Love isn't just about two people

A few weeks ago in institute I heard a quote on marriage that really clicked. “Marriage is more than your love for each other. … In your love you see only your two selves in the world, but in marriage you are a link in the chain of the generations... Just as it is the crown, and not merely the will to rule, that makes the king, so it is marriage, and not merely your love for each other, that joins you together in the sight of God and man. … So love comes from you, but marriage from above, from God.” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers from Prison,ed. Eberhard Bethge (1953), 42–43.). This idea that marriage is more than just for two people has stuck with me.

The other day I was listening to some music and I heard that idea again. Ingrid Michaelson is really good about having love songs that are cheesy but also follow this new definition of love that I discovered. Love is progressive, and it isn't just about two people.

Granted, I'm not married, in a relationship, or even considering marriage within the next couple of years. But I do know what I have seen between my parents, and I want that.

I bear my testimony to you that that God loves us and he wants us to find love also. If we are married in the temple, and maintain our covenants, we will be able to progress toward the celestial kingdom with our spouses. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Cause You Know She's All About that Grace

"A powerful expression of that love is what the scriptures often call the grace of God—the divine assistance and endowment of strength by which we grow from the flawed and limited beings we are now into exalted beings of 'truth and light, until [we are]glorified in truth and [know] all things.'" (The Gift of Grace by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf).

Yesterday in Institute (like Bible study for young adults) we were talking a lot about grace. One of the main things grace can do for us is magnify our abilities, gives us strength, hope, and allows us a greater ability to empathize with others. I feel like I am gaining more and more respect for my mother every day. Through the entire lesson all that I could think of was my mom. She is an amazing woman who has done so much for our family. It takes a special kind of person to want to serve in the military, but it also takes a special kind of person to be a military-supportive spouse. My mom rose to the occasion. She is my idol. She was our strength while my dad was deployed, when he had his heart attack, when he was away at the many schools, etc. My mom is my hero. She is skilled at using the gift of grace, especially while she had to be a "single mom" while my dad was deployed.

I am so grateful for the gift of grace and my mom. She has taught me so much. I know that by grace we are saved after all we can do. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.