The DiscipleMD - Inspirational Daily Message

The ‘Twitterpated’ Marriage

September 9th, 2026

Scott

TheDiscipleMD

Many years ago I attended a church activity where the husbands had chosen a short video clip that best showed the circumstance of meeting and falling in love with their wife. I chose a well-known scene out of Bambi where Thumper is ‘twitterpated’ by a comely bunny. After watching all the clips we had to match the clip with the couple. I must be transparent because everyone immediately guessed I was Thumper. Almost all of us who have married were ‘twitterpated’ at one moment in time. The key, of course, is to continue to be ‘twitterpated’ as the days turn to months and the months to years. This can be difficult at times as trials and tribulation come not only to us individually, but as couples. Age with its accompanying illness and challenges can also take the ‘twitterpated’ feelings out of our marriages.

Several years ago F. Burton Howard gave a conference address where he compared how his wife treated the silverware to how we should treat our marriages. I quote him:

“I noticed that the silverware never went to the many ward dinners she cooked, or never accompanied the many meals she made and sent to others who were sick or needy. It never went on picnics and never went camping. In fact it never went anywhere; and, as time went by, it didn’t even come to the table very often. Some of our friends were weighed in the balance, found wanting, and didn’t even know it. They got the stainless when they came to dinner… For years I thought she was just a little bit eccentric, and then one day I realized that she had known for a long time something that I was just beginning to understand. If you want something to last forever, you treat it differently. You shield it and protect it. You never abuse it. You don’t expose it to the elements. You don’t make it common or ordinary. If it ever becomes tarnished, you lovingly polish it until it gleams like new. It becomes special because you have made it so, and it grows more beautiful and precious as time goes by.

Eternal marriage is just like that. We need to treat it just that way. I pray that we may see it for the priceless gift that it is…” (“Eternal Marriage”, GC, April 2003). What a wonderful thought!

I suspect that most people love the feeling of being ‘twitterpated.’ I know I do! All of us should learn how to keep our spouses ‘twitterpated.” Each of our marriages are unique, and what may be necessary to one couple or person may not be to another. I recall a conversation I had many years ago with a guy friend in high school. One day in Earth Science class he asked me what I found most attractive for a girl to be wearing. Perhaps it was my church upbringing but I told him that I found a girl in a nice dress to be most attractive. He scoffed and replied, “Not me! Nothing looks better on a girl than a pair of jeans and a tee shirt. Well, I still feel the same way, and I imagine that my friend does too. But knowing such, you might imagine that my wife wears a dress as often as the occasion merits. It’s not all physical, of course; many of us can be ‘twitterpated’ by having an intellectual conversation with our spouses or a spiritual one. Often one can make the other ‘twitterpated’ by seeing to their emotional needs.

If we follow the council of Burton and take special care of our marriages, we can keep those loving feelings we felt so strongly during the first bloom of our love. I believe, with proper care and attention, we not only can keep the ‘twitter’ in our ‘pated,’ but our love can become stronger and more intense as the days turn to months and the months to years. What a wonder this world would be if we all had a ‘Twitterpated Marriage.’

Eternal Marriage: The Backbone Of The Restoration

September 4th, 2026

Scott

TheDiscipleMD

If you talk to anyone: I mean anyone, they share a common belief. With few exceptions, it is a belief that relationships formed in this life will be there in the next. And although most believe it, the religious doctrines of their faith doesn’t match the god given instincts they are feeling. No matter what Christian denominational funeral service you attend, the preacher speaks in one way or the other, about the eternal nature of the soul who has just passed. They will say something like, ” We will miss Fred, but we know he is in a better place and that one day we will see him again!” The implication is always that loved ones will continue to share in the same relationship they have had here on earth with the deceased.

Countless movies show the eternal nature of love; that of a married couple who are separated by death, but whose love goes on forever. So it is a wonder to me why so many people don’t flock to the doctrine of eternal marriage and the eternal nature of families. It is a bit puzzling to me! Perhaps it is because they sense that these relationships are “automatic,” without need of an ordinance. But the reason this ordinance is not performed outside of the restored church, is because the doctrine taught is that marriage is not eternal. This might come as a shock to some. Remarkably, many don’t care if their church teaches it or not, they believe the marriage relationship will exist in the next life. Anyone who has ever loved another cannot help but feel that, indeed, love is an eternal attribute and can last forever.

In the past several years three of my sisters have lost their husbands. During that time countless others have gone through the same painful separation. If you have ever really loved your spouse, whether you have been married five years, twenty-five years, or over fifty years, the feeling is that “it wasn’t long enough,” but the love “is long enough to last forever.”

However, belief alone is not sufficient. The glory of the restored gospel is that in temples and through the restoration of the priesthood, the power is now on the earth to seal those relationships so that they can “last forever.” And that all those who lived before us have the same opportunity! Is there any greater doctrine that could be taught! Those relationships can be sealed forever through proxy work in the temples.

The silence of doctrine offered by the religions of the world do not seem to smother the inherit belief found in the souls of man that relationships are eternal. They believe it, but the restored church of Christ is the only one who teaches it.

Eternal marriage is the backbone of the restoration. Its divine concept supports the rest of the body of doctrine which teaches man of his ultimate fate, and of his glorious reunion in heaven above.

When You Have ‘Wallys’ For Brothers!

September 3rd, 2026

Scott

My wife and I were both ill a few weeks ago,, which led to an entire day of rest in bed. While so doing my wife happened upon the old TV show we both watched as kids called “Leave It To Beaver.” It was a day-long marathon of Theodore’s (Beaver) adventure as a boy. The main characters are his mom, dad, and brother, Wally. The series ran from 1957-1963. Beaver was about eight or nine years old in the first season we watched. His older brother Wally is around 13. Watching the simplicity of the storylines was actually refreshing compared to our modern-day series. There was a moral to the storyline, and the relationships in the family served as the principal plot. I know that some people think that stories that center around the nuclear family are not realistic. Nobody came from a family like the ‘Cleavers’ they chime. But I did. It wasn’t a perfect family, but my Mom and Dad clearly loved each other and, more importantly, respected each other. And it showed to us ten kids. And…they loved each one of us, and we felt it. Families can function like that. It is not something of a fairytale. Even if you didn’t come from a home like the Cleavers, it doesn’t mean you can’t form a great functional family when you marry.

The one thing that stood out to me, though, was how Wally, the older brother, was always looking out for his younger brother. When Beaver did stupid things, Wally didn’t lose his cool and yell. He was always trying to help his brother work his way through a problem primarily caused by Beaver. After my wife and I watched a bunch of the shows, I turned to her and said, “I love it that Wally is always nice to Beaver and is always trying to help. It is so refreshing to see that.” Then I pondered for a minute and thought about how my brothers had supported me throughout my life. They have always wanted the best for me. And I have felt that love. I told my wife, “I have ‘Wallys’ for brothers.” And just saying it made me thankful. Perhaps you have a ‘Wally’ for a brother! If so, let him know. Please don’t leave it to Beaver; tell him yourself!

In Appreciation Of Spouses Everywhere!

September 1st, 2026

Scott

TheDiscipleMD

A number of years ago I had the opportunity to sit down with my sister-in-law and reminisce about her now deceased husband who was my brother. Cancer had taken him at the young age of fifty-nine. She related to me that when my brother was in his last days of life, she stood by his bed and happened to notice what beautiful feet he had. She smiled and said, “I thought, ‘How can he be dying when he has such beautiful feet!’” I also smiled as the picture she painted came to my mind. It’s interesting how such minor things come into sharp focus when faced with the great tests in our lives.

It has now been more than fifteen years since my brother passed away. Recently, his widow told my wife, “I used to get upset when he left his clothes on the floor. Now, I would do anything to have the privilege of picking them up.” Encompassed in her statement is the key to happiness of marriage in this life.

My wife is a ‘connoisseur’ of McDonald’s Diet Coke. One sip, and she can tell you if it meets her approval. On occasion, when a drink hasn’t passed her ‘test’, I will have to find another McDonald’s close by that will deliver the approved drink. Now and again, I show some irritation regarding this “drink-tasting” festival on wheels. But I know the day will come when we won’t be able to share this experience together. When that day comes, and no matter what side of the veil I am on, I am sure that I will wish for one more trip to the local McDonald’s with her riding shotgun. I will wish to see in her face that nod of approval she gives me when the ingredients put together that day in that drink pass her test.

Unlike my sister-in-law, who now wishes for and misses the small things she and my brother shared together, I still have my beloved beside me. Perhaps I should remember that the next time something small she does irritates me. Perhaps I should thank the Lord that I still have her by my side. Maybe I should be more grateful for the little things about her that I will miss when she or I am gone. Perhaps I should love her more fully. Maybe I should be more grateful to the Lord that through him and by him I have the chance of being with my wife for the eternities. Perhaps I should look at her beautiful feet and cherish them more often.