Poem by Boyd K. Packer



(as quoted in "Marriage," Ensign, May 1981 by Elder Boyd K. Packer)
 

We have within a burning flame,
A light to kindle lights,
The sacred fire of life itself,
Which if misused ignites
A smold’ring, suffocating cloud
Of sorrow and distress.
When used by law this power brings forth
A life, a family, happiness.

Temptors from the darkest realm
Seek to pervert this power
In acts of wickedness and waste
Until there comes the hour
Of judgment and of recompense,
When bitter tears are shed
O’er power once held to foster life
That now is gone and dead.

I know this power to be a key,
A very key to God’s own plan
Which brings to pass eternal life
And immortality for man.
And marriage is the crucible
Where elements of life combine,
Where mortal temples are conceived
Within that plan divine.

Then spirit offspring of our God
Can come through mortal birth
To have a choice, to face the test—
The purpose of our stay on earth.
Here good and evil stand alike
Before decision’s sovereign nod.
Those who elect the righteous path
Will part the veil, return to God.

A gift from God, the plan provides
That mortal beings in humble strait
Be given power, supernal power,
To share their love and help create
A living child, a living soul,
Image of man, and of Deity.
How we regard this sacred gift
Will fix our course, our destiny!