Over fall break, my husband and I went to the Manti temple to participate in an endowment session, see the newly renovated interior and remember the joy we felt and experienced in that temple. Nearly twenty seven years ago, a storm that closed the Salt Lake airport brought snow, bitter cold, and wind. My brother, a cousin, and an uncle and aunt never made it through but with those who were already here, we gathered in the largest sealing room of that temple, knelt at an altar, a symbol of the sacrifice of our Savior, Jesus Christ, and made covenants making us husband and wife and binding us to God and each other forever.
Many years and several children after our sealing, sat in a sealing room of the Ogden Temple as a young husband and wife knelt across a similar altar to enter into covenants that would bring the blessings of the atonement of Jesus Christ to their marriage and family. Once their sealing was complete, their two young children, dressed in white, were brought into the room and joined their parents at the altar. The scene was so sweet and I felt a twinge of jealousy that I would never have my children gathered around an altar like that. Then my breath hitched as a rebuke sounded in my mind, “I gave you this blessing before you knew how much you would want it.” He had given me hope before life would test that faith and hope.
Our loving Father invites us to enter into covenants that bring promises we may not even now know how much we will desire in future days. It is His promise that “In the world, ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
“As we enter the Lord’s house, we feel the Spirit of God, verifying our hope…. the ordinances powerfully confirm that every righteous person will receive every promised blessing. There is sublime hope as a young couple kneels across the altar to be sealed, not just for time but for eternity. There is an immensity of hope for us in the promises made to our posterity, whatever their current circumstances. There is no pain, no sickness, no injustice, no suffering, nothing that can darken our hope as we believe and hold tightly to our covenants with God in the house of the Lord. It is a house of light, a house of hope…I testify that our hope is our Savior, Jesus Christ. Through Him, all our righteous dreams will be realized. He is the God of hope-the triumph of hope.” (Elder Neil L. Anderson, October 2024)
Every blessing we seek and hope for can be realized through Jesus Christ, the God of hope.