No Coincidences

Tag: married for eternity

  • Why can’t Anyone go in an LDS Temple?

    Why can’t Anyone go in an LDS Temple?

    In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, our temples are sacred. Many people know this by the fact that they aren’t allowed in. This can, understandably, cause some negative emotions. Nobody likes to be excluded from anything.

    I heard an anecdote that really stuck with me.

    A man was telling a story about when he was a missionary and held Q&A sessions with local churches in the Bible Belt south. One of these sessions, a nice little elderly woman asked a not so nice question, “Why is your church exclusionary and doesn’t let people into your temples?”

    The man explained that he immediately realized this woman wasn’t able to attend the sealing of someone she cared about, which created this understandable animosity. He asked the old woman and learned she wasn’t able to attend the temple sealing of a beloved granddaughter.

    A somewhat standard response to this question is that it is about worthiness, that you must be worthy to enter the temple. Many Biblical examples can be used to illustrate this point.

    As the man was about to respond this way, he felt an impression to not give this standard response. He realized talking about worthiness wouldn’t be right with this woman. This was a Bible loving, Christ loving, Bible belt evangelical Christian. Telling her she wasn’t worthy wouldn’t be fair.

    Personally, I would have explained covenants in this moment. That one needs to make sacred covenants to enter certain places. This man received an altogether different impression, and this is the part that struck me.

    He asked her, “Do you believe that the Book of Mormon is the word of God.”

    She replied, “No offense, but no.”

    He asked her, “Do you believe this is Christ’s true church on the face of the earth?”

    She replied, “No offense, no, I don’t believe that.”

    He asked her, “Do you believe that Joseph Smith is a prophet?”

    She replied, “No offense, no.”

    Each time he told her he didn’t blame her for not believing it. That if it weren’t for the witness of the spirit to him, he wouldn’t believe it himself. He then asked her, “Do you believe that ancient prophets came to earth to bestow the keys of the sealing power to bind on earth what is bound in heaven as Matthew details in chapter 16?”

    She replied, “That’s in Matthew 16? I never thought of that. But no, I don’t believe that.”

    The man told her that’s OK, but he does believe all those things. Then he transitioned somewhere I did not expect, the story of Jairus’s daughter being raised from the dead (Mark 5:22-43, Luke 8:40-56).

    The man asked her if she knew the story and of course this avid Bible studier knew it.

    He directed her attention to the moment when Christ arrived at the home. The girl was dead. Those there mourning mocked Christ when He said she was just sleeping.

    Then what did Christ do?

    He “put them all out.”

    Christ had to remove all the lack of faith from the room. Christ, the Master. He let Peter, James, and John stay. He let the mother and the father stay. They had faith. He removed all those that didn’t believe.

    The man explained that when he goes to a temple, it’s not a marriage ceremony. It’s not until death do us part. Just like when Christ brought that girl back from the dead, telling death that it had no power before Him, the same is happening in temples. The priesthood power of temple sealing is telling death, “You can’t have this couple. This couple is protected. This couple is sealed. Even in death, death can not split them up. They are one. They are united.” It’s as if Christ Himself is saying, “They are mine, and you cannot have them.”

    That is what happens in Christ’s temples. Couples are sealed.

    The man then explained that when he attends a temple sealing, his faith becomes part of it. He contributes his faith to that couple. His provides his belief that they will be sealed for eternity.

    He then explained, “You admitted you don’t believe these things. Would you mingle your lack of belief in a place of faith? Would you have Christ keep the nonbelievers in the room to see the miracle?”

    Now, this isn’t the only reason people who aren’t members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints can’t enter temples. Worthiness is a part of it. As I already mentioned, covenants are a part of it.

    But I loved this part I’d never thought about, faith is also part of it.

    I am grateful that God provided a plan and His Son so that I can be sealed to my family for eternity. I love my family. I never want to leave them. Now I look at Ivy, Sage, Beth. I can’t fathom a life without them. They are everything. I thank God every day for the sealing power and the gift He has allowed me to be sealed to them for time and all eternity.

  • Miracle Baptisms

    Miracle Baptisms

    My favorite calling I’ve ever had was Ward Mission Leader.  For those who don’t know, I basically helped the full-time missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in any way I could.  Getting to be around missionaries has been one of the greatest blessings in my life.  There’s something powerful about being around young men and women that have sacrificed two years in the prime of their life to serve and share about Jesus Christ.

    I’ve always loved stories of faith;  stories of miracles that occur when full faith and devotion is given to something important.  I want to share one of my favorite stories from my time as Ward Mission Leader.

    Missionaries do a lot of amazing things; a lot more than just baptize.  Simply teaching others about Christ is important.  Serving and loving others is important.  Being a representative of Jesus Christ is important. 

    That said, the reason missionaries devote two full years to a mission is the hope to share with someone the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, have it touch that person’s heart, see that person change their life for Christ, and ultimately that person making the decision to be baptized.  Like I said, many amazing things can happen before a baptism.  But, the decision to be baptized and the blessings that come after are the ultimate goal.

    It was for that reason that I decided to set a high bar on a goal as my time as Ward Mission Leader was coming to an end.  I was marrying Beth on 6/1/19.  At that point I would change wards, the building and group I’d been going to since returning to church, and no longer have the calling of Ward Mission Leader.  My greatest hope was that the missionary efforts we had developed as a ward could be continued after I left.

    I set a goal in May for there to be three baptisms in the ward in the month of June.  For some perspective, in the previous year our ward had two baptisms. 

    I started fasting and praying.  I announced in a stake missionary correlation meeting that the Scottsdale YSA Ward would have 3 baptisms in June.

    “That’s awesome!  You have three people on date to be baptized?”  I was asked.

    My response, “No, we don’t have anybody on date.”

    The goal was set nonetheless.  I had faith that if the missionaries and myself fasted and prayed our hearts out, and did our part, a miracle would happen.

    As the month of May progressed things started happening.  There were some individuals the missionaries had been meeting with and teaching about the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ.  There were two in particular that had been meeting with the missionaries regularly.

    As we continued to pray with this singular focus in our hearts, one of those individuals committed to being baptized on 6/29.  This was amazing!

    There was a second person who wanted to be baptized but there was something getting in the way.  It was a frustration of mine at the time because that person was worthy to be baptized but a technical requirement wasn’t met.  Her living situation caused a problem.  Again, fully worthy, but unable to get baptized until her living situation was changed.

    On 5/25 it was time to call in faith reinforcements.  Up to that point it had been the missionaries, Beth, a couple others, and myself committing our faith to this goal. 

    I wrote this as a reminder for myself on 5/25:

    “I sent a text to ward missionary committee asking them to join fast for miracle three baptisms in June.  It was kind of hard to send the text.  There were moments that I wondered if I should send it and if sending it was right, if I was saying the right thing.  I ended up being somewhat bold saying, “The missionaries and a few of us have been praying for something very specific: 3 individuals to be baptized into the Scottsdale ward in June.  There’s a lot of faith in this as when we started there wasn’t a single person on date to be baptized.  There is now one person who plans to be baptized on June 29th.  The missionaries and I are going to fast and pray for these three individuals to be led to us and for our ward to act when the opportunity comes.  I invite each of you, if you’d like, to join us in fasting and praying for this tomorrow.  I know that there are three people out there that need the gospel of Jesus Christ and are ready to be baptized.  With faith, God will lead these people to us if we are ready to act, and if it’s His will and His plan.  Thanks everybody!  Love each of you.”  Four minutes after sending the text, the missionaries texted me and said that the individual whose living situation was in the way had that issue resolved and just set their date to be baptized for June 8th. So much joy.

    What was hard about sending that text was I wasn’t sure if what I was asking for was right.  I always wanted to ask things of God only if it was His will.  While I know God’s children coming closer to Him is His greatest joy, I worried that my intentions weren’t perfectly aligned with his.  That was the doubt that came before I sent the text.  I decided to send the text because I wanted to faith away my doubts.  That is why I was bold.  That is why the immediate text from the missionaries brought me instantly to the most profound joy, followed by tears.

    It was a miracle.

    I won’t go into details about how the miracle for this person took place. What I will say is this.  It was a major frustration for me for some time that this person couldn’t be baptized despite having a sincere desire to do so, and being worthy to do so. A sequence of events took place that led to there being no issue with the baptism taking place. I was so grateful that a worthy individual could enter the waters of baptism and align themselves with Jesus Christ.

    Another note to myself that I wrote that day so I wouldn’t forget:

    Thinking back on (the issue), I was pretty worked up about it but somehow just moved on.  I came to a feeling of peace about it that I didn’t even know was happening.  But then it worked itself out, or God worked it out, and I look back and realize He spoke peace to my soul.  I can almost hear Him, “Peace, my son. Don’t you know my hand is in these things?  Don’t you know I will care for my children?  Have faith.”

    For those anticipating the miracle third baptism in June- it didn’t happen.  In fact, the second one was delayed to July 13th.  I think that’s wonderful.  I think of it as God’s way of reminding me that my faith is far from perfect.  I set an arbitrary goal of June and to keep me humble He had the second baptism occur in July and the third didn’t happen.  I’m far from truly aligned with His will.  We’re far from being able to work all miracles.  But God does watch.  He does hear.  He does care.  In that ward, we had two baptisms the previous 12 months.  In the 35 days after I left my favorite calling ever, the ward that saved my life, baptized two new members.

    One of those members was recently sealed in the temple.

    The first person I had the pleasure of seeing baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints while I was Ward Mission Leader got married in the temple 5 months after his baptism.

    Casper’s Baptism

    Beth and I had the greatest pleasure of hosting 3 former missionaries in our home so we could all go to the wedding together.  I remember sitting in the temple, waiting for the sealing.  Waiting for Casper and Ashlee, two people that had greatly impacted and strengthened my faith, to be sealed to each other for time and all eternity.  I was sitting and thinking.

    Elder Dotson, one of the missionaries who had the honor of teaching Casper the Gospel, came and sat by me.  He told me, “This is why we baptize people.  Baptisms and endowments and all the covenants made are important.  But this is what it’s all about.  Two people getting sealed in the temple.  Starting a family that will be together for eternity.  This is why we do what we do.  This is what it’s all about.”

    I wish everyone could know the joy I’ve felt helping someone find what I’ve found.  I wish I could share the joy of seeing two people sealed together for eternity.  A love never to be separated.  It’s the great plan of our loving Heavenly Father and what we’re here to do.  Develop faith.  Obtain and nurture an eternal family.  Return to Him.

    I’m so grateful for His Plan and the small part I get to play in it.  There is no greater joy.