Not just a marriage, an eternal marriage

The topic today in relief society was eternal marriage.  It was my week to give the lesson and I shared this thoughtful quote from a talk given in General Conference a few years back by F. Burton Howard of the seventy . . .

An eternal marriage is eternal.  Eternal implies continuing growth and improvement. 
It means that man and wife will honestly try to perfect themselves. It means that the marriage relationship is not to be frivolously discarded at the first sign of disagreement or when times get hard. It signifies that love will grow stronger with time and that it extends beyond the grave. It means that each partner will be blessed with the company of the other partner forever and that problems and differences might as well be resolved because they are not going to go away. 
Eternal signifies repentance, forgiveness, long-suffering, patience, hope, charity, love, and humility. All of these things are involved in anything that is eternal, and surely we must learn and practice them if we intend to claim an eternal marriage.

I love this quote and the perspective it offers of eternity; that it is a gradual progression towards perfection, and as we continue to grow and overcome weaknesses together, and earnestly strive to live our lives in harmony with the gospel, our eternal companionship will be blessed. What a beautiful reminder to keep our marriage strong and continue to nurture the bond that began, for us, twenty years ago next month.