I had a different post planned for today.
Then some things happened this morning and I felt impressed to share something I wouldn’t normally on this blog.
It’s about to get really personal up in here.
But seeing as how Little Dove Creations is all about ideas to help make your house into your home, this morning I wanted to share my testimony on the biggest component on what makes my house into my home.
My family.
I mentioned in Friday’s post that this past weekend (June 22) was my hubby’s and my 6 year anniversary.
We met on a blind date in August 2006, got engaged in April 2007, and got married in June 2007. Anybody who tells you you need a year to plan a wedding is dead wrong.
But I digress.
We got married in Newport Beach, CA in the beautiful LDS temple there. Temples are wonderful places where sacred ordinances take place. One of those ordinances is a sealing, what we call our marriage ceremony.
When we are sealed, we are sealed together “for time and all eternity”, not just “until death do us part”. How wonderful to know that you can be with your family through all the eternities! My church has an inspired document entitled: “The Family: A Proclamation to the World”. One of the statements it makes is that, “The divine plan of happiness enables family relationships to be perpetuated beyond the grave. Sacred ordinances and covenants available in holy temples make it possible for individuals to return to the presence of God and for families to be united eternally.”
I believe that families can be together forever.
I believe that we are created in the image of a loving heavenly Father who is aware of each of us.
I fully agree with this statement: “ALL HUMAN BEINGS—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny. Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose.”
I believe that marriage is between a man and woman.
I have a love for all of God’s children and I believe that we are all brothers and sisters. I am not close-minded or old fashioned, I simply believe that the term “marriage” should be reserved for a man and woman.
Although sometimes there can be circumstances beyond our control,
I believe that all children have the right to be raised by a mother and a father who love them.
The Proclamation to the World states it beautifully, “God has commanded that the sacred powers of procreation are to be employed only between man and woman, lawfully wedded as husband and wife. WE DECLARE the means by which mortal life is created to be divinely appointed. We affirm the sanctity of life and of its importance in God’s eternal plan. HUSBAND AND WIFE have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children. “
I am not saying that I don’t think that children can be raised with love and support in another situation other than in a family with a mother and father who are married; but I do believe that is the ideal situation. Having children is a serious responsibility and men and women have different characteristics and roles making each an important fixture in your child’s life.
Put more eloquently: “THE FAMILY is ordained of God. 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. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities. By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners.”
I hope that this post will be read with the love that it was intended. I merely wanted to share my testimony on something that I feel very strongly about. The focus on families is one of the things that I love most about my church.
Feel free to leave comments or questions to this post, and feel free to disagree with something that I believe. However, I will delete any comment that is hateful or uses foul language; please be as respectful as I tried to be.
All quotes are from “The Family: A Proclamation to the World”.