Beginning daily in late 1932, the word "Eternity" mysteriously appeared on the sidewalks of Sydney, Australia, written repeatedly in chalk or marking crayon in perfect copperplate script.

For nearly a quarter-century, the author of the street-side, single-word sermon remained unknown. The city's Daily Telegraph called him "the man Sydney wondered about;" locals simply dubbed him "Mr. Eternity."

Early one morning in 1956, a Sydney minister spied a smartly dressed, 5-foot-3 man, unaware he was being watched as he stooped to scrawl on the pavement.

Asked the minister: "Are you Mr. Eternity?"

"Guilty, your honor," replied 72-year-old Arthur Stace.

It was only then Sydney learned about Stace, who grew up in poverty and crime. A veteran of World War I, he returned home to Australia shell shocked, partially blind and unemployed. He also returned to past vices, particularly alcoholism's numbing stupor.

In 1930, the promise of a free meal drew a destitute Stace into Sydney's Burton Street Baptist Tabernacle. Touched by the day's sermon, he soon became a reformed alcoholic and converted Christian.

Two years later, a similarly impressed Stace left church with the preacher's words — "I wish I could shout 'eternity' through the streets of Sydney" — ringing in his ears. Finding a piece of chalk in his pocket, the man who had no schooling and admittedly could barely even write his own name scrawled out his first "Eternity" in perfect penmanship.

He repeated that act at least 50 times a day for more than 30 years, studying the Bible beginning at 4 a.m. before heading out alone and in secret for a couple of hours, pausing every hundred yards or so to write his trademark word.

"I think 'Eternity' gets the message across, makes people stop and think," said Stace, who passed away in 1967 after having written the word more than a half million times throughout Sydney.

And, yes, "Eternity" is engraved on his headstone.

For Latter-day Saints, "eternity" is a word most commonly used to express the difficult-to-describe and hard-to-grasp expanse of time and being both before and after this mortal life.

Scripture indexing of "eternity" prompts the reader to consider related terms of "eternal," "eternal life" and "the eternal nature of God."

The Lord declared: "This is my work and my glory — to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" (Moses 1:39). And the Savior unlocked immortality and eternal life through His Atonement.

Everyone is promised immortality, which is living forever as a resurrected being.

However, while all will live through the eternities, it is wrong to confuse the principle of immortality with the phrase "eternal life."

Rather, eternal life — or exaltation — is to live in God's presence, with the additional blessing of continuing our family relations (see Doctrine and Covenants 131:1-4). The third Article of Faith teaches us that "obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel" is required to inherit eternal life.

While Arthur Stace may not be writing on your neighborhood sidewalks, consider just a sampling in our lives of the many reminders of eternal life:

Temples in our communities and photos of temples in our homes visually remind us of the sacred sites where eternal covenants are made and eternal ordinances are performed.

The Standard Works — the Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price — provide scripture after scripture detailing the joys and blessings of eternal life and the path of obedience leading to it.

Participating in worship services allows us to remember the Savior and His Atonement as we partake of the sacrament, to be inspired by teachings and testimonies, and to surround ourselves with our brothers and sisters who are striving for eternal life just as we are.

Interacting with family members, seeing photographs or videos of deceased loved ones and working on family history underscore the eternal nature of families.

Take time to look around — you'll be surprised at what and how much might remind you of eternity and eternal life, pavement scrawlings of chalk or crayon notwithstanding.