The Eternal Blessings of Marriage - Part One

Good Morning or Good Afternoon or Good Evening, this post should take up to five minutes to read. 

This post focuses on April 2011 General Conference talk, and it is called "The Eternal Blessings of Marriage" by Elder Richard G. Scott. This post is part one. I would like to share with you some highlights while I was reading the talk. 

Elder Scott has mentioned the following; "If you are a young man of appropriate age and are not married, don’t waste time in idle pursuits. Get on with life and focus on getting married. Don’t just coast through this period of life. ...

When you find you are developing an interest in a young woman, show her that you are an exceptional person that she would find interesting to know better. Take her to places that are worthwhile. ... If you want to have a wonderful wife, you need to have her see you as a wonderful man and prospective husband.

If you have found someone, you can form an extraordinarily wonderful courtship and marriage and be very, very happy eternally by staying within the bounds of worthiness the Lord has established. If you are married, are you faithful to your spouse mentally as well as physically? ... Are you kind and supportive of your spouse and children?

Brethren, do you lead out in family activities such as scripture study, family prayer, and family home evening, or does your wife fill in the gap your lack of attention leaves in the home? Do you tell your wife often how very much you love her? It will bring her great happiness. 

I’ve heard men tell me when I say that, “Oh, she knows.” You need to tell her. A woman grows and is greatly blessed by that reassurance. Express gratitude for what your spouse does for you. Express that love and gratitude often. That will make life far richer and more pleasant and purposeful. 

Don’t withhold those natural expressions of love. And it works a lot better if you are holding her close while you tell her. ... Early in our marriage, often I would open my scriptures to give a message in a meeting, and I would find an affectionate, supportive note Jeanene had slipped into the pages. 

"No man can obtain an eternal Blessing unless the contract
or covenant be made in view of Eternity. All contracts in 
view of this Life only terminate with this Life." 
- Franklin D. Richards "Spiritual Items"

... Those precious notes from a loving wife were and continue to be a priceless treasure of comfort and inspiration. I began to do the same thing with her, not realizing how much it truly meant to her. ... I remember one day I took some of those little round paper circles that form when you punch holes in paper, and I wrote on them the numbers 1 to 100. 

I turned each over and wrote her a message, one word on each circle. Then I scooped them up and put them in an envelope. I thought she would get a good laugh. When she passed away, I found in her private things how much she appreciated the simple messages that we shared with each other. 

I noted that she had carefully pasted every one of those circles on a piece of paper. She not only kept my notes to her, but she protected them with plastic coverings as if they were a valuable treasure. There is only one that she didn’t put with the others. It is still behind the glass in our kitchen clock. 

It reads, “Jeanene, it is time to tell you I love you.” It remains there and reminds me of that exceptional daughter of Father in Heaven. As I have thought back over our life together, I realize how blessed we’ve been. ... Now I realize that blessing came because of her. 

It resulted from her willingness to give, to share, and to never think of herself. In our later life together, I tried to emulate her example. I suggest that as husband and wife you do the same in your home. Pure love is an incomparable, potent power for good. "

Stay tuned until next time.