Legacy of Loyalty!

       Marriage is the most rewarding and beautiful experience relationship life has to offer. Heavenly Father loves is all of His children and their happiness is His motivation for everything He does. We are repeatedly taught that we can go to our Father in Heaven and ask for His help, guidance, and blessings anytime we need them. In return, Heavenly Father will always bless us with the things we need and He will do so when we need them the most. While it is comforting to know that Heavenly Father will give us what we need, I think the more important detail lies in the fact that Heavenly Father is ALWAYS available when we need Him. He loves us. He is constantly focused on our well-being. He always listens to us. All of these characteristics stem from one of Heavenly Father's most important qualities: unwavering loyalty. 

         Just like how Heavenly Father is completely loyal to us, the same is expected of us with our spouses.  I love the above mentioned quote from Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, who said, "The crowning characteristic of love is always loyalty." To me, loyalty means that a person willingly gives his or her heart to someone else. This is extremely important because your heart is the only thing that you can give away that is truly yours. By giving your heart to someone, you are showing that person how much he or she means to you and it is a gesture of love and devotion. By giving our hearts completely to our spouses, we are paving the way to build our relationships on principles of mutual trust, respect, and honesty. Giving up your heart is not an easy thing to do, but it is necessary if you expect your marriage to survive and thrive against the temptations and trials we face in today's world. 

          We are expected to be completely loyal because we are expected to follow our perfect role model, the Savior Jesus Christ. He showed complete loyalty not only to His Father, but to us as well when He performed the Atonement. He willingly gave His heart to His Heavenly Father and us because by sacrificing Himself, He opened the doorway to salvation. His sacrifice is a clear sign of loyalty and is meant to be an inspiration for us. We can look to the Savior to inspire and teach us how to be more loyal to our spouses. Christ has left behind a legacy of loyalty and if we follow His example, then we can do the same!