8. Third and Conclusion: “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them” (Genesis 3:21).

We also learn in the temple that after becoming aware of their lack of clothing and protection, Adam and Eve receive direction from Lucifer to sew together fig leaves as aprons. While this may seem like a solution to the problem, Lucifer has actually just pulled off a set-up.

Once kicked out into the lone and dreary world, Adam and Eve will face physical hardship. Certainly the weather won’t be as nice as it was in Eden. Soon winter will come, and those fig leaves will shrivel up and wither away. There will be no protection against the cold, nor the rugged terrain ahead of Adam and Eve. The aprons are essentially useless, and soon the seemingly concise solution will dissolve, leaving Adam and Eve naked again.

However, in His infinite mercy, the Lord makes “coats of skins” for Adam and Eve to protect them against the pitfalls of this telestial sphere. These coats are durable. They are warm. They will survive the winter and keep Adam and Eve safe. But they take much more effort, time, and diligence to make than a simply fig-leaf apron.

So it is with marriage. Conflicts will arise and decisions will have to be made. There will always be the quick and easy way, the fig-leaf solution. They are attractive because they require the least amount of effort and seem to work immediately. It may be the decision to go into more debt to pay off other debts. It may be to tell a white-lie to your spouse in order to “save her feelings”. But the truth is, just like fig leaves, these so-called solutions will die. Make no mistake about it, they will fail. Only a coat of skins solution will be permanent. These solutions do come at a price, they may even be painful. Perhaps you must take on more hours at work and spend less online. Maybe you need to confess something to your spouse and possibly even a priesthood leader. But the concrete truth is that these solutions – the Lord’s solutions – do work. They are fundamental to our personal lives and foundational in our successful marriages. “Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ”. (The Family: A Proclamation)

Yes, these coat of skin solutions are hard, in fact, that is where we get the misunderstood mantra that “marriage is hard”. Adam and Eve willingly chose to forgo a paradisiacal setting to live as husband and wife and father and mother in a darker, drearier, and harder place. Certainly that wasn’t easy. I’m sure that it wasn’t 100% enjoyable. But they understood that trust, vulnerability, togetherness, and the Lord’s way transcend happiness into something much more. They understood the formula to eternal joy.

Let’s not treat marriage like a dull social obligation, or even just as a “good thing to do”. Let’s refer to marriage as the Savior describes its espousing gospel; “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give your rest.

Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me: for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).

As we follow the examples of our first parents, we too will find rest, ease, and a lightened burden in the greatest of eternal relationships as we seal ourselves to the Savior along the way.