In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. The first five days of the Creation were all in preparation for the sixth, which brought forth the ultimate purpose and crowning event of the Creation—earth's first family. Likewise, the crowning ordinance of the gospel is a sealing in the temple, or the creation of an eternal family. "The family is central to the Creator's plan for the eternal destiny of His children" or His family. With the family being the central part of God's plan, it shouldn't surprise us that the first commandment He gave to Adam and Eve was to have a family: "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth."
As the first family, Adam and Eve became the divine archetype for all other men and women who would follow: "And they twain shall be one flesh, and all this that the earth might answer the end of its creation." The standard works repeatedly teach us that without eternal families, "the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming," because it would not have answered the end of its creation. The plan of salvation is all about families."Not Good" to be Alone
From the beginning the Lord declared that "it [was] not good that the man [or woman] should be alone." Being alone is an antonym of family and is contrary to God's plan of happiness. Therefore "Adam fell that [families] might be; and [families] are that they might have joy." Having an eternal family is the only way to achieve ultimate joy. . .
. . .It must have been frightening for Adam to contemplate the imminent separation from Eve after she partook of the forbidden fruit and would be expelled from the Garden of Eden. As hard as it may have been for Adam to say good-bye to the Garden of Eden, losing Eve would have been the real "paradise lost." Mark Twain phrased it beautifully: "Wherever Eve was, there was Eden."
If Adam had not chosen wisely, he would have become a lone man in a dreary Eden, with a self-imposed sentence of eternal solitary confinement, and "must have remained in the same state . . . forever, and had no end." Could it be eternal aloneness that in great part makes hell what it is? The garden was Adam's house, but Eve was his home and his companion in achieving his true purpose. Earth's first love story is not only its most famous but also its most tender and inspiring. It is a story about the use of agency, love, companionship, and the making of a home.
We all know that actions speak louder than words. We may say "I love you," but do our actions back up that claim? Elder Lynn G. Robbins teaches us that love is more than a feeling — it is a commitment, a promise to be responsible, respectful, and responsive to the needs and experiences of other. And like any other action we undertake, perfecting the act of love requires a lifetime of practice and good choices.
As Elder Robbins teaches, the daily choices we make in our marriages and families are what shape lasting love. He helps us to recognize the role that our agency plays in developing forgiveness, patience, kindness, responsibility, and other virtuous traits. We come to see that as we actively try to do things differently, Christ helps us to be the people He wants us to be — people like Him.
Whether you're engaged to be married, a newlywed, or someone with decades of marriage under your belt, this counsel from an inspired leader will help you develop more Christlike love for those around you. As you draw closer to the Savior through your daily choices and actions, His love will fill your home.