19 years ago yesterday, I made the best decision of my life when I married this man. It wasn't long after we met (less than a week) that we knew without any doubt that we were supposed to be together for the rest of forever. That knowledge has only been strengthened through time. So much has happened in that last 19 years. We have both changed so much. I know without a doubt, it is because we have kept God first in our relationship, that our marriage is still holding strong today. Stephen, I love you. Thank you for loving me back!
Yesterday was our anniversary and we spent the entire day together. It was fabulous. We spent the first half of the day in the temple. We decided that since we were celebrating our eternal marriage that day, we wanted to give another couple the same opportunity. We found a husband and wife in Steve's family line and did all the ordinances in the temple for them yesterday- from baptism through sealing. It was an awesome experience and we were able to be the witness couple to boot! (I tried to tell Steve this was a bad angle to take a selfie from, but he wanted the temple spire in the background) (want to find out more about forever families, Mormon temples, and family history work- read to the bottom of this post)
We were dying of starvation by the time we left the temple so we went to Costa Vida for lunch.
Then we went to see a movie- Godzilla. This is a picture I took of us in the movie. If you could see it, what you would see is Steve having a hard time sitting through it, me sound asleep and apparently snoring, and both of us giving it a big 2 thumbs down.
After the movie we drove a little way up the canyon, found the perfect grassy shaded area, laid a blanket out and I read a book to Steve. We read for over 3 hours. It was absolutely lovely. When the time came to leave, neither of us wanted to. If it hadn't been for hunger, we would have stayed there a few hours more. We both agreed we should have skipped the movie and spent the whole day on the blanket.
Dinner was at The Mandarin. It was delicious.
After dinner it was time to come home to the real world. Real World = a disastrous house, strawberry jam all over every surface of the kitchen, video gaming, a missing teenager, small children up past 10 on a school night, everything the kids ate yesterday on display on the kitchen island, and much much more!
I am so thankful for my husband. I am so thankful that we have been sealed in the House of the Lord. I am so thankful that our family can be together throughout the eternities. I am so thankful we live close to a temple. I am so thankful for the life Steve and I have built together with the help of our Heavenly Father.
Want to know more about Mormon Temples?
We believe that family relationships continue after death. We believe that the sealing power spoken of in Matthew has been restored to the earth today. Families can be together forever. When a couple is married in the temple or a family goes to the temple together to be sealed, they are sealed together not just for this life, but for all eternity.
“And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:19).
We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to be baptized and receive other sacred ordinances, such as being sealed to their family. Even those who did not have that opportunity in this life. In the temple we are able to perform those ordinances on behalf of our ancestors who have passed on. We stand in as proxy, acting for them. It is their choice to accept those ordinances or not in the spirit world.
"Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?" (1 Corinthians 15:29)
We believe that the family is central to the plan of our Heavenly Father. You can read "The Family: A Proclamation to the World" by clicking here. Because the family is so important, because family relationships last beyond the grave, and because we have the opportunity to perform sacred ordinances for family members who have passed on, family history work is an important part of our church also. Our church has an awesome website, available to anyone, that can help you trace your family lineage, find out more about your ancestors, and it also gives you a place to store photos and stories of your ancestors and family members. I have been able to trace some of my family lines all the way back to Adam and Eve (for real!). You can find that website by clicking here.
To find out more about Mormons and temples, click here. I am also happy to answer any questions or to help you navigate your way through the Family Search website to help you build your family tree.
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