Lessons of 2026
Lesson No. Forty

Andrew Benson and Ellie Alder - For Time and All Eternity

A marriage for time (this life) and for all eternity (next life). In the Mount Timpanogos Temple on October 30, 2026 I officiated at the temple marriage of my grandson Andrew Benson to his beautiful eternal companion, Ellie Alder. Their celestial marriage provides the context of this Lesson. (The ordinances of the temple are sacred, and I am guarded in my public teachings. Recently, the Church has published more detail about temple ordinances than ever before.) A rough outline of what I taught Andrew and Elie at their temple marriage follows:

You will not remember much of what I say today but remember how you feel. You have many things pressing on your minds. But I hope you will remember that you felt the Spirit of the Lord here today and that He is pleased with your desire to have an eternal marriage and family. This marriage ordinance is the greatest blessing available to you in this life because it opens the way for all other blessings in both in time and eternity.

There are two parts to the marriage ordinance. First, is the covenant part, and this is the only ordinance where we have the opportunity to verbally confirm our agreement with the terms of the covenant by answering “yes”. The second is the covenant part. Blessings always follow keeping covenants. The words “covenant” and “blessings” is used 5 times.

Understand and live the teaching of The Family – A Proclamation to the World. If you want to be in harmony with the Lord don’t quibble (argue or complain) as some people do with His living Prophets. The Proclamation was given 31 years ago when the issues it addresses were not so front and center. The Lord knows what we need.

We live in a hierarchal world. The world we know is hierarchal. The government is hierarchal with presidents, governors, and mayors. The business world is hierarchal with a CEO, managers, and directors. The military is hierarchal. The Lord’s Church is different. It has a hierarchal aspect with the prophet delegating priesthood keys wherever they are needed, but generally it is governed by councils. There is the Council of the First Presidency presided over by the Prophet. There is the Council of Twelve Apostles presided over by its president. There are stake councils and ward councils, but in many ways the family council, presided over by a righteous father in harmony with his wife, is the most important council in the Church. In the family there should be no bosses, rather in a celestial marriage the husband and wife agree to council together with love.

The Prophet Joseph Smith designated D&C 84 as “a revelation on the priesthood” (head note to D&C 84). In verse 20 we are taught that in ordinances of the priesthood the power of God is manifest or received in our lives. The power of God is received as we participate in all the ordinances of the priesthood, but the marriage ordinance is unique in that both husband and wife receive a remarkable endowment of priesthood power.

The marriage ordinance brings greatest, most one-sided, exchange possible. We have previously consecrated all that we have to the Lord and His work, now in the marriage ordinance we receive all that the Father has. We have nothing he wants except our willingness to choose Him as our Father. He has everything, and most remarkably He desires to share all that He has with us if we choose Him as our Father.

The marriage ordinance seals and makes eternal, all the other ordinances and blessings of the gospel of Jesus Christ available to us in this life.

The most important council any married couple can receive. Also, it is easy to understand, and when understood it is easy to live. Importantly, it is taught in the temple:

“Stay in the main stream of the Church”. Do not get caught in any of the many spiritually deadly whirlpools that are all about us in this world. Live exactly the council and teachings of the Lord’s living prophets and apostles. Teach it to your children and grandchildren. I testify that the Lord’s living prophets will lead us in the way of life and salvation.

Released on November 8th. 2026.