getting together and pooling their money and living together and having a legal document saying that they are married. But it is much more than that! God gives us this opportunity to have someone with us constantly and to be our best friend so we can make it through this life and the next. 

You might be asking, "Ok, so you have said that we need to be married in the temple to be together forever with our spouse, what about children?" 

This is another thing I am excited to share! If you already have a spouse and children, then you can be sealed all to each other in the temple, then you can be a full family forever. But if you are married in the temple and then you have kids after you are married, then they are born within the covenant (or promise with God) you made at marriage, meaning they are automatically sealed to you. 

Ok, now there are a few things that need to be done in order for you to be sealed forever. 

1. You must be married by someone holding the sealing power (D&C 132:19). They are given this power by God! Jesus tells his Apostles this in Matthew 18:18, "Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." 

2. You must be married in the Temple of God. It is the House of the Lord where we can receive these kind of sacred ordinances.

Eternal Marriage can only be performed in Holy Temples

If we are not, then it will not work as explained :"If we are married by any authority other than by the priesthood in a temple, the marriage is for this life only. After death, the marriage partners have no claim on each other or on their children. An eternal marriage gives us the opportunity to continue as families after this life." (Gospel Principles Chapter 38, Eternal Marriage)

3. You must continue to be obedient to God because God tells us in D&C 82:9-10 "Or, in other words, I give unto you directions how you may act before me, that it may turn to you for your salvation. I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise."

I know this is a lot to take in, but I can bear witness that it is true, the spirit witnesses to the truths that have been shared. If you have any questions or something that wasn't clear, please tell me.

Ask God if it is true and He will tell you!