I started this post last weekend, but the words weren't coming out as smoothly as I wanted them to. Like a lot of bloggers, I don't usually struggle with blog posts, so this was frustrating. Now I'm glad they didn't, as this last week has put a completely different spin on everything, including this post.
I had a lot of thrills and frills initially, but what I really wanted to say can be boiled down to these five little words: Families can be together forever. God sent us to this earth as families and asked us to love and serve each other because He knew this simple truth.
I don't know why tragedy strikes some families but misses others. I don't know why some people die young while others live with broken bodies that may or may not function properly. But I do know that all that is unfair in life--and all that is just plain hard--will be made right eventually through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. And I know that in the meantime, His grace is there to lift and heal us.
Almost eight years ago, my aunt died suddenly. She'd battled multiple sclerosis for many years, but none of us expected her to deteriorate so rapidly. My mom didn't even find out she was fading until after she'd already passed away. That was a hard time for our family and especially for my mom, who felt like she'd somehow failed her little sister.
Several years later, I was sitting in the temple, reflecting quietly on life and things, when I got the distinct impression that my aunt wanted to be there , that she wanted to feel the same peace and contentment I was feeling in that moment. At that point, I had never done any family history, but I knew I needed to learn. So I went into my local family history center, the same place I now volunteer every Tuesday night, and asked the little old ladies there what I needed to do so Susan could receive the same temple blessings I had.
This is why I'm so obsessed with family history--because I know that families can be together forever and that this is the way God has prepared for EVERY family to receive that blessing. He knows that the vast majority of His children never had the opportunity to go to the temple during their mortal lives, so He lets their descendants receive those ordinances for them (like the sealing ordinance, which is what binds families together on earth and in heaven). The first time I went to the temple, I received these ordinances for myself. Now every time I go back, I receive them on behalf of one of my ancestors.
I believe in God and His Son, Jesus Christ. I believe that Their whole goal is to lift us up to where They are. I believe They love us and are aware of us and want in every way to bless us. I believe Their ways are higher than our ways and that, even if we don't understand why certain things are happening, we will understand eventually.
I won't be online much for the rest of the week, but if you have a question you think I can answer, feel free to leave it in the comments. I'll respond as soon as I can. (And if you have specific questions about temples, you might check out this post, which at least covers the basics.)
Showing posts with label LDS writer blogfest. Show all posts
Showing posts with label LDS writer blogfest. Show all posts
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
LDS Writer Blogfest: How Grace Works
If you’ve been around the blog for a while, you know that
once a year I participate in the LDS Writer Blogfest with my fellow LDS
writer-bloggers. As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
we share a few thoughts about our faith and how it impacts our lives and our
writing.
But I must admit, this year, I was feeling a little uninspired. Last year, I blogged about my favorite General Conference talk, but this year, none of the talks really stood out to me. Then I read this article from David A. Bednar, “The Atonement and the Journey of Mortality.” He tackled a topic I felt I knew very little about--grace--and the light bulb turned on.
Since this blog is all about light-bulb moments, I thought I’d share what I learned.
Latter-day Saints, also called Mormons, are often disparaged in the wider Christian community for discounting the importance of grace. We place too much emphasis on works, critics say, and while it’s true that we think people need to receive certain ordinances, such as baptism, to make it back to heaven, we also firmly believe that “there shall be no other name given nor any other way nor means whereby salvation can come unto the children of men, only in and through the name of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent” (Mosiah 3:17). That said, I don’t think Latter-day Saints in general--and I in particular--truly appreciate just how vital grace is not only in putting off bad but in becoming good.
David A. Bednar put it this way: “It is one thing to know that Jesus Christ came to earth to die for us--that is fundamental and foundational to the doctrine of Christ. But we also need to appreciate that the Lord desires, through His Atonement and by the power of the Holy Ghost, to live in us--not only to direct us but also to empower us.”
That’s what grace is: the Savior’s empowering force for good in our lives. And He wants to empower us every step of the way. I guess I always kind of thought of it in very set, concrete terms. If the gap between me and heaven was this big and I could make it this far on my own (by taking my neighbors this many casseroles, or whatever), then the grace of Jesus Christ was the bridge that got me the rest of the way. But according to David A. Bednar, grace is less of a bridge and more of a guardrail. It’s something to lean on when the going gets tough, something to push me forward when my fear or human frailty make me want to turn back. And it’s right there beside me at all times, in all places.
That was the light-bulb moment I had a few days ago. I only wish I’d figured this out a lot sooner.
If you’d like more information about the Church, feel free to check out lds.org, which is where I found the online version of the wonderful article I mentioned, or mormon.org, which has a lot of more general information. Also, don’t miss the other posts in the LDS Writer Blogfest:
Amanda Sowards
Angie Lofthouse
Ben Spendlove
Britanny Larsen
Cami Checketts
Charity Bradford
Danyelle Ferguson
Giselle Abreu
Julia Keanini
Julie Coulter Bellon
Kasey Tross
Kayeleen Hamblin
Kelly Bryson
Laura Johnston
Melanie Stanford
Rachelle Christensen
Rebecca Belliston
Sierra Gardner
Stephanie Worlton
Finally, if you have any questions that you think I might be able to answer, feel free to leave them in the comments below or e-mail them to me at kvandolzer(at)gmail(dot)com. If I don’t know the answer--and there’s a pretty good chance that I won’t--I’ll do some research and try to figure it out.
Happy Tuesday!
But I must admit, this year, I was feeling a little uninspired. Last year, I blogged about my favorite General Conference talk, but this year, none of the talks really stood out to me. Then I read this article from David A. Bednar, “The Atonement and the Journey of Mortality.” He tackled a topic I felt I knew very little about--grace--and the light bulb turned on.
Since this blog is all about light-bulb moments, I thought I’d share what I learned.
Latter-day Saints, also called Mormons, are often disparaged in the wider Christian community for discounting the importance of grace. We place too much emphasis on works, critics say, and while it’s true that we think people need to receive certain ordinances, such as baptism, to make it back to heaven, we also firmly believe that “there shall be no other name given nor any other way nor means whereby salvation can come unto the children of men, only in and through the name of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent” (Mosiah 3:17). That said, I don’t think Latter-day Saints in general--and I in particular--truly appreciate just how vital grace is not only in putting off bad but in becoming good.
David A. Bednar put it this way: “It is one thing to know that Jesus Christ came to earth to die for us--that is fundamental and foundational to the doctrine of Christ. But we also need to appreciate that the Lord desires, through His Atonement and by the power of the Holy Ghost, to live in us--not only to direct us but also to empower us.”
That’s what grace is: the Savior’s empowering force for good in our lives. And He wants to empower us every step of the way. I guess I always kind of thought of it in very set, concrete terms. If the gap between me and heaven was this big and I could make it this far on my own (by taking my neighbors this many casseroles, or whatever), then the grace of Jesus Christ was the bridge that got me the rest of the way. But according to David A. Bednar, grace is less of a bridge and more of a guardrail. It’s something to lean on when the going gets tough, something to push me forward when my fear or human frailty make me want to turn back. And it’s right there beside me at all times, in all places.
That was the light-bulb moment I had a few days ago. I only wish I’d figured this out a lot sooner.
If you’d like more information about the Church, feel free to check out lds.org, which is where I found the online version of the wonderful article I mentioned, or mormon.org, which has a lot of more general information. Also, don’t miss the other posts in the LDS Writer Blogfest:
Amanda Sowards
Angie Lofthouse
Ben Spendlove
Britanny Larsen
Cami Checketts
Charity Bradford
Danyelle Ferguson
Giselle Abreu
Julia Keanini
Julie Coulter Bellon
Kasey Tross
Kayeleen Hamblin
Kelly Bryson
Laura Johnston
Melanie Stanford
Rachelle Christensen
Rebecca Belliston
Sierra Gardner
Stephanie Worlton
Finally, if you have any questions that you think I might be able to answer, feel free to leave them in the comments below or e-mail them to me at kvandolzer(at)gmail(dot)com. If I don’t know the answer--and there’s a pretty good chance that I won’t--I’ll do some research and try to figure it out.
Happy Tuesday!
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
LDS Writer Blogfest: "Opportunities to Do Good"
Welcome to the second annual LDS Writer Blogfest! LDS is short for Latter-day Saint, which is short for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also known as the Mormon Church). Two weekends ago, we heard messages from the apostles and other general authorities who direct us, and today, a bunch of LDS writers are blogging about their favorite talks from General Conference. I’m going to share a few thoughts from Henry B. Eyring’s talk, “Opportunities to Do Good.”
First off, I thought I’d share a little bit about the speaker. Henry B. Eyring is the First Counselor in the First Presidency, which is the highest governing body in the Church. He graduated from the University of Utah with a Bachelor's degree in Physics, then received his Master of Business Administration and Doctor of Business Administration degrees from Harvard University. Before he was called to be a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, he taught at Stanford University and served as president of Ricks College (now BYU-Idaho). Maybe that’s why he’s usually one of my favorite speakers at General Conference--he’s so used to lecturing:)
President Eyring started off by quoting a hymn we often sing, “Have I Done Any Good?”
Have I done any good in the world today?
Have I helped anyone in need?
Have I cheered up the sad and made someone feel glad?
If not, I have failed indeed.
Has anyone’s burden been lighter today
Because I was willing to share?
Have the sick and the weary been helped on their way?
When they needed my help, was I there?
Then wake up and do something more
Than dream of your mansion above.
Doing good is a pleasure, a joy beyond measure,
A blessing of duty and love.
Except I didn’t hear, “Then wake up and do something more than dream of your mansion above.” I heard, “Then wake up and do something more than dream of your book deal above.”
Writing is such a solitary pursuit. It’s all about my queries, my stories, my characters, my words. There’s nothing wrong with that, of course, so long as we keep everything in perspective, but I think my inner Jiminy Cricket was trying to tell me that my perspective was out of whack. That I’d become too me-centered rather than we-centered.
“The Lord regularly sends wake-up calls to all of us,” President Eyring went on to say. “Sometimes it may be a sudden feeling of sympathy for someone in need. A father may have felt it when he saw a child fall and scrape a knee. A mother may have felt it when she heard the frightened cry of her child in the night. A son or a daughter may have felt sympathy for someone who seemed sad or afraid at school.”
Serving others can be as big as offering your flooded-out neighbors a place to stay, but it doesn’t have to be. Serving others can be as small as donating a can of green beans to your local food bank. It can be as small as helping an elderly woman--or helping anyone--unload the groceries at the house. It can be as small as paying attention to that tiny tug on your sleeve and the tiny voice that asks, “Mommy, when you’re done on the computer, will you play a game with me?”
President Eyring’s talk was my wake-up call. I need to pay a little less attention to myself and a little more to those around me. We all have the capacity to do so much good if we will only open our eyes.
I’ll leave you with President Eyring’s testimony, which is my testimony, too.
If you’d like more information about the Church in general or General Conference in particular, feel free to check out lds.org, which has a great highlights reel from General Conference, or mormon.org, which is a fantastic place to go to learn more about the Church. Also, don’t miss the other LDS Writer Blogfest posts:
Annette Lyon: “Desire”
Annie Cechini: “The Spirit of Revelation”
Ben Spendlove: “The Atonement Covers All Pain”
Chantele Sedgwick: “LDS Women Are Incredible!”
Charity Bradford: “LDS Women Are Incredible!”
Jackee Alston: “The Eternal Blessings of Marriage”
Jenilyn Tolley: “What Manner of Men and Women Ought Ye to Be?”
Jennifer McFadden: “Establishing a Christ-Centered Home”
Jessie Oliveros: “Establishing a Christ-Centered Home”
Jolene Perry: “It’s Conference Once Again”
Jordan McCollum: “What Manner of Men and Women Ought Ye to Be?”
Kasey Tross: “Guided by the Holy Spirit”
Kayeleen Hamblin: “Become as a Little Child”
Kelly Bryson: “The Atonement Covers All Pain”
Melanie Stanford: “What Manner of Men and Women Ought Ye to Be?”
Michelle Merrill: “The Eternal Blessings of Marriage”
Myrna Foster: “Opportunities to Do Good”
Nisa Swineford: “Desire”
Sallee Mathews: “The Eternal Blessings of Marriage”
Sierra Gardner: “The Atonement Covers All Pain”
Tamara Hart Heiner: “Waiting on the Road to Damascus”
The Writing Lair: “Waiting on the Road to Damascus”
Finally, if you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments. You’re also welcome to e-mail me at kvandolzer(at)gmail(dot)com if you’d like. I’m no expert by any means, but I’ll do my best.
Thank you for reading, and have an awesome Tuesday, everyone!
First off, I thought I’d share a little bit about the speaker. Henry B. Eyring is the First Counselor in the First Presidency, which is the highest governing body in the Church. He graduated from the University of Utah with a Bachelor's degree in Physics, then received his Master of Business Administration and Doctor of Business Administration degrees from Harvard University. Before he was called to be a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, he taught at Stanford University and served as president of Ricks College (now BYU-Idaho). Maybe that’s why he’s usually one of my favorite speakers at General Conference--he’s so used to lecturing:)
President Eyring started off by quoting a hymn we often sing, “Have I Done Any Good?”
Have I done any good in the world today?
Have I helped anyone in need?
Have I cheered up the sad and made someone feel glad?
If not, I have failed indeed.
Has anyone’s burden been lighter today
Because I was willing to share?
Have the sick and the weary been helped on their way?
When they needed my help, was I there?
Then wake up and do something more
Than dream of your mansion above.
Doing good is a pleasure, a joy beyond measure,
A blessing of duty and love.
Except I didn’t hear, “Then wake up and do something more than dream of your mansion above.” I heard, “Then wake up and do something more than dream of your book deal above.”
Writing is such a solitary pursuit. It’s all about my queries, my stories, my characters, my words. There’s nothing wrong with that, of course, so long as we keep everything in perspective, but I think my inner Jiminy Cricket was trying to tell me that my perspective was out of whack. That I’d become too me-centered rather than we-centered.
“The Lord regularly sends wake-up calls to all of us,” President Eyring went on to say. “Sometimes it may be a sudden feeling of sympathy for someone in need. A father may have felt it when he saw a child fall and scrape a knee. A mother may have felt it when she heard the frightened cry of her child in the night. A son or a daughter may have felt sympathy for someone who seemed sad or afraid at school.”
Serving others can be as big as offering your flooded-out neighbors a place to stay, but it doesn’t have to be. Serving others can be as small as donating a can of green beans to your local food bank. It can be as small as helping an elderly woman--or helping anyone--unload the groceries at the house. It can be as small as paying attention to that tiny tug on your sleeve and the tiny voice that asks, “Mommy, when you’re done on the computer, will you play a game with me?”
President Eyring’s talk was my wake-up call. I need to pay a little less attention to myself and a little more to those around me. We all have the capacity to do so much good if we will only open our eyes.
I’ll leave you with President Eyring’s testimony, which is my testimony, too.
If you’d like more information about the Church in general or General Conference in particular, feel free to check out lds.org, which has a great highlights reel from General Conference, or mormon.org, which is a fantastic place to go to learn more about the Church. Also, don’t miss the other LDS Writer Blogfest posts:
Annette Lyon: “Desire”
Annie Cechini: “The Spirit of Revelation”
Ben Spendlove: “The Atonement Covers All Pain”
Chantele Sedgwick: “LDS Women Are Incredible!”
Charity Bradford: “LDS Women Are Incredible!”
Jackee Alston: “The Eternal Blessings of Marriage”
Jenilyn Tolley: “What Manner of Men and Women Ought Ye to Be?”
Jennifer McFadden: “Establishing a Christ-Centered Home”
Jessie Oliveros: “Establishing a Christ-Centered Home”
Jolene Perry: “It’s Conference Once Again”
Jordan McCollum: “What Manner of Men and Women Ought Ye to Be?”
Kasey Tross: “Guided by the Holy Spirit”
Kayeleen Hamblin: “Become as a Little Child”
Kelly Bryson: “The Atonement Covers All Pain”
Melanie Stanford: “What Manner of Men and Women Ought Ye to Be?”
Michelle Merrill: “The Eternal Blessings of Marriage”
Myrna Foster: “Opportunities to Do Good”
Nisa Swineford: “Desire”
Sallee Mathews: “The Eternal Blessings of Marriage”
Sierra Gardner: “The Atonement Covers All Pain”
Tamara Hart Heiner: “Waiting on the Road to Damascus”
The Writing Lair: “Waiting on the Road to Damascus”
Finally, if you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments. You’re also welcome to e-mail me at kvandolzer(at)gmail(dot)com if you’d like. I’m no expert by any means, but I’ll do my best.
Thank you for reading, and have an awesome Tuesday, everyone!
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Always the Interviewer, Never the Interviewee...
...Until now:)
Several weeks ago, three lovely ladies asked me to do an interview, and I must say, it’s just as fun to be the interviewee as it is to be the interviewer. Definitely stop by these ladies’ blogs and say hello.
Mindy McGinnis of Writer, Writer, Pants on Fire asked me a lot of insightful questions about Bob.
Chantele Sedgwick of My Writing Bug focused a little more on me and my writing routine.
Finally, Marybk of Not an Editor asked me some awesome questions about critiquing. They really got me thinking, and I went on for quite a while about my critiquing adventures with Bob. (Sorry, Mary, for being so long-winded.)
In other news, Kayeleen Hamblin of Kayeleen's Creation Corner and I are hosting the second annual LDS Writer Blogfest next week. If you’re an LDS writer-blogger who might be interested in participating, there’s still time to join! E-mail me at kvandolzer(at)gmail(dot)com for more details.
And last but certainly not least, Perri of Lesser Apricots (don’t you love that blog name?) gave me this stylish-looking award a few weeks ago. To claim it, I have to tell you seven things about myself. I’m gonna cheat a little and just direct you to those interviews. Then I’m gonna cheat a little more and only pass this award on to one other blogger, Amy Sonnichsen of The Green Bathtub. Amy is one of my original critique partners, and she’s gearing up to query her latest YA contemporary, which I absolutely loved. Honestly, if no one offers representation on this manuscript, I'll be shocked.
Have a great Thursday, everyone!
Several weeks ago, three lovely ladies asked me to do an interview, and I must say, it’s just as fun to be the interviewee as it is to be the interviewer. Definitely stop by these ladies’ blogs and say hello.
Mindy McGinnis of Writer, Writer, Pants on Fire asked me a lot of insightful questions about Bob.
Chantele Sedgwick of My Writing Bug focused a little more on me and my writing routine.
Finally, Marybk of Not an Editor asked me some awesome questions about critiquing. They really got me thinking, and I went on for quite a while about my critiquing adventures with Bob. (Sorry, Mary, for being so long-winded.)
In other news, Kayeleen Hamblin of Kayeleen's Creation Corner and I are hosting the second annual LDS Writer Blogfest next week. If you’re an LDS writer-blogger who might be interested in participating, there’s still time to join! E-mail me at kvandolzer(at)gmail(dot)com for more details.
And last but certainly not least, Perri of Lesser Apricots (don’t you love that blog name?) gave me this stylish-looking award a few weeks ago. To claim it, I have to tell you seven things about myself. I’m gonna cheat a little and just direct you to those interviews. Then I’m gonna cheat a little more and only pass this award on to one other blogger, Amy Sonnichsen of The Green Bathtub. Amy is one of my original critique partners, and she’s gearing up to query her latest YA contemporary, which I absolutely loved. Honestly, if no one offers representation on this manuscript, I'll be shocked.
Have a great Thursday, everyone!
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
LDS Writer Blogfest: Temples
These, as you may have guessed, are a few of my wedding pictures. Honey Bear and I will celebrate our sixth anniversary in about a week, on May 7. I remember a lot of things about that day--how heavy my dress felt, and how my cheeks hurt from smiling so much, and how deliriously happy I was--but the thing I want to talk about is that big building in the background, the Salt Lake Temple, and a few other details about my faith.
The Mormon Writer Blogfest is a one-day-only event (I promise), and includes several other Mormon writers around the blogosphere. If you’ve ever had a question about the Mormon Church, today’s your day to get an answer:)
First, a few points of clarification. The Mormon Church, as it is often called, is actually something of a misnomer. Its actual name is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (sort of a mouthful, I know). The nickname comes from our belief in the Book of Mormon, but I digress.
There are currently 130 temples in operation around the world, including the Manhattan New York, London England, and Sydney Australia Temples. Twenty-two more are under construction or have been announced. (Here’s the complete list.)
To enter a temple, you must be a faithful member of the Church (although anyone may tour a temple during its open house). Within a temple, members perform five ordinances, all of which are associated with specific covenants, or promises with God: baptism and confirmation, initiatory and endowment, and sealing. The first time you go to the temple, you perform these ordinances for yourself. On every subsequent visit, you perform these ordinances on behalf of a deceased ancestor (which is why Mormons are so interested in family history).
Baptism and confirmation Actually, a person may be baptized in any body of water deep enough to fully immerse him or her, so the baptisms and confirmations we perform in the temple are all on behalf of deceased relatives. Members as young as twelve may participate in these ordinances.
Initiatory and endowment I’m not going to say much about these ordinances, because much of what they entail is too sacred to discuss anywhere but in the temple. Boyd K. Packer, current president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (one of the Church’s governing bodies), described it this way: “The temple is a great school. It is a house of learning. In the temples the atmosphere is maintained so that it is ideal for instruction on matters that are deeply spiritual.”
Sealing The sealing power, which seals husbands to wives and parents to children, both on earth and in heaven, is the same power that the Savior gave to Peter in Matthew 16:19. When we talk about eternal marriage, or being married for time and all eternity, this is what we mean. Children born within such a marriage are automatically sealed to their parents, but children born before their parents’ sealing, or children adopted by an already-sealed couple, can be sealed to their parents after the fact. (And the same is true for deceased people.)
For instance. My parents were married in the Salt Lake Temple in December of 1973. A little more than ten years later, they adopted me as an infant. Once the adoption was finalized, I was sealed to them (in the same temple, coincidentally). And four years after that, after my sister was born and her adoption finalized, she was sealed to us as well.
Well, I think that about covers the basics. If you’d like more information, either about temples or any other Church-related topic, check out the Church’s official websites: mormon.org, which is geared more toward people of other faiths, and lds.org, which is more member-oriented. And don’t miss the other Mormon Writer Blogfest posts:
The Book of Mormon and missionary work with Kayeleen Hamblin
Faith in Jesus Christ with Myrna Foster
Families with Charity Bradford
Family history with Laura D
Joseph Smith with Annette Lyon
Restoration of Jesus Christ’s church with Kelly Bryson
Stories from the Book of Mormon with Kathi Oram Peterson
Finally, if you have a specific question, feel free to leave it in the comments. I can’t answer every question (one, because I’m not that smart, and two, because some things are too sacred to discuss outside the temple, as I mentioned before), but if I can, I’d love to.
Thanks for reading.
The Mormon Writer Blogfest is a one-day-only event (I promise), and includes several other Mormon writers around the blogosphere. If you’ve ever had a question about the Mormon Church, today’s your day to get an answer:)
First, a few points of clarification. The Mormon Church, as it is often called, is actually something of a misnomer. Its actual name is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (sort of a mouthful, I know). The nickname comes from our belief in the Book of Mormon, but I digress.
There are currently 130 temples in operation around the world, including the Manhattan New York, London England, and Sydney Australia Temples. Twenty-two more are under construction or have been announced. (Here’s the complete list.)
To enter a temple, you must be a faithful member of the Church (although anyone may tour a temple during its open house). Within a temple, members perform five ordinances, all of which are associated with specific covenants, or promises with God: baptism and confirmation, initiatory and endowment, and sealing. The first time you go to the temple, you perform these ordinances for yourself. On every subsequent visit, you perform these ordinances on behalf of a deceased ancestor (which is why Mormons are so interested in family history).
Baptism and confirmation Actually, a person may be baptized in any body of water deep enough to fully immerse him or her, so the baptisms and confirmations we perform in the temple are all on behalf of deceased relatives. Members as young as twelve may participate in these ordinances.
Initiatory and endowment I’m not going to say much about these ordinances, because much of what they entail is too sacred to discuss anywhere but in the temple. Boyd K. Packer, current president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (one of the Church’s governing bodies), described it this way: “The temple is a great school. It is a house of learning. In the temples the atmosphere is maintained so that it is ideal for instruction on matters that are deeply spiritual.”
Sealing The sealing power, which seals husbands to wives and parents to children, both on earth and in heaven, is the same power that the Savior gave to Peter in Matthew 16:19. When we talk about eternal marriage, or being married for time and all eternity, this is what we mean. Children born within such a marriage are automatically sealed to their parents, but children born before their parents’ sealing, or children adopted by an already-sealed couple, can be sealed to their parents after the fact. (And the same is true for deceased people.)
For instance. My parents were married in the Salt Lake Temple in December of 1973. A little more than ten years later, they adopted me as an infant. Once the adoption was finalized, I was sealed to them (in the same temple, coincidentally). And four years after that, after my sister was born and her adoption finalized, she was sealed to us as well.
Well, I think that about covers the basics. If you’d like more information, either about temples or any other Church-related topic, check out the Church’s official websites: mormon.org, which is geared more toward people of other faiths, and lds.org, which is more member-oriented. And don’t miss the other Mormon Writer Blogfest posts:
The Book of Mormon and missionary work with Kayeleen Hamblin
Faith in Jesus Christ with Myrna Foster
Families with Charity Bradford
Family history with Laura D
Joseph Smith with Annette Lyon
Restoration of Jesus Christ’s church with Kelly Bryson
Stories from the Book of Mormon with Kathi Oram Peterson
Finally, if you have a specific question, feel free to leave it in the comments. I can’t answer every question (one, because I’m not that smart, and two, because some things are too sacred to discuss outside the temple, as I mentioned before), but if I can, I’d love to.
Thanks for reading.
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