Moses was up on the mountain and God showed him everything. He saw the Earth and its creation, every particle of it, as well as the plants, animals and every person who ever lived or will live. He was also given to understand that this process has been repeated indefinitely, that there is no beginning, and that there will be no end. After understanding all of this he inquired, "Tell me, I pray thee, why these things are so?" The Lord answered, "This is my work and my glory: to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." (Moses 1:30, 39)
God has a purpose in everything. He does everything for His glory. His glory comes through His children so His work is to help them to have two things: immortality and Eternal life. Now, at first glance these concepts may seem to be redundant because "immortality" and "Eternal Life" both mean to "live forever." However, they are actually very different.
There are two kinds of life. The first is living forever as an individual and never dying, and the second is continually growing and increasing. Everything living is constantly changing and growing. Life doesn't stop. The point at which we stop growing we are dead, though the body and spirit still function just fine. There are lots of dead people walking around in the world, who don't increase in knowledge, wisdom, or glory. Glory is your posterity -- your children and theirs and theirs and so on. There is no end to increase. There is no end to improvement. There is no end to glory. When your glory never stops, you have Eternal Life. This is what God the Eternal Father has -- Eternal Life. So, "immortality" is that you cannot die, but "Eternal life" is continual growth and improvement. We can now consider each one of these separately in terms of the work of God.
Jesus Christ brought about "the immortality of man" through His resurrection. He was "the firstfruits of them that slept." (1 Corinthians 15:20) Immortality is a gift given to all no matter what, as Amulek told the people of Ammonihah, "Amulek hath spoken concerning the resurrection of the dead, that all shall rise from the dead, both the just and the unjust." (Alma 12:8) Everyone who is ever born in this world will be saved from death and will live again never to die. This is a gift to all who are ever born, because of their righteousness before coming to Earth. There are no more contingencies for this gift. Those who did not obey God in the pre-Earth life remain spirits, the angels of Satan, and are never born. They are stopped, damned if you will, because they can never increase. They're done -- forever and ever. But even those who are "unjust" in this world will be resurrected to stand before God and be judged.
Eternal life, on the other hand, is dependent on our faithfulness. All who are born on the Earth have choices and tests to pass in order to continue to grow and progress Eternally. If we desire it, Eternal increase and glory is available to all, but unlike immortality, Eternal life isn't automatic. Those who seek God in this life are promised Eternal life, but there are always contingencies until the final judgment. We must seek the Lord and "endure to the end." Jesus also gives us this gift, but it is one we seek. We must be prepared to receive it. We must follow Him because He is the only One who actually made it from this world to Heaven and Eternal life. There is no other way. It takes the sacrifice of everything in the world in order to find Him. Those who do are able to go on and live Eternally.
There is another contingency to Eternal Life: marriage. The Apostle Paul explained, "Neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord." (1 Corinthians 11:11) Without a spouse there is no increase. Glory only comes as a couple, man and woman because neither can reproduce alone. A single person cannot glorify God because he cannot increase. Thus, though each must find God through Jesus Christ alone, it is only in coming together as husband and wife in unity that Eternal life, glory, increase, and growth can be achieved. After we prepare ourselves for our individual salvation: resurrection, faith, repentance, receiving the Holy Ghost, and sanctification, the last step is to have two sanctified people, a man and a woman, come together in unity forever. This is Eternal Life.
The work and glory of God is to give His children immorality and Eternal life. The first purpose of God, immortality, is entirely fulfilled by Christ since all will be resurrected. The fulfillment of the second purpose of God, Eternal life, can only be fulfilled by a sanctified man and a sanctified woman married for Eternity. In one sense, then, the purpose for which God created all things: the Heavens and the Earth, and all things that are in them is for a man and woman to be together. All of the other parts of the Gospel lead to this end. This is why God creates "worlds without number." This is why the Earth exists. This is why life exists. This is why God sent his only begotten Son into the world. This is the reason Christ suffered -- so we could be married forever, thus having Eternal life.
Knowing this truth gives me a different perspective on marriage and family. Creation is not about "me," but rather "we." My wife, then, must be the most important thing in the world to me -- bar none. Nothing in the world even comes close to her in importance. She is the answer to the question, "why?" Without her I am nothing because I cannot glorify God. With her I can fulfill God's purpose for me, my ultimate destiny, even Eternal life. Now I know why Eternal marriage is so important, above all other things. I also understand on another level the love of God -- and why.
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