President Ezra Taft Benson taught us that “when we put God first, all other things fall into their proper place or drop out of our lives. We should put God ahead of everyone else in our lives. ‘ (May 1988 Ensign article, The Great Commandment – Love the Lord) This includes ourselves, we must love God more than we love ourselves. As we focus on our Savior and His commandments and do all we can to try to be like Him, our lives will be bless and we will find joy. We will be able to ‘count our many blessings” as we follow the counsel of our Savior and do as He would do. In our marriages, we should follow this same counsel. Our marriages will be blessed as “we put God first.” Jesus Christ put aside His own will to do the will of the Father. This reminds me of one of my favorite primary songs, "I'm Trying to Be Like Jesus." One line of that song says, "In all that I do and say." We must strive to do as our Savior did and treat others as He would treat them, including our spouses.

H. Wallace Goddard, PhD states, “It takes faith in the Lord Jesus Christ to remove evil from our marriages and bring them to vibrant life.” Just as Jesus healed the son who had been inflicted by the unclean spirit, He can remove the evil from our lives as we rely on Him and invite Him into our lives. The Prophet Brigham Young counseled two sisters, each wanting a divorce, to see their husbands as they will be in the glorious resurrection. If we look at our marriages with eternal perspective, we’ll be able to see more clearly the potential our marriages have. Goddard states that “If we replace judgment and condemnation at each other with compassion and love, we not only find more peace, serenity, and tranquility but also become one smidgen more like God.” Our purpose in coming to this earth is to receive a body and to prove ourselves worthy. As we become more like our Father in Heaven, we will find that our lives are filled with happiness and not sorrow. We may not be able to enjoy all the promised blessings in this life, but they are promised and we will have them in the next life.

I’m grateful for my marriage and my husband and for all he does for me. Tonight, as my husband was leaving to go to mutual (he’s the deacon’s quorum advisor) he kissed me goodbye and said, “Thank you.” I asked him for what and he replied, “For being you.” My heart skipped a beat and even after 14 years of marriage, that man made my heart pitter patter. I’m grateful for the teachings of our Savior and even today through latter-day prophets.