Sunday afternoon, April 1974 General Conference. Elder Maxwell’s first talk. I read it expecting his typical verbal kinesthetics.

Instead, I reverently stopped at this phrase:

Appreciation for a splendid woman, Colleen, a wife for all seasons, who has made our home a haven.

A wife for all seasons.

How much of the gospel is about preparing us to shine in all seasons?

That desire to have a relationship that not only survives but thrives in all circumstances certainly seems to be at the root of the difference between romance and marriage. It is what forever is for.

Sickness and health. Childlessness and childbearing. Pleasure and pain. Youth and age. Mortal and divine. Time and eternity.

Other Posts from the Sunday Afternoon Session of the April 1974 General Conference

• Get to Work by Nathaniel Givens
• The Promise of Eternity by Daniel Ortner
• Testimonies Sometimes Have Bandages by Jan Tolman
• To develop Gods by Marilyn Nielson