Achieving Unity

The following is a wonderful story told by President Henry B. Eyring on achieving unity in our relationships, particularly marriage:

“It is only with the companionship of the Holy Ghost that we can hope to be equally yoked in a marriage free from discord. I have seen how that companionship is crucial for felicity in a marriage. The miracle of becoming one requires the help of heaven, and it takes time. Our goal is to live together forever in the presence of Heavenly Father and our Savior.

“My father and my mother were very different from each other. My mother was a singer and an artist. My father loved chemistry. Once at a symphony concert, my mother was surprised when my father stood up and began to leave before the applause began. My mother asked him where he was going. His response was, in all innocence: 'Well, it’s over, isn’t it?' Only the gentle influence of the Holy Ghost got him there with her in the first place and brought him back to concerts time and time again.

“My mother lived in New Jersey for 16 years so that my father could support the family by doing research and teaching chemistry. To her it was a sacrifice being separated from her widowed mother and her unmarried sister, who had cared for her in the old family farmhouse. They both died while Mother was far away in New Jersey. Those were the only times I ever saw my mother cry.

“Years later my father was offered a job in Utah. He asked my mother, again in all innocence, 'Mildred, what do you think I should do?'

“She said, 'Henry, do whatever you think is best.'

“He turned down the offer. The next morning she wrote him a letter that I wish I still had. I remember that she told him, 'Don’t open it here. Go to the office and open it there.' It began with a rebuke. He had promised her years before that if he ever could, he would take her to be near her family. He was surprised by her expression of irritation. He had not remembered the desire of her heart. He immediately sent a message accepting the job offer.

“He said, 'Mildred, why didn’t you tell me?'

“She said, 'You were supposed to remember.'

“He always spoke of that choice to move to Utah as his own, never as a sacrifice of his professional career. They had received the miracle of becoming one. It would have been better if Dad had been reminded by the Holy Ghost of the promise he had made years earlier. But he did allow the Holy Ghost to soften his heart so that her choice became his." (http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/10/to-my-grandchildren?lang=engce)