I wrote this after seeing you two at Dillon's wedding but have hesitated to send it. I feel strongly about this but don't want to make you uncomfortable or unhappy with me. So please read this and take it as you will and I'm not trying to be pushy or anything. I just love you guys. Thanks for being good parents and loving me! Love you!!!
“If you want something to last forever, you treat it differently. you shield it and protect it. You never abuse it. You don’t expose it to the elements. You don’t make it common or ordinary. If it ever becomes tarnished, you lovingly polish it until it gleams like new. It becomes special because you have made it so, and it grows more beautiful and precious as time goes by.” –F. Burton Howard
I
can't speak for Becky and Ruth but I would be happy to include Suzanne
in our family for time and all eternity. Suzanne is a very loving and
giving and sweet lady. It is very difficult to step into another family
and take the place of a beloved wife, mother and grandmother but she
has stepped up and willingly tried to step in and she has done a
beautiful job. I don't think there is any doubt that she cares about
and loves you and all of us.
I also can't
speak for Mom. I know that Andy and I have discussed this topic many
times in our own relationship. Would he take another wife if I died?
Would I take another husband? It is very difficult to imagine either of
us with another person. However we have agreed that if one of us was to
die and leave the other with many years to live we would want the other
person to be happy. The marriage relationship is established by God to
help us be happy. So we agreed that if one of us were to die the other
should try to find someone to spend the remaining years with. I truly
believe that mom would also love Suzanne and that things will work out.
I am not sure what is preventing you both from moving forward but I
would like to say a couple things concerning that. You have already
committed to spend the rest of your earthly lives together. You have
come together and worked hard to make things work. As with any
relationship I'm sure you have struggles. The temple marriage helps you
with those struggles. Your relationship expands to include God. So
when things get tough you can turn to him and he will help you both.
Take the time to explore what is holding you both back. Make a list if
you need to and work on things. Be humble and go before the Lord and
make the commitment and he will help you to resolve your problems.
I believe that your Father in Heaven wants you to make that
commitment to one another and then to spend the rest of your lives
honoring that commitment. It is truly a beautiful thing to love and be
loved by your sweetheart. Don't wait until things are "perfect" to be
sealed because they never will be. We are not ever going to be perfect
on this earth. Make the commitment and set a date not too far off in
the future and you will be blessed.
You
are both so lucky to have one another to go through your golden years
with. You have been blessed with the gospel in your lives, health,
wealth and a good family. I know that taking the next step of being
sealed for time and all eternity with bless you both and your families
very much. You will be setting an example to your children and
grandchildren. You will feel greater commitment to one another. You
will have a common goal to work toward with commitment to your Father in
Heaven. I truly believe the sealing gives you the guidance and
protection needed to weather the world.
I
am so thankful for my temple marriage and the love that I share with
Andy. We are truly blessed to have one another. I am married to my best
friend and we work daily to continue that partnership.
On a final note - "The
covenant of eternal marriage is also essential for exaltation.
Exaltation is eternal life—the kind of life God lives. He is perfect. He
lives in great glory. He possesses all knowledge, all power, and all
wisdom. He is kind, compassionate, and merciful. He is the Heavenly
Father of every person on earth. We can someday become like our Heavenly
Father. This is exaltation.
Exaltation is the greatest gift that Heavenly Father can give His children (D&C 14:7).
It is the reward of all those who prove faithful to the Lord. Those who
do will live in the highest degree of the celestial kingdom of heaven."
Suzanne needs to enter into
this covenant in order to return to Heavenly Father in the celestial
kingdom. She can't do it alone. I am sure that this is something that
weighs on her mind as her testimony grows. You have the power to give
her that gift if she will accept it.
I am so thankful for my temple marriage and the love that I share
with Andy. We are truly blessed to have one another. I am married to my
best friend and we work daily to continue that partnership. I hope and
pray that you will consider entering the house of the lord together and
forming that everlasting covenant and then spending all your remaining
days unselfishly serving and loving one another and the Lord.
We love you very much and want you to be happy now and always. I
really believe making this extra commitment is part of the recipe for a
happy life. I hope you will consider what I've said and know that this
comes from me but it also comes from our father in heaven. He wants you
to be happy and return to him.
Love you both and only want the best for you!
*****
“My
husband has made me laugh, wiped my tears, hugged me tight, watched me
succeed, seen me fail, kept me strong. My husband is a promise from our
Heavenly Father that I will have a best friend forever.” –Unknown
