This morning, as preparation for Relief Society today, I was reading the talk "Gathering the Family of God" by President Henry B Eyring. It brought back a few different memories from my mission. President Eyring focuses on family history and the sealing power found in the temple, that can bind our families together for eternity.
I remembered, first of all, a story my dad told me- he wrote about it in one of his weekly emails. At one time, his grandma had been married to a man named Ray. Grandpa Ray was one of my dad's favorites- he would play with the grandkids and sing silly songs (some of which were passed down to me!) and when they were divorced, Ray told his now ex-wife that one of the saddest things about it was not being able to see the kids anymore.
While researching his name to do his temple work, my dad learned of a story from much earlier in Grandpa Ray's life. He was married young, to his sweetheart, and early in their marriage, they went on a private plane ride with his brother, Morrie. Somewhere along the way, their young and inexperienced pilot got confused and mistook a golf course for the airport runway. Of course, when he realized this mistake he tried to pull the plane back up, but hit some power lines and the plane crashed! Grandpa Ray pulled his wife from the wreckage- everyone survived the crash- and went back for Morrie, who would forever be a quadriplegic thanks to the accident. However, while he was rescuing Morrie, his sweetheart went into diabetic shock and passed away right there where he left her. That must have broken his heart.
My dad was able to find out enough about Ray's young wife to do her temple work. When they went through the endowment session, the spirit was so strong, and my dad felt that the sealing work had to be done right then, that true love couldn't wait. So he explained this to one of the temple workers, who took him immediately to a sealing room, interrupting the session in progress to tell them the story. My parents knelt at the altar, and on behalf of Grandpa Ray and his sweet wife, were sealed for time and all eternity. Everyone was overwhelmed by the spirit in the room, and my dad heard his grandpa's voice, clearly, saying, "Now I have my sweetheart back!" The power of the sealing ordinance is real.
The second story I was reminded of happened to me while serving my mission. Missions are divided geographically, into zones, and then from there into districts and wards. Missionaries often serve in one to two wards at a time, and rarely leave those boundaries- and if they do, usually it's only within a zone. I served in four different zones on my mission, for perspective. I spent six months in my second zone, and during the last part of that, I was looking through my family history and discovered that one of my ancestors (actually the grandmother of my great grandmother- the same one who was married to Grandpa Ray) had been buried in Vancouver, Clark County, Washington. Well, there I was, serving as a missionary in Vancouver, Clark County, Washington! So I did a bit more searching and I eventually discovered a record for her through FindAGrave- she was buried at the Park Hill Cemetery- literally 3.2 miles form where I was, within my zone boundaries. Out of the whole world, I was called there, for that time, in exactly the place where she was. Or at least, where her headstone was. I was able to visit the cemetery and discovered that she isn't actually buried there- they don't know where her body is- but her headstone is there. It was neat to be able to find her, to feel that connection to my family. She had been here, where I was now. Her family had lived here. It was an amazing experience.
So my testimony to you is that the promise is real- the hearts of the children and the fathers are turning towards each other. The Spirit of Elijah wraps around the earth. The sealing power has been restored and we can be with our families forever. Someday I will meet Alvira- who's headstone I found- and Grandpa Ray and his sweetheart. Someday my great-great-grandchildren will meet me. We will all be connected, to be a part of the family of God.
I invite you to go to the temple, to sit outside on the grounds, and to ponder and to realize what this sealing power means. What an impact it has. Your heart will be touched.
