This week’s lesson tells us that learning to love God, obey Him, and remain loyal to Him is the preparation we all need in order to enter the promised land of eternal life. (Deut 30:20)
Critical to eternal life is the nature of family life. The same counsel Moses left in Deuteronomy love, obedience, loyalty – are things that will bless our family efforts today. Paragraph 3 of “The Family: A Proclamation to the World” tells us that we’ve learned these principles, and even lived them before:
“In the premortal realm, spirit sons and daughters knew and worshipped God as their Eternal Father and accepted His plan by which His children could obtain a physical body and gain earthly experience to progress toward perfection and ultimately realize their divine destiny as heirs of eternal life. Sacred ordinances and covenants available in holy temples make it possible for individuals to return to the presence of God.”
Although we’ve done it before however, it can still be hard to remember. “When trust is betrayed, dreams shattered, hearts broken and broken again, when we want justice and need mercy, when our fists clench and our tears flow, when we need to know what to hold onto and what to let go of, we can always remember Him. Life is not as cruel as it can sometimes seem. His infinite compassion can help us find our way, truth, and life.” (Elder Gerrit W. Gong, “Always Remember Him,” 2016)
Whether we are trying to overcome a family situation that is difficult, working to build a strong family of our own, or both, striving to “always remember Him” will infuse us with strength beyond our own, and hope for our own promised land.