Eternal Families from the Eyes of Brokenness

We talk sometimes here about whether or not temple ordinances and sealings are “real”, “true” or, more often, “literal”. I was reading a comment on another group blog today, and something hit me in a way that hadn’t registered in that way about this exact topic.

We have these conversations, speaking generally, from a position of “luxury”, if you will. We either have relatively loving families, or we have difficult family situations but have been taught about eternal families for a long time – generally growing up hearing about that concept. Thus, we have the luxury of criticizing (or even nitpicking) the concept without much of a grounding in a former orientation of despair or extreme difficulty – or, speaking generally, we come at it from the perspective of a faith crisis through which everything loses its former beauty and everything comes into question.

We forget sometimes the perspectives expressed in the comment I read today (highlighting is mine):

As a recent convert to the Church of Jesus Christ of LDS, this concept of the Eternal Family has been a learning process for me. In my life, the word that describes my family and my husbands family is “scattered”. We are both adult “orphans”, at times estranged from our brothers and sisters.

So when I was taught by the Missionary’s the principle of the Eternal Family, I was first intrigued by the thought of being sealed to my husband forever, and I purposed in my heart to explore that and what I learned is that I had the potential to be a better wife than I thought I was, and my husband could be a better husband too. (Hopefully before we die). We are a work in progress.

In searching for and assembling a “Family Tree” and then having the courage to do the vicarious work; the baptisms, the preparatory work for the endowment and even the sealing of our parents, I have learned about love and forgiveness, which for me is the “key” to it all. I have found that each time I find a name, a story comes with that name and a person is evolved and then I can “see” our family coming closer, not only behind the veil but in this life. There is a bond that is building now between long lost brothers and sisters, we have something to share, and that is love for each other, memories long forgotten.

My husband and I have no children together and that has always saddened me, and I hope that in a future world, I will have children, so I believe that eternal families hold that possibility. But for the most part, I am excited about the future.

Revelations 21:4-5 is a great motivator for me:

4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.