Gramps,

Have I lost my chance to obtain exaltation in the celestial kingdom? My wife of 23 years announced out of the blue one day when I got home from work that she was divorcing me. She has gone her own way and made her own decisions. I’m in a situation that I have not chosen to be in. To the best of my ability I have striven to keep my covenants and have been obedient. Do I have to remarry in the temple to now have the possibility of reaching my potential?

George, from Ogden, Utah

Dear George,

If you have remained faithful to your covenants there is no blessing pronounced upon you in the temple that you will not receive. The Lord’s word is sure! He has said—

What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same (Doctrine & Covenants 1:38).

If your wife has broken her covenants with the Lord she will of course be disqualified from the blessings of exaltation. However, either in this life or during the millennium you will find another companion who will be worthy of your righteousness, and who will be willing to be sealed to you for eternity. In addition, it is always possible that if you wife carries out her threat she may yet fully repent, and thus will be forgiven and again be worthy of the blessings and union performed in the temple.

Gramps