Forever Families

In the Disney movie "Lilo and Stitch," Lilo and her sister (whose name has left my mind) have this family saying that repeats throughout the movie. "Ohana means family. Family means no one gets left behind, or forgotten." Think about that for a second.... NO one gets left behind or forgotten. I know that as a daughter of the worlds greatest parents, they will never forget me! Neither does our Heavenly Father. He is the Father of all our Spirits and He doesn't forget His children. Our parents on Earth want what is best for us; they want us to have success and happiness and become like them. That is exactly what our Heavenly Father wants for us! He wants us to have experiences that allow us to grow so we can become like Him. When we chose to follow God's plan and come to this Earth, we were put into families. I don't know about you, but I love my family so much! They mean the world to me. Families help us to grow, feel of God's love and give us strength to endure the trials of life. God intends for our families to not only last for this time on earth but for FOREVER!!! Yeah...that is right. I said FOREVER!!! With the fullness of Christ's Gospel restored to the Earth, the priesthood power (the authority to act in God's name) gives us that opportunity to be with our families forever. In the temple, we can be sealed to our families not only for time, but also for eternity. 

When Christ was on the earth, He gave His apostles the power to seal. In Matthew 16: 19 it says, "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." Because Christs' Gospel is on the earth again today, so is that power. The relationships we have with our families do not need to end at death! Christ performed the Atonement for us so we could be forgiven of our sins, overcome our weaknesses, sicknesses and pains that we all face in life (Alma 7:11-13). Christ overcame the obstacle of death through His Atonement so we will all be resurrected. What happens after is up to us. If we choose to follow the example of Jesus Christ, we are promised that we will "dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness" (Mosiah 2:41). If we, along with the members of our family "press forward with a steadfastness in Christ" (2 Nephi 31:20) we can be together with our Father in Heaven because of that sealing power that has been restored to the earth. 

I am grateful for temples where we can be sealed to our families for time and all eternity! And I am so grateful that my family is forever! :) They mean so much to me and knowing that God plans for us to be together forever makes me super happy! I know that as we trust in God's perfect plan and are obedient to the commandments, we will be blessed to be with our families forever. Forever families IS part of God's plan. 

This is my cute family... They are mine FOREVER!!!