Shining Moment: “Mom, Are We Sealed?”
Contributed By Scott D. Peterson, Church News contributor
The Salt Lake Temple seen from outside the Conference Center.
Article Highlights
- A family from out of town was visiting the Conference Center.
- The tour guide explained that families can be sealed for eternity in the temple.
- The Spirit touched the hearts of this family in a special way.
“The boy commented to his mother that this was different than what he was being taught in church.” —Scott D. Peterson, Layton Utah Valley View Stake
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I am privileged to serve as a host at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City, just north of Temple Square, where as many as 300,000 people a year come to visit.
One holiday week was particularly busy. Many out-of-town guests who were here to ski and visit family came to the Conference Center.
I had the first tour and took a couple from the West Coast and their 9-year-old son through the building. It went well and I felt Heavenly Father’s love for this little family. I suspected they were Christian, but they had many questions about our beliefs. The boy was particularly interested in everything he was seeing. On our way to the elevator to go up to the roof, I testified to them that Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, are separate and distinct individuals. The boy commented to his mother that this was different than what he was being taught in church.
As we were waiting for the elevator to go up to the roof, a couple got off, looking confused. I asked them if they needed help and they said they had an appointment to be sealed in the temple. I asked them if they were already married, and they said they had been married civilly for two years but had come to the Salt Lake Temple to have their marriage sealed. They must have got on the elevator in the parking garage and forgot to push the ground level button and so they continued up to the 3rd floor. I directed them back to the elevator and told them where to get off. After they left, the family I was with asked me if this young couple were going to be married. I said, “They have already been civilly married, but in our temples the marriage can be sealed forever, not just until death do you part.”
The father looked at me and said, “You can do that?”
I responded, “Absolutely.”
Then the 9-year-old turned to his mother and said, “Mom, are we sealed?”
She responded to her son, “No, I don’t think so.” She asked me, “Do you have to be Mormon to be sealed?”
I said, “Yes. In our temples couples and families can be sealed together forever.”
The possibility of families being eternal affected them deeply. I felt the Spirit touch this family in a special way that will urge them to find out more. I know God sends wonderful people to us as a way of moving them closer to a visit from the missionaries and that He uses angels on both sides of the veil to assist in His work.
—Scott D. Peterson, Layton Utah Valley View Stake
