Editor’s note: To support personal and family gospel learning, the Church News is publishing articles on messages from April 2026 general conference. It is recommended to listen to or read the full address in addition to reviewing these resources.
About this talk
- “Eternal Marriage Is an Eternal Journey”
- Elder Neil L. Andersen | Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
- Sunday afternoon session of April 2026 general conference.
- Theme: Eternal marriage is an eternal journey of becoming who God desires His children to become.
Read the full message here.
Read a summary of Elder Andersen’s message here.
Outline
- Because of the Savior’s victory over death and sin, believers will praise His name forever.
- The sealing power has been restored to the earth, found in dedicated temples today.
Kneeling at the altar
- One experience cemented in Elder Andersen’s memory was kneeling across the altar from his wife, Sister Kathy Andersen, to be sealed for time and all eternity.
- When they knelt across the altar, they realized the depth of their commitment to God and to each other. The sealing ordinance binds together eternal companions and binds them with God.
Refining our nature
- An even greater hope is a desire to refine one’s nature to become more like the Savior, to one day live with Him.
- When increasing love for the Savior, love for each other grows. Eternal marriage is an eternal journey of becoming who God desires His children to become.
- In much of the world, confidence in lasting marriage is diminishing; but in the gospel of Jesus Christ, marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God.
Preparing for the covenants
- Marriage is anticipated with faith and confidence for those who prepare for the covenants they make in the house of the Lord.
- Even in the preparation to enter the temple, individuals realize their lives require more unselfishness, repentance and forgiveness. While embracing life’s happiness and sorrows, keep eyes focused heavenward.
Relying on the Holy Ghost
- The companionship of the Holy Ghost is profoundly needed in personal life and in marriage.
- One deception of the world is to discount the sacred importance and the actual power of the sealing ordinance. Hope in each other and Jesus Christ can overcome this deception.
- Allow the Lord to expand spiritual gifts of understanding and patience in marriage.
- Every true disciple of Jesus Christ, if desired, will be eternally sealed to a companion, whether in this life or the next.
- There are situations where divorce should be considered, but the cautions are significant.
Caring for each other
- A devoted husband and wife faced many unexpected health challenges throughout their marriage but remained faithful to each other and to God. Through prayer, service and hope in eternal promises, they endured their trials together with love and perseverance.
Receiving the strength
Reflection questions
What can you do now to strengthen your family relationships for eternity?
Why is it important that the sealing power has been restored?
What are specific action items from listening to Elder Andersen’s talk that you want to implement into your life today?
How can you support people with nontraditional family structures or relationships?
What can we learn from Elder Andersen about the role of families in God’s plan?
Speaker quotes
- “As we increase our love for the Savior, our love for each other grows. Like our own discipleship, our eternal marriage is not a short-term experiment but a journey, an eternal journey of becoming who God desires us to become.”
- “We anticipate our marriage with faith and confidence because we conscientiously prepare for the covenants we make in the house of the Lord.”
- “While embracing the happiness and sorrows of life’s experiences, we etch our covenants indelibly upon our souls, and we keep our eyes focused heavenward, toward the glorious destination awaiting us.”
Reference scriptures
- “And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
- “Verily I say unto you, blessed are you for receiving mine everlasting covenant, even the fulness of my gospel, sent forth unto the children of men, that they might have life and be made partakers of the glories which are to be revealed in the last days, as it was written by the prophets and apostles in days of old.”
- “Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. ... But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”
Invitations and promises
- “We solemnly vow to keep the covenants, and the Lord promises us, as we are faithful, unspeakable blessings in mortality and beyond, including thrones, powers and dominions in the eternal world.”
- “Keep your hope in each other and in Jesus Christ. His promises can see us through the obstacles and distractions.”
- “Every true disciple of Jesus Christ, if it is his or her desire, will be eternally sealed to a righteous companion of his or her choosing throughout eternity, whether in this life or the next.”
Stories
- A faithful couple began their marriage with hope and promise, but the wife later faced serious health challenges. The husband turned to God through prayer and fasting and cared for his wife with patience, love and humility. Their faith in their covenants and the hope of being together eternally gave them strength during difficult times. As they remained devoted to each other, they experienced joy as parents and grandparents despite ongoing trials.
From the footnotes
- 7. For an explanation of the conditions and blessings associated with the covenant of eternal marriage, see “Temple Sealing,” in General Handbook: Serving in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 3.5.3.5: “In the sealing ordinance, a man and a woman make a covenant with God and with each other. They covenant and promise to receive one another as husband and wife, counsel and labor together in love and righteousness, and fulfill their divinely appointed roles as husband and wife and as father and mother. A man and woman who are faithful to this covenant are joined together as husband and wife for all eternity. The couple has sealed upon them … all the blessings of God’s everlasting covenant, the highest of which is exaltation with eternal posterity (see Doctrine and Covenants 132:19–20; see also 66:2; 131:1–4; and 27.3 and 38.4 in this handbook).”
Additional resources
- Related image: “Family Prayer”
- Related video: “What Is a Temple Wedding Like?”
- Related hymn: No. 300, “Families Can Be Together Forever”
Recent conference talks on eternal families
- President Dallin H. Oaks: “The Family-Centered Gospel of Jesus Christ” (October 2025)
- Elder Ronald A. Rasband: “The Family Proclamation — Words From God” (October 2025)
- Elder Matthew L. Carpenter: “Fruit That Remains” (April 2024)
Who is Elder Andersen?
- Elder Neil L. Andersen was sustained to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on April 4, 2009. He had served as a General Authority Seventy since 1993, during which time he managed development of the film “The Testaments of One Fold and One Shepherd” and supervised the initial launch of Mormon.org, now ComeUntoChrist.org.
