20.6.13

None else...



Let's take as our text, the Doctrine and Covenants section 42, verse 22 (42:22).  

"Thou shalt alove thy wife with all thy heart, and shalt bcleaveunto her and none else."

President Kimball explained that "none else" was not only referring to no-other-person but also refers to not-another-person-or-thing.  In other words, nothing else should supersede your love for your husband or wife.  You don't love your racquet, sports, cars, job, race cars, chess pieces, computer games, books or magazines, parents, even your own children more or even as much as your wife...  

Does that mean even God?  Well, I don't think you can even love at all without first being anchored to God in a relationship of LOVE.  I can imagine going overboard with that love though...  For example, you break this commandment if you abandon your loved one to go to the temple all day or to do genealogy work every waking moment.  Don't confuse that fervor with which you are immersing yourself with loving God--cause you're not.  If you want to show God that you love Him; do what He asks of you--namely, love your wife with all of your heart and cleave unto her and none else!

P.S. Jesus the Christ, in the New Testament said, "For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?"  It was that same perfect being who spoke both of those verities/commandments.  In the first case, though, the words were given from an already resurrected and perfected God.  One flesh?  How can that be?  I think that in a similar way to Christ and the Father and the Holy Ghost being one, but for a husband and wife, we have added one "flesh" because when we become one like the Father and the Son we also are married in the temple and literally are one.

JPS

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