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The Eternal Family: A Plain and Precious Part of the Plan of Salvation Daniel K Judd The family is central to the creator’s plan for the eternal destiny ofhis children. . . . In the premortal realm, spirit sons and daughters knew and worshiped God as their Eternal Father and accepted His plan by which His children could obtain a physical body and gain earthly experience to progress toward perfection and ultimately realize their divine destiny as heirs ofeternal life. F rom the beginning, God organized the human family and revealed that marriage and family rela- tionships are intended to be eternal. Latter-day proph-ets have taught that while Adam and Eve were sealed in marriage for time and all eternity, the time would come when the doctrine of the eternal family would be lost to mankind. President Spencer W. Kimball observed, “Eternal marriage was known to Adam and others of the prophets, but the knowledge was lost from the earth for many centuries” (Kimball, 1964, pp. 25). The prophet Isaiah, writing in the eighth century before the birth of Jesus Christ, described these periods of apostasy when he recorded, “The earth also is defiled under the inhabi-tants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant” (Isaiah 24:5; see also D&C 84:19–27). In a prophetic description of the centuries of doctrinal darkness that would follow the death of Jesus Christ, the Book of Mormon prophet Nephi envisioned: They have taken away from the gospel of the Lamb many parts which are plain and most pre-cious; and also many covenants of the Lord have they taken away. And all this have they done that they might pervert the right ways of the Lord, that they might blind the eyes and harden the hearts of the children of men (1 Nephi 13:26–27). Nephi also added that “because of these things which are taken away out of the gospel of the Lamb, an exceedingly great many do stumble, yea, insomuch that Satan hath great power over them” (1 Nephi

13:29). The distortion and eventual loss of the doctrine of the eter-nal family is no doubt a part of what the Prophet Joseph Smith was describing when he observed, “Our Father in Heaven organized the human family, but they are all disorganized and in great confusion” (Watson, 1971, p. 530). The loss of the doctrine and covenant of eternal marriage has confused the great majority of the inhabit-ants of the world concerning the eternal nature of the family and has led many to believe that such relation-ships are not part of God’s plan for the salvation and eternal destiny of His children. Beginning with the teachings of Joseph Smith, latter-day prophets have proclaimed to the world that God’s holy priesthood and the sacred keys that allow marriages and families to be sealed together for time and all eter-nity have been restored to the earth. The Prophet Joseph Smith taught, “It is in the order of heavenly things that God should always send a new dispensation into the world when men have apostatized from the truth and lost the priesthood” (Roberts, 1965, p. 478–479). In 1995, President Gordon B. Hinckley reiterated the doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints concerning eternal marriages and families when he taught in the proclamation that the divine plan of happiness enables family rela-tionships to be perpetuated beyond the grave. Sacred ordinances and covenants available inholy temples make it possible for individuals to return to the presence of God and for families to be united eternally (¶ 3). President Hinckley also described the central role of the family in God’s plan for the salvation of His chil- dren, when he stated: We, the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints, solemnly proclaim that mar-riage 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 (¶ 1). The major purpose of this chapter is to help the reader comprehend the significance of the restoration of the doctrine of the eternal family. It also provides a

doctrinal framework designed to help the reader better understand the gospel principles regarding the plan of salvation and applications found in “The Family: A Proclamation to the World.” This chapter begins with a discussion of the premortal origin of the plan of salvation, and then fol-lows with doctrines of the Creation of man, the Fall of Adam and Eve, and the Atonement of Jesus Christ, and their applications to marriage and family relationships. The Plan of Salvation Not only was the doctrine of the eternal family lost to mankind in the centuries following the deaths of Jesus Christ and His Apostles, but the doctrine of the pre-mortal existence of the soul was also taken from the earth. The doctrine of premortal existence was restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith, affirming that prior to mortal birth each person born on earth first existed as a spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents (¶ 2; see also Abraham 2:22–23, Jeremiah 1:5; John 1:1–8). President Joseph F. Smith taught, “Man, as a spirit, was begotten and born of heavenly parents, and reared to maturity in the eternal mansions of the Father prior to coming upon the earth in a temporal body” (Smith, Winder, & Lund, 1909, p. 80). During this premortal period, a grand council was held where God, our Heavenly Father, presented “the plan of salvation” (Moses 6:62) to all of His children (see Abraham 3:21–28 and Moses 4:1–4). The plan presented by our Father included many of the doctrines involved in the plan of salvation, including the doctrine of eternal families and the Atonement of Jesus Christ. In this council, we learned that “the plan of redemption” (Alma 12:25) required a Savior to “take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people” (Alma 7:11) as well as “the sins of his people” (Alma 7:13), thus allowing those who would live and die, sin and repent, to eventually return and dwell in the presence of God. Lucifer, another of God’s spirit children, made a selfish and vain attempt to usurp the role of savior, but it was Jesus Christ, the Firstborn of the Father’s spirit children (Colossians 1:15; D&C 93:21), who was chosen to carry out God’s plan. At some point, those who supported “the great

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plan of the Eternal God” (Alma 34:9) were promised that they would have the opportunity and responsibility to live in and perpetuate family relationships. We also learned that each of us would have missions to perform, such as being a son, daughter, sister, brother, husband, wife, mother, or father. We learned that understanding and fulfilling these roles was a part of our divine destiny. President Joseph F. Smith reminded us: To do well those things which God ordained to be the common lot of all man-kind, is the truest greatness. To be a successful father or a successful mother is greater than to be a successful general or a successful statesman. One is universal and eternal greatness, the other is ephemeral (Smith, 1986, pp. 285). Creation, Fall, and Atonement “The great plan of happiness” (Alma 42:8) presented by our Heavenly Father in the premortal council was and is divinely designed “to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39). While containing the whole of the gospel, “the plan of redemption” (Alma 12:25) is founded upon three major doctrines: (a) The Creation of the earth and of all mankind, (b) the Fall of Adam, Eve, and their posterity, and (c) the Atone-ment of Jesus Christ. As a member of the Seventy, Elder Merrill J. Bateman stated the following in summarizing the familial nature of the Father’s plan: The creation of the earth, the fall of Adam, and the atonement of Christ are essential elements or pillars in the Father’s plan for the progression and development of his children—both as individualsand as families. . . . These three doctrinal pillars of the plan of salvation are intimately involved in the creation of new eternal families and their extension into the eternities (Bateman, 1998, p. 26). In addition to the Creation, Fall, and Atonement being literal, historic events, each are doctrines that have direct application to our personal lives. We each have experienced the Creation both spiritually and physically. Our heavenly parents created our spirit bodies in the premortal realm (¶ 2; see also Abraham 2:22–23). Our earthly parents provided our

physical bodies and we were born into mortality (see Moses 3:5–7). Each of us experiences the Fall as we are born into a fallen world and are separated from God’s presence (Alma 12:22). We also experience the Fall as we face the realities of our fallen natures and suffer the consequences of our own sins and mistakes, as well as those of others (D&C 93:38–39). We learn of and receive the blessings of the Atonement of Jesus Christ as we repent of our sins, are healed from our infirmities, and eventually experience the resurrection of our physical bodies (Alma 7:11–12, 1 Corinthians 15:21–22). The doctrines of the Creation, Fall, and Atonement can also serve as metaphors as each can have interpre-tive application to many of the significant events in our lives. Each of us experiences periods of creation, such as the beginning of a marriage, the birth of a child, beginning a new school year or semester, receiving a new Church calling, starting a new job, or beginning any other important process. These periods of creation are generally times when we are optimistic and hopeful concerning the future. Times of creation are generally followed by times when we experience a “fall” as we are confronted with adversity, affliction, and opposition. Our optimistic idealism about the future often turns into recognition of the difficult reality of the present. It is important to remember that these difficult times of fallenness can be followed by experiences of healing and reconciliation as we come to understand our need for a Savior and embrace the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Consider the example of a young couple in the begin-ning of their relationship, when they are experiencing a Garden of Eden–like existence. In a metaphorical sense, the grass is green, the water is clear, and the sky is blue—everything in their relationship appears to be idyllic. At some point in their relationship, however, they (like Adam and Eve) are destined to experience opposition. It is a part of the Lord’s plan for them to experience the Fall as opposition and adversity comes and affliction follows. Their challenge and opportunity then becomes, as individuals and as a couple, to actively seek reconciliation and healing through the Atonement of Jesus Christ ( Judd, 1998, pp. 121–147). Social scientists have also recognized

that marriages, families, and most relationships often pass through stages of growth in their development. Miller, Wack- man, Nunally, and Miller acknowledged, “The impor-tant relationships we have in life go through transitions” (1988, p. 239). This group of marriage and family schol-ars coined the term visionary to describe the beginning, or what has been termed in this chapter as the cre-ation, of a relationship. They used the term adversarial to describe the times of disillusionment, or what this chapter describes as the fall that is commonly experi-enced in marriages and families. Vital is the term they use to describe what this chapter terms as atonement to describe how a couple or others can learn to reconcile their differences. The Creation and Our Divine Origins and Destiny The scriptures clearly teach that all human beings are created in the image of God (see Moses 2:26–27 and Genesis 1:26–27). As stated in the proclamation, “each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and as such, each has a divine nature and destiny” (¶ 2). From this brief statement, we learn several profound truths: We were created by God; we were created in the image of God; we have heavenly parents—a Father and a Mother; we are literally the spirit offspring of God; our spirit creation includes identity as male or female; we have a divine destiny. While there is much we do not know about the spe-cifics of the Creation, latter-day prophets have taught that we have both divine origin and divine potential. In 1909, President Joseph F. Smith and his counselors in the First Presidency, John R. Winder and Anthon H. Lund, issued a statement that included the following: Man is the child of God, formed in the divine image and endowed with divine attributes, and even as the infant son of an earthly father and mother is capable in due time of becoming a man, so the undevelopedoffspring of celestial parentage is capable, by experi-ence through ages and aeons, of evolving into a God (Smith, Winder, & Lund, 1909, p. 81). As mentioned, many doctrines were lost to the earth through apostasy, including the eternal nature of

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the family and the premortal existence of the human fam-ily. In addition, the doctrine of the divine destiny of mankind was also one of the “plain and precious things” (1 Nephi 13:40) lost in the generations following the death of Christ. President Lorenzo Snow taught, “As man now is, God once was; as God now is, man may be” (1892, 404). This statement reveals the potential found in each of the sons and daughters of God. While the doctrine of the divine destiny of man is seen by some as being unique to the teachings ofThe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, both ancient and contem- porary clerics and scholars have taught a very similar doctrine. St. Athanasius, a fourth-century bishop of Alexandria, taught, “God made himself a man in order that man might be able to become God” (Schönborn, 1995, p. 41). The celebrated scholar C. S. Lewis wrote: The command Be ye perfect is not idealistic gas. Nor is it a command to do the impossible. He is going to make us into creatures that can obey that command. He said (in the Bible) that we were “gods” and He is going to make good His words. If we let Him—for we can prevent Him, if we choose— He will make the feeblest and filthiest of us into a god or goddess, a dazzling, radiant, immortal creature, pulsating all through with such energy and joy and wisdom and love as we can-not now imagine, a bright stainless mirror which reflects back to God perfectly (though, of course, on a smaller scale) His own boundless power and delight and goodness. The process will be long and in parts very painful, but that is what we are in for. Nothing less. He meant what He said (1943, pp. 174–175). Understanding that we are literally children of heavenly parents in whose image we are created is necessary if we are to understand that we may indeed become like them. The Prophet Joseph Smith taught, “If men do not com-prehend the character of God, they do not comprehend themselves” (1961, p. 343). Marriage, Families, and the Fall The doctrine of the Fall provides an additional key to understanding our earthly existence. The

proclamation teaches that we came to earth to “obtain a physical body and gain earthly experience to progress toward perfec-tion” (¶ 3). Birth into a family was the way God chose to send His spirit children to earth. Marriage and family relationships are the central means He has prepared to achieve His purposes. We best learn the lessons of life, not in a Garden of Eden–like existence, but in a con-text where we face challenge, opposition, hardship, and temptation (2 Nephi 2:11). The “great plan of happiness” is designed to include adversity and sorrow, “for if [we] never should have bitter [we] could not know the sweet” (D&C 29:39). Unlike traditional Christianity, Latter-day Saints believe the Fall was a necessary part of the Lord’s plan for us: “Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy” (2 Nephi 2:25). While much of traditional Christianity views the Fall of Adam and Eve as a neces-sary evil at best, or an avoidable abomination at worst, there is evidence that some of the early Christian fathers embraced views more consistent with Latter-day Saint theology. In the fourth century ad, St. Ambrose, one of the most influential leaders of the early Catholic Church, wrote that the Fall of Adam and Eve “has brought more benefit to us than harm” (Lovejoy, 1948, pp. 287). Pope Gregory the Great, living in the years 540–604 ad, stated: And certainly, unless Adam had sinned, it would not have behooved our Redeemer to take on our flesh. Almighty God saw beforehand that from that evil because of which men were to die, He would bring about a good which would overcome that evil (Lovejoy, 1948, pp. 288–289). The Fall of Adam and Eve allowed the Lord’s plan for marriages and family to continue forward by mak-ing it possible for Adam and Eve to “have an increase” (D&C 131:4) as they added children to their family. The proclamation states: “The first commandment that God gave to Adam and Eve pertained to their potential for parenthood as husband and wife. We declare that God’s commandment for His children to multiply and replen-ish the earth remains in force” (¶ 4). The Book of Mormon prophet Lehi explained that if Adam and Eve had not partaken of the fruit of the treeof knowledge of good and evil, they would not have been able to fulfill

the commandment God had given them to multiply and replenish the earth. The prophet Lehi taught: And now, behold, if Adam had not transgressed he would not have fallen, but he would have remained in the Garden of Eden. And all things which were created must have remained in the same state in which they were after they were created; and they must have remained forever, and had no end. And they would have had no children; wherefore they would have remained in a state of innocence, hav-ing no joy, for they knew no misery; doing no good, for they knew no sin (2 Nephi 2:22–23). Therefore, rather than being merely a necessary evil, the Fall, “whatever its nature, was formally a transgres-sion but eternally a glorious necessity to open the door-way toward eternal life” (Oaks, 1993, p. 73). The Atonement of Jesus Christ and Eternal Families Understanding the doctrines of the Creation and the Fall are essential if we are to comprehend who we are and the purposes of challenges in life. However, under-standing these particular doctrines alone is not suffi-cient. As profound and meaningful as the doctrine of the eternal family is, this precious doctrine cannot bring joy to individuals and families in this life or eternal life in the world to come. There is one doctrine “which is of more importance than they all” (Alma 7:7), and that is the doctrine of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. The Book of Mormon prophet Helaman taught: Remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon ifmen build they cannot fall (Helaman 5:12). Not only does the Atonement of Jesus Christ make forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of our bodies, and eternal family relationships possible, but the Savior is also the very embodiment of the ways of living and

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being by which we are to live our lives. There is no other way or means by which individuals, couples, families, communities, or even nations may be saved (see Mosiah 3:17). Latter-day Saints need to especially be aware of the danger of placing the family before the Savior. This concern is dramatically illustrated in the following story from Elder Russell M. Nelson: Years ago when Sister Nelson and I had several teen-aged daughters, we took our family on a vacation far away from telephones and boyfriends. We went on a raft trip down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. As we started our journey, we had no idea how dangerous this trip could be. The first day was beautiful. But on the second day, when we approached Horn Creek rapids and saw that precipitous drop ahead, I was terrified. Floating on a rubber raft, our precious family was about to plunge over a waterfall! Instinctively I put one arm around my wife and the other around our young-est daughter. To protect them, I tried to hold them close to me. But as we reached the precipice, the bended raft became a giant sling and shot me into the air. I landed into the roiling rapids of the river. I had a hard time coming up. Each time I tried to find air, I hit the underside of the raft. My fam-ily couldn’t see me, but I could hear them shouting, “Daddy! Where’s Daddy?” I finally found the side of the raft and rose to the surface. The family pulled my nearly drowned body out of the water. . . . Brothers and sisters, I nearly lost my life learning a lesson that I now give to you. As we go through life, even through very rough waters, a father’s instinctive impulse to cling tightly to his wife or to his children may not be the best way to accomplish his objective. Instead, if he will lovingly cling to the Savior and the iron rod of the gospel, his family will want to cling to him and to the Savior. This lesson is surely not limited to fathers. Regardless of gender, marital status, or age, indi-viduals can choose to link themselves directly to the Savior, hold fast to the rod of His truth, and lead by the light of that truth. By so doing, they become examples of righteousness to whom others will want to cling (2001, p. 69). he Savior taught: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and

with all thy strength: this is the first com-mandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these (Mark 12:30–31). As we truly learn to love God and He who atoned for our families, we are best able to love others, especially members of our own family. The Atonement of Jesus Christ has special relevance for marriages and families in crisis. While there is much to be gained from learning the principles of effectively functioning families, there are times when the healing power that a family requires is beyond what any mor-tal can provide. President Howard W. Hunter taught: “Whatever Jesus lays his hands upon lives. If Jesus lays his hands upon a marriage, it lives. If he is allowed to lay his hands on the family, it lives” (1979, p. 65). This is especially important for Latter-day Saints who know that marriage and family relationships can be eternal. The Atonement of Jesus Christ makes possible “eternal lives” (D&C 132:24), or life with our families in the presence of God. In order to do so, He leads families along the path—from making available sealing ordinances in the temple to healing hearts and bridging gaps for families in crisis. God’s work and glory is to unite couples and families together for time and eternity, and only through the Atonement of Christ is this possible. The Atonement of Jesus Christ also allows each of us to grow and progress by repenting, being forgiven, and being worthy of the guiding influence of the Holy Ghost. The prophet Mormon taught his son Moroni: And the remission of sins bringeth meekness, and lowliness of heart; and because of meekness and lowliness of heart cometh the visitation of the Holy Ghost, which Comforter filleth with hope and perfect love, which love endureth by diligence unto prayer, until the end shall come, when all the saints shall dwell with God (Moroni 8:26). Jesus Christ took upon Himself the sins of the world, and it is only through faith in Him and obedience to the laws and ordinances of His gospel that salvation and exaltation are possible. Without the Atonement, no one could live in God’s presence, inherit all He has, or be sealed for eternity as families.

Eternal Life is Familial Eternal life is more than just living forever. President Henry B. Eyring stated, “Eternal life means to become like the Father and to live in families in happiness and joy forever” (1998, p. 10). The ecclesiastical structure of the Lord’s Church is designed to bring the benefits of the eternal sealing powers of the temple to marriage and family relationships, so those relationships can endure throughout eternity. Elder M. Russell Ballard taught, “The family is where the foundation of personal, spiritual growth is built and nurtured; the Church, then, is the scaffolding that helps support and strengthen the family” (1996, p. 81). As stated earlier, the doctrine that eternal life includes life in family relationships is one of the unique teachings of the restored gospel. These teachings have brought joy and consolation to millions of souls. Many people from all faiths, even though their religion does not teach this principle, personally hope and anticipate that their lifelong and deeply cherished relationships with spouse and family members will continue beyond the grave. Only the teachings and temple ordinances of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints can provide the realization of these blessings for all of Heavenly Father’s children. The Doctrine of Eternal Families—A Blessing of the Restoration Soon after learning of the doctrine of eternal families from the Prophet Joseph Smith, Elder Parley P. Pratt, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in the early days of the Church, described his feelings as follows: It was Joseph Smith who taught me how to prize the endearing relationships of father and mother, husband and wife, of brother and sister, son and daughter. It was from him that I learned that the wife of my bosom might be secured to me for time and all eternity; and that the refined sympathies and affections which endeared us to each other ema-nated from the fountain of divine eternal love . . . the true dignity and destiny of a son of God, clothed with an eternal priesthood, as the patriarch and sov- ereign of his countless offspring . . . that the highest dignity of womanhood was, to stand as a queen and

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priestess to her husband, and to reign for ever and ever as the queen mother of her numerous and still increasing offspring. I had loved before, but I knew not why. But now I loved—with a pureness—an intensity of elevated, exalted feeling, which would lift my soul from the transitory things of this grov- eling sphere and expand it as the ocean. I felt that God was my heavenly father indeed; that Jesus was my brother, and that the wife of my bosom was an immortal, eternal companion; a kind ministering angel . . . a crown of glory for ever and ever (1968, pp. 297–298). The power to seal families that was restored through the prophet Joseph Smith was given anciently by the Savior to Peter (Matthew 16:19) and is held by all presidents of the Church today, who in turn bestow this authority on others, who then perform these sacred ordinances in the holy temples. Pertaining to these ordinances, Elder A. Theodore Tuttle of the Seventy taught: Frequently we perform marriages in the temple. These marriages are properly called celestial mar-riages, temple sealings, or eternal marriages. . . . The family is the most important relationship in this life. In reality, the bride and groom are called to assignments in the family from which they are never released, except by transgression. This is the one eternal unit which can exist in the presence of God (Tuttle, 1969, p. 130). In speaking of the importance of keeping marriage covenants, President Joseph Fielding Smith said, “Mar-riage according to the law of the Church is the most holy and sacred ordinance. It will bring to the hus-band and the wife, if they abide in their covenants, the fullness of exaltation in the kingdom of God” (Smith, 1955, p. 84). Latter-day scripture and the words of latter-day prophets teach us that not only are covenant marriages intended to last beyond the grave, but so can sibling and family relationships endure across generations. The prophet Mormon recorded: And the day soon cometh that your mortal must put on immortality . . . and then ye must stand before the judgment-seat of Christ, to be judged according to your works; and if it so be that ye are righteous,

then are ye blessed with your fathers who have gone before you (Mormon 6:21, italics added). In the Doctrine and Covenants we read, “And that same sociality which exists among us here will exist among us there, only it will be coupled with eternal glory, which glory we do not now enjoy” (D&C 130:2). The Prophet Joseph Smith saw a vision of the celestial kingdom as it would one day exist and said, “I saw Father Adam and Abraham; and my father and my mother; my brother Alvin, that has long since slept” (D&C 137:5). It is sig-nificant that of all the great and noble people Joseph could have named, he mentioned his own parents, who were still living at the time of the vision, and his beloved elder brother, Alvin. Adam, one of our “first parents” (Alma 42:2), and Abraham, the “Father of the Faithful” (Abraham 2:10), have a familial relationship with those who will live with God in the celestial kingdom. The truth that the binding of humanity into eternal families is the whole purpose of the Creation is demonstrated by the prophecy of Malachi: Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse (Malachi 4:5–6). From modern revelation we learn that Elijah appeared to the prophet Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery on April 3, 1836, in the temple at Kirtland, Ohio. Elijah, along with Elias and Moses, bestowed sacred priest-hood keys that were a part of the restoration of those keys that had been lost to the earth from previous dis-pensations. President Joseph F. Smith’s vision of the redemption of the dead describes the blessings brought by Elijah: The Prophet Elijah was to plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to their fathers, fore- shadowing the great work to be done in the temples of the Lord in the dispensation of the fulness oftimes, for the redemption of the dead, and the seal-ing of the children to their parents, lest the whole earth be smitten with a curse and utterly wasted at his coming (D&C 138:47–48). The sealing powers restored by Elijah make possible

the joy of being sealed to one’s immediate family and beyond in a great chain from Adam and Eve to the last woman and man to be born upon the earth (see D&C 128:18). In addition to Elijah, Elias also appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, restoring the doc-trine and the keys of celestial marriage. Elder Bruce R. McConkie explained: “Elias appeared, and committed the dispensa-tion of the gospel of Abraham,” meaning the great commission given to Abraham that he and his seed had a right to the priesthood, the gos-pel, and eternal life. Accordingly, Elias promised those upon whom these ancient promises were then renewed that in them and in their seed all generations should be blessed. (D&C 110:12–16.) Thus, through the joint ministry of Elijah, who brought the sealing power, and Elias, who restored the marriage discipline of Abraham, the way was prepared for the planting in the hearts of the chil-dren of the promises made to the fathers. (D&C 2:2.) These are the promises of eternal life through the priesthood and the gospel and celestial mar-riage (1985, p. 322). With the restoration of “the new and everlasting cov-enant of marriage” (D&C 131:2), the order of the priest-hood known as the patriarchal order was reestablished. President Ezra Taft Benson observed that the patriar-chal order is an order of family government where a man and woman enter into a covenant with God—just as did Adam and Eve—to be sealed for eternity, to have posterity, and to do the will and work of God throughout their mortality (1985, p. 9). The patriarchal order, established in the days of Adam (see D&C 107:40–42), was and is an order of the Melchizedek Priesthood. The patriarchal order began with Adam and Eve and continued through Abraham and Sarah and their righteous descendants until the time Moses was translated, when the keys of the Melchize-dek Priesthood were taken from the people (see D&C 84:19–27). Through the keys and authority brought and

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bestowed by Elijah and Elias, Joseph Smith was able to officiate in all ordinances necessary for the salvation and exaltation of men and women. Commenting on the res-toration of the blessings that would come with the seal-ings of marriages and families, the Lord Himself stated on this occasion, “Yea the hearts of thousands and tens of thousands shall greatly rejoice in consequence of the blessings which shall be poured out” (D&C 110:9). Although the exact nature of family relationships after this life has not been fully revealed and we do not fully comprehend what God has prepared for the righteous (1 Corinthians 2:9), the Lord has revealed that marriage is essential for exaltation in the celestial kingdom (see D&C 132:15–16). Each exalted couple will, like God, be involved in the creative process of bringing forth spirit children, who will be privileged to experi-ence mortality for themselves (see D&C 131:4). Conclusion God and His plan are eternal. He instituted marriage and family in the beginning. God created the earth, the garden, and our first parents in order to create families for all of His children to be born into and experience mor-tal life—especially mortal family life. The Fall occurred because Adam and Eve chose to obey God’s command-ment to multiply and replenish the earth and thus create the first family. The Savior completed the Atonement in order to reconcile God’s children with the Father and with one another. Thus, the great plan of happiness is God’s plan for happiness in time and in eternity. God commands his children to marry and become one, and the Savior taught that “what therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder” (Mat-thew 19:6, see also 1 Corinthians 11:11). Marriage and family are eternal, and priesthood keys have been given to prophets to seal on earth and in heaven. The Lord told Moses, “Behold this is my work and my glory, to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39), and He told the Prophet Joseph Smith that the new and everlasting covenant of marriage “was instituted for the fulness of my glory” (D&C 132:6). The work and glory of God is to assist His children to makeand keep sacred

covenants designed to allow them to be sealed together eternally to one another and to Him, and thereby enjoy all God enjoys. It should be the work and glory of all Latter-day Saints to make and keep these sacred covenants, to teach these transcendent truths to those who do not yet know of them, and to work in God’s holy temples to make these covenants and ordinances available to all the children of God. The eternal nature of the marriage covenant and the promise of everlasting family association are among the most beautiful and essential doctrines of the restored gospel. In fact, the purpose of the gospel and the Church is to exalt the family. Elder Hugh B. Brown stated: The family concept is one of the major and most important of the whole theological doctrine. In fact, our very concept of heaven itself is the pro-jection of the home into eternity. Salvation, then, is essentially a family affair, and full participation in the plan of salvation can be had only in family units (1966, 103). From the time of Adam and Eve and on to the pres-ent day, God’s covenant people rejoice in the plain and most precious doctrine of eternal families.

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