President Henry B. Eyring said, “The Savior of the world, Jesus Christ, said of those who would be part of His Church: “Be one; and if ye are not one ye are not mine” (D&C 38:27). And at the creation of man and woman, unity for them in marriage was not given as hope, it was a command! “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh” (Gen. 2:24). Our Heavenly Father wants our hearts to be knit together. That union in love is not simply an ideal. It is a necessity” (Eyring, 1998). If we know that God command man and woman to be one, then why is it so hard for so many couples to be one? Unfortunately, Satan messes with our natural man, and distorts the truths that God intended for us. President Eyring continues, “All of us have felt something of both union and separation. Sometimes in families and perhaps in other settings we have glimpsed life when one person put the interests of another above his or her own, in love and with sacrifice. And all of us know something of the sadness and loneliness of being separate and alone. We don’t need to be told which we should choose. We know. But we need hope that we can experience unity in this life and qualify to have it forever in the world to come. And we need to know how that great blessing will come so that we can know what we must do” (Eyring, 1998).
Companionship, and especially oneness in a marriage is not something that I think any would pass up. They know how beautiful it is, and can be. I personally have experience oneness in my marriage. No, I do not have a perfect marriage, but I have had glimpses into what a celestial marriage is like. The feeling of oneness in marriage is one of the grandest feelings that you can possible have. I want this feeling always. I want to give my marriage every ounce of effort now, so that I can feel this oneness always in the world to come. The question remains: How do we obtain oneness in marriage?
Become One Through Christ
Christ taught the way for a man and a woman to be one. While praying with His apostles at the las supper, Christ gives man the tool that they need to achieve oneness: “And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me” (John 17:18–21). When our marriages are sanctified through Christ they are one. Howard W. Hunter stated, “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” (Hunter, 1979). A Christ centered marriage is a unified marriage, of repentance and forgiveness.
Through the power or the Holy Ghost, we are Unified
President Eyring explains another tool that brings oneness in a marriage: “Where people have that Spirit with them, we may expect harmony. The Spirit puts the testimony of truth in our hearts, which unifies those who share that testimony. The Spirit of God never generates contention (see 3 Ne. 11:29). It never generates the feelings of distinctions between people which lead to strife (see Joseph F. Smith, Gospel Doctrine, 13th ed. [1963], 131). It leads to personal peace and a feeling of union with others. It unifies souls. A unified family, a unified Church, and a world at peace depend on unified souls” (Eyring, 1998). Living a life worthy of having the Holy Ghost as your guide, gives each individual the power to become one with their spouse.
Keep Your Covenants, and Be One
President Eyring describes the next tool as keeping covenants: “First, we promise to take His name upon us. That means we must see ourselves as His. We will put Him first in our lives. We will want what He wants rather than what we want or what the world teaches us to want. As long as we love the things of the world first, there will be no peace in us. Second, we promise always to remember Him. We do that every time we pray in His name. Especially when we ask for His forgiveness, as we must do often, we remember Him. At that moment we remember His sacrifice that makes repentance and forgiveness possible. When we plead, we remember Him as our advocate with the Father. When the feelings of forgiveness and peace come, we remember His patience and His endless love. That remembering fills our hearts with love. Third, we promise as we take the sacrament to keep His commandments, all of them.” (Eyring, 1998). A covenant keeping person, is one who is filled with love for their spouse.
Be Unified Through Christ, Be Worthy of the Holy Ghost, Keep Your Covenants, and Be One.
References
Eyring, H. B. (1998, April). That We May Be One. Retrieved from churchofjesuschrist.org
Hunter, H. W. (1979). Reading the Scriptures. Retrieved from churchofjesuschrist.org
Making Marriage Happy 