Our story: Brandon and I were married November 20th, 1999 by an awesome Stake President. It was a very special day for us and also for our family. Brandon's mom and dad and Brandon's brother all have the same anniversary. It makes it easy for us to remember the date!
We started our family right away. In October 2000, Faith was born to us. We took the temple prep classes and filled out the paperwork (Brandon was married before in the temple) and waited. The week of Christmas in 2000, we received a letter from the First Presidency that stated we could go to the temple and be sealed. It was the best Christmas present that year!
The temple closes right after the holidays for cleaning. So, February 7th, 2001, our family headed up to the Idaho Falls temple to be sealed. It was a wonderful (yet long) day for us and our family. We were grateful to have over 40 people go through with us. The best part was when they brought Faith to the sealing room. She was 4 months old by then. She wore her blessing dress that Grandma Cindy made for her. She had a white Binky and white crocheted blanket. Faith looked peacefully (not a peep) at the chandelier and at everyone who had come. I will always remember that moment.
On November 20th, each year, we celebrate our anniversary. But on February 7th, we have a family party with the kids and remind them that this is the date that we became a forever family. It is a wonderful opportunity to talk to our children about the temple and get them excited about 'going there someday.'
We are blessed by temples on the earth today.
What it says about temples on mormon.org:
Can a husband and wife be together forever? Do Mormons believe that families will live together in heaven?
Family relationships can last forever—not just for this life.
Just as some of life’s sweetest joys can come through family associations, the loss of a beloved family member can be a source of our deepest sorrows.
Jesus Christ gave power to His disciples to seal families together forever when He said, “And it will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:19).
Death does not need to be the end of our relationships with cherished loved ones. The Lord revealed to Joseph Smith that the “same sociality which exists among us here will exist among us there [in eternity], only it will be coupled with eternal glory” (Doctrine and Covenants 130:2).
Family members who accept the Atonement of Jesus Christ and follow His example can be together forever through sacred ordinances performed in God’s holy temples. These ordinances seal a husband and wife together for all eternity and children to their parents as an eternal family. (See: “The Family: A Proclamation to the World”)
No comments:
Post a Comment