“We will sometimes need to challenge laws that would impair our freedom to practice our faith, doing so in reliance on our constitutional rights to the free exercise of religion” (“Balancing Truth and Tolerance,” Ensign, Feb. 2013, 27).
“Our twelfth article of faith states our belief in being subject to civil authority and ‘in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.’ But man’s laws cannot make moral what God has declared immoral. Commitment to our highest priority—to love and serve God—requires that we look to His law for our standard of behavior. For example, we remain under divine command not to commit adultery or fornication even when those acts are no longer crimes under the laws of the states or countries where we reside. Similarly, laws legalizing so-called ‘same-sex marriage’ do not change God’s law of marriage or His commandments and our standards concerning it” (“No Other Gods,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2013, 75).
“An important key to understanding the Savior’s words is to remember that they were spoken to Sadducees, who ‘say that there is no resurrection’ (Matthew 22:23). Therefore, the question they posed to the Savior was insincere—they were not truly interested in knowing about marriage in the Resurrection. The Savior’s reply that ‘in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage’ (Matthew 22:30; italics added) referred to the individuals in question, who were Sadducees, for the questioners said that ‘there were with us seven brethren’ (Matthew 22:25; italics added). For those who do not marry for eternity, marriage does not endure beyond this life (see D&C 132:15–17). In these latter days, the Lord revealed that marriage can be eternal only if it is entered into according to His law, performed by one who has authority, and sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise (see D&C 132:19).
“Another key to understanding the Savior’s words is to realize that when the Sadducees referred to the words of Moses (see Matthew 22:24), they were referring to what is sometimes termed ‘levirate marriage.’ According to the law of Moses, when a man died leaving his wife childless, his brother was supposed to marry the deceased man’s wife to provide for her and to raise up children for the deceased man (see Deuteronomy 25:5; Bible Dictionary, ‘Levirate marriage’)” (New Testament Student Manual [Church Educational System manual, 2014], 66–67).
“[Jesus Christ] is not denying but limiting the prevailing concept that there will be marrying and giving in marriage in heaven. He is saying that as far as ‘they’ (the Sadducees) are concerned, that as far as ‘they’ (‘the children of this world’) are concerned, the family unit does not and will not continue in the resurrection. …
“‘Therefore, when they [those who will not, do not, or cannot live the law of eternal marriage] are out of the world they neither marry nor are given in marriage’ [D&C 132:16].
“That is, there is neither marrying nor giving in marriage in heaven for those to whom Jesus was speaking; for those who do not even believe in a resurrection, let alone all the other saving truths” (Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 3 vols. [1965–73], 1:606).
“To love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength is all-consuming and all-encompassing. It is no lukewarm endeavor. It is total commitment of our very being—physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually—to a love of the Lord.
“The breadth, depth, and height of this love of God extend into every facet of one’s life. Our desires, be they spiritual or temporal, should be rooted in a love of the Lord. Our thoughts and affections should be centered on the Lord. …
“Why did God put the first commandment first? Because He knew that if we truly loved Him we would want to keep all of His other commandments. …
“When we put God first, all other things fall into their proper place or drop out of our lives. Our love of the Lord will govern the claims for our affection, the demands on our time, the interests we pursue, and the order of our priorities.
“We should put God ahead of everyone else in our lives. …
“We bless our fellowmen the most when we put the first commandment first” (“The Great Commandment—Love the Lord,”Ensign, May 1988, 4–6; see also Mark 12:28–34).
“Jesus the Christ is the Son of David in the physical way of lineage. … But while Jesus was born in the flesh as late in the centuries as the ‘meridian of time’ He was Jehovah, Lord and God, before David, Abraham, or Adam was known on earth” (Jesus the Christ, 3rd ed. [1916], 552).