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“Every man who truly loves a woman, and every woman who truly loves a man, hopes and dreams that their companionship will last forever. But marriage is a covenant sealed by authority. If that authority is of the state alone, it will endure only while the state has jurisdiction, and that jurisdiction ends with death. But add to the authority of the state the power of the endowment given by Him who overcame death, and that companionship will endure beyond life if the parties to the marriage live worthy of the promise…In conclusion may I leave you a story. It is fiction, but in principle it is true. Can you imagine two young people at a time when the moon is full and the roses are in bloom and a sacred love has matured between them? Johnny says to Mary, “Mary, I love you. I want you for my wife and the mother of our children. But I don’t want you or them forever. Just for a season and then goodbye.” And she, looking at him through tears in the moonlight, says, “Johnny, you’re wonderful. There’s nobody else in all the world like you. I love you, and I want you for my husband and the father of our children, but only for a time, and then farewell.

That sounds foolish, doesn’t it? And yet isn’t that in effect what a boy says to a girl and a girl says to a boy in a proposal of marriage when given the opportunity of eternal union under “the new and everlasting covenant,” but, rather, they choose to set it aside for a substitute that can last only until death comes…(Gordon B. Hinckley “The Marriage That Endures” April 1974)

I WANT HER FOREVER!

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TheDiscipleMD

“I wrote Silver Springs uh, about Lindsey. And I ~ we were in Maryland somewhere driving under a freeway sign that said Silver Spring, Maryland. And I loved the name. …Silver Springs sounded like a pretty fabulous place to me.” ~Stevie Nicks.

Whenever I hear this song on the radio I always think of my hometown of Silver Spring, Maryland. Surprisingly I recently read that Stevie Nicks, lead singer for the band Fleetwood Mac, was actually inspired to write this ballad when she saw the exit sign off the Washington Beltway.

The song is symbolic for her, and also for me but in a different way. I had a wonderful childhood because of the family I grew up in and the type of friends I surrounded myself with.  I had many high school friends not of my faith, who are still close to my heart. They provided me with experiences and views that exposed me to the goodness of different faiths, colors, and viewpoints on life.  I also owe a tremendous debt to those youth from my church who so diligently lived the gospel principles of Jesus Christ.  I will forever be grateful for them and the inspiring example they provided to me by the way they conducted their lives

Now all these years later I see that, as a whole, these wonderful friends of my youth, are still actively working and serving their fellowman and many that are still active  in the gospel of Jesus Christ. What a testimony to their character and of the great blessings all of us receive when we choose to associate with great people.

So to all the friends of my youth, “Stevie Nicks was right!  Because of you, Silver Spring was a fabulous place to grow up. All people should be blessed to have come from a town like Silver Spring, Maryland!”

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When we walked together, hand in hand, out the temple doors as man and wife on that Thursday afternoon, I’m not sure I really “got it!” After all, I was only twenty-two years old, what did I know about eternity. Together, she and I entered into the great unknown abyss called life. I say “abyss” because no matter how prepared you think you are to tackle it, life is too profound and unfathomable to understand at such a young age, or perhaps, any age.

During these many years my wife and I have scaled mountains together and we have descended into dark valleys. The sun has been shinning most of the time but there have been a few terrible storms we have weathered together. Sometimes it feels like there has been a constant drizzle coming down, yet all the while the warmth of the sun’s rays have been present. While that statement might seem inconsistent, it really isn’t. In life, there always seems to be something “out of order.” Nothing is ever perfect about life, or marriage for that matter. Both ebb and flow, rise and fall, pitch and catch. So in some ways life and marriage are in a never-ending state of “drizzle.”However, what does make a “huge” difference in life and marriage, is the person you choose to travel it with. What also makes a huge difference is if you decide to travel through it with the warmth of the spirit of God on your shoulders, or alone, as a couple. It is “drizzling” most of the time in life, and if you don’t partner up with the Lord, you’ll never find out the paradox of having dark clouds above, but feeling the full warmth of the “Son’s” rays that comes with faith in His love.
The scriptures record the words of Jesus regarding all of God’s children.
“…for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust”. (Matthew 5:45)

The words of the Savior should bring us comfort in knowing that when times get tough, it is not necessarily a reflection of who we are, but rather, that we are all children of a Father in Heaven. So, each of us must travel the road of life. It is the companions we choose that determine if the rocky road will be made easier, or harder.

My hope is that we will serve as a strength to our mates as we continue on our journey together, and that as couples we will ‘bake’ our marriages by the heat of His ‘Rays!’