Till Death Do Us Part

I went to a wedding yesterday for one of my friends from high school. The wedding was perfect- from the flowers to the readings to the bridesmaids' dresses to the music, except for one thing: the priestess said they would be married "until death do you part." I tried to imagine how I would feel if I was the bride and heard that during the ceremony. I think that I may feel very sad - that I would lose my best friend when I died. I tried to think about feeling the Spirit in the ceremony, but it just wasn't there. There wasn't any animosity in the room (I would hope not during a wedding ceremony), but the overall feeling was one of happiness, yet bitterness. An image of the couple at death was one where the two were floating apart forever and ever and could not come back to each other. Then I imagined what the feelings would be like if the couple was getting married in the temple. How the Spirit and the love of Heavenly Father would be present. I can't describe in words how thankful I am for the blessings and covenants that we receive/make in the temple! Even though the path of my life has taken a different unplanned course during the last few years, I have never been more thankful for the temple and the promises that we can receive if we are faithful!

I even thought it was interesting that a woman was performing the ceremony; however, I did not think it that odd as I was thinking of certain experiences in the temple. I have gained a deeper understanding of the importance of temple work and how I need to be going as often as I can and to make it a priority. Don't we all want to end up with glory sitting next to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ in the celestial kingdom? What greater way to do achieve this than by going to the temple and truly understanding what the true love of Christ means. I hope that I never take these temple blessings for granted (I'm sure that I have and that I do) and that I can always have the desire to attend the temple.