Making Marriage Strong

I remember growing up and hearing President Hinckley say he never got in a fight with his wife. I looked at marriages around me and dreamed of having the perfect marriage. I totally thought it was do-able to never have an argument and be completely unified in everything. I was so disappointed when I realized, I would not be able to make that claim. But I don't think most people can. :)

However, my husband shared a lesson he taught to his seminary class and Elders Quorum that I really liked on how we can make our marriage strong.

The lesson can be found in the story of Noah's Ark. Now I know I can't compare to Jack in what he'd be able to teach and he would involve more principles, but there are a few things I remember him saying that stuck with me.

After a recent argument, it is what immediately came to my head.

Noah was commanded to build an ark. There are a couple important things we learn about the instruction he received in Genesis 6:14 when it says "Make thee an ark of gopher wood; ... and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch."

Wood. Wood comes from trees which are living. When the people made the tower of Babel they made it with brick. Clay that comes from the earth and dirt.

Pitch. Pitch is sap that comes from trees which are living. In the story of the Tower of Babel they use slime for mortar, from the ground.

So unlike the Tower of Babel, the ark is made with living things, something that reminds us of Christ.

The ark separated Noah from the wickedness of the world. But having an ark is not good enough. Sure he'd have a boat when the rains came, but the water would seep in. He needed to pitch it within and without. He needed to seal it to protect it.

This is where we can think of marriage. We can get married in the temple. That is us separating ourselves from the world, building our boat, but that is not enough. We need that pitch, within and without. The sealing power of the atonement. Remember the pitch, that sealing power flowed from inside the tree. So like Christ's blood, flowing from him during the atonement, is what will protect us from the waters of the world seeping into our temple marriage.

We may think our temple marriage isn't perfect. That may be discouraging at times. But as long as we are striving to use the atonement constantly and consistently in our lives, we will be protected when the storms come. We can seal in those little cracks where the world comes in, little by little, until we are completely protected.

I know the atonement has the power to make us perfect, in our lives and in our marriage.

Just another little note you may be familiar with. The hebrew word for atonement is kaphar, meaning, to cover. The same definition of pitch.