I visit lds.org most every day. I especially check the newsroom for current topics. It’s been a while since I went to mormon.org but found a great story right on the opening page. Watch the video. A young woman is telling the story of what happened when she asked some thoughtful questions in her weekly bible study class.
I won’t give it away but it is a compelling story. I especially like the response of her teacher who said, “you’ve been listening to the Mormons, haven’t you?” She hadn’t but she immediately called her only LDS friend to find out more about what she had been studying. You can imagine the results.
Over the past two years I have met on a regular basis with some wonderful friends from the Church of the Nazarene. We have shared many fascinating discussions together on various subjects but for the most part we discuss marriage from a Christian perspective and how to improve our own. Rarely does a theological disagreement come up but when it does it is typically about the concept of the eternal nature of marriage.
My heart aches for my good friends who have quoted scriptures to support their point of view that we are not married in heaven. How I wish I could get them to understand that they have missed such a central doctrine of the gospel. It is such a big part of my hope and happiness in this life from knowing, believing and understanding that we can indeed be together as husband and wife in the eternities.
What do these two stories have in common? I am not convinced that my friends from the Church of the Nazarene really believe what their church teaches about marriage in heaven. I believe they are people of a good and honest heart. Someday, when the occasion is right, I am confident that the opportunity will come along for them to accept the truth of this doctrine. We can be together as families forever.
I always wonder why this doctrine is so misunderstood in the Christian churches today. I can’t believe someone who truly loves their spouse will not want to be with them forever. Is this doctrine of marriage in heaven really unique to the Mormons?
