Goodnight My Angel

I interrupt this orderly progression of posts (I’m wrestling with words on the 2nd Big Idea entry) to share something more spontaneous.

For my barbershop chorus I’m in I’m learning a song by Billy Joel called Lullaby (Goodnight My Angel).  It’s a beautiful, beautiful song, I wish you could listen to the a cappella version now.  (maybe try this link for YouTube?)  It’s a song from a dad to his daughter, the words go like this:

Goodnight, my angel
Time to close your eyes
And save these questions for another day
I think I know what you’ve been asking me
I think you know what I’ve been trying to say
I promised I would never leave you
And you should always know
Wherever you may go
No matter where you are
I never will be far away

Goodnight, my angel
Now it’s time to sleep
And still so many things I want to say
Remember all the songs you sang for me
When we went sailing on an emerald bay
And like a boat out on the ocean
I’m rocking you to sleep
The water’s dark and deep
Inside this ancient heart
You’ll always be a part of me

Goodnight, my angel
Now it’s time to dream
And dream how wonderful your life will be
Someday your child may cry
And if you sing this lullabye
Then in your heart
There will always be a part of me

Someday we’ll all be gone
But lullabyes go on and on…
They never die
That’s how you
And I
Will be

I have to say I got a little emotional listening to the song.  It conjures up in my mind a little girl asking her daddy in so many words, “Daddy, will you be with me forever?”  “Will we die?”  “Where will we go when we die?”  And I imagine a loving dad who loves his daughter more than life itself, being at loss of exactly what to tell her.  If you’re a dad or mom you’ve probably heard these questions.  I know my kids have asked them many times, at bedtime, with lots of follow-up questions.

What does the dad say?  Surely he wants to tell her they’ll be together somehow, that it won’t end at death somehow.  But what does he say??

Obviously this song reaches for hope through the immortality of the lullaby, and somehow being in each others’ hearts always.  If you’re a dad you know your kids are a permanent part of your heart and you can scarcely imagine your kid being taken from you permanently somehow.

But to me, what this daughter really wants to hear is that they’ll actually be together forever.  Not just in each others’ hearts.  Wouldn’t it be nice if Dad could tell her that?  With conviction?

Which leads me to the point–I am so grateful that I do know what I know, that I can tell my kids with conviction and absolute certainty, that we can be a family forever.  They will grow up, some of us will die before others and we will surely painfully miss each other during that interlude.  But I can tell my kids that we have been sealed for eternity as a family, in a temple of God, by one holding God’s authority to seal on earth and in heaven.  And we have told our kids that time and time again, and now they know and they don’t ask that question anymore.  (They ask others!)

We know that we will be together forever as a family.  That’s part of what an eternal family means, the title of this blog.  Husband and wife, parent and child(ren).  We can go through life knowing that–not just thinking it or hoping it.

If you’re new to this idea I hope you’ll find out a little more, through this blog or elsewhere, and accept my testimony concerning it.

That’s all.

Sincerely,

Clayton

The Big Idea (Part 2)

So in this post I will endeavor to explain why “the mission statement for mortality might be ‘to build an eternal family'”.

The other purposes of our existence on this earthly sphere which I listed in the last post are each valid and true.  We’re here to be tested, to have joy (not just mortality but throughout our eternal existence), and yes, our Father in Heaven has individual tasks/missions for us to complete while here, if we will do them.

To explain why building an eternal family is so vital, a few key truths must be understood:

1. Families can be eternal.  The families we form here on earth are meant to last forever.  The authority to seal husband and wife for time and all eternity is had upon the earth, and is exercised in holy temples.  This power of sealing also seals parents to children.
2. It’s not “automatic”.  Being sealed to one’s spouse and children requires action on our part  Namely, families must actually be sealed here on Earth by one having authority.  This sacred ordinance occurs only in holy temples.  And prerequisite to entering the temple are certain ordinances and covenants, such as baptism (by the proper authority), as well as the maintenance of certain standards of worthiness, defined by the gospel of Jesus Christ.
3. Each person’s salvation is partly dependent upon the salvation of and sealing to that person’s family, including past and future generations.  Their salvation is necessary and essential to our salvation.   (See Doctrine and Covenants 128:15-18).  This explains in part why we perform saving ordinances for those who have deceased.  (See link above.)  All must be and ultimately will be given the opportunity to accept or reject the ordinances and accompanying covenants necessary to salvation (see Doctrine and Covenants 138:30-35), and those ordinances must be performed on Earth, in temples (see Doctrine and Covenants 138:47-48).  For those who have died, the living perform their ordinances by proxy, on an individual basis.

And what is meant by “building an eternal family”?  If I can venture to answer, it means, simply:

1. Actually creating a family on earth by being married, if we are in the power to do so, and have children, again if it is in our power.
2. Being sealed to our spouse and children in a temple of God by one having authority.
3. Keeping the covenants we made in the temple and thus make ourselves worthy of our sealing remaining in force when we are dead.
4. Leading our own family in living the principles that will lead not only to salvation, but to potentially wonderful happiness and joy in earthly family life, indeed the greatest joy there is to be had here, as well as in eternity.  (For tips on this see “The Family: A Proclamation to the World“, paragraph 7.)
5. Completing the necessary temple ordinances for our dead and thus build that “welding link” between generations spoken of in the scripture above.

Where does missionary work fit in all this?  For now I’ll just quote Spencer W. Kimball who said:

“Missionary work is not limited to proclaiming the gospel to every nation, kindred tongue , and people now living on the earth. Missionary work is also continuing beyond the veil among the millions and even billions of the children of our Heavenly Father who have died either without hearing the gospel or without accepting it while they lived on the earth. Our great part in this aspect of missionary work is to perform on this earth the ordinances required for those who accept the gospel over there. The spirit world is full of spirits who are anxiously awaiting the performance of these earthly ordinances for them. I hope to see us dissolve the artificial boundary line we so often place between missionary work and temple and genealogical work, because it is the same great redemptive work!” (S. W. Kimball, 1977, p.3)

I hope I’ve made a decent case for the importance of building an eternal family.

For your reference and further information, here is the talk in which Elder Ballard suggests that the mission statement for mortality might be to build an eternal family:

And for more on the purpose of the temple, here are the words of President Boyd K. Packer:  ‘The Holy Temple‘

The Big Idea (Part 1)

I’ve heard it said recently by my church leader  that “the mission statement for mortality may just be to build an eternal family.”  Then I saw yesterday through this lady’s blog that he wasn’t the first to say it–Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said it in a talk from 2005.

Point is, HOW could building an eternal family be the main mission statement for mortality?  Wouldn’t we more likely say it was something like:

A. To Be Tested, to prove ourselves whether worthy of Eternal Salvation or something less.

B. To Have Joy.   “Men are that they might have joy,”  someone said, and though Earth life isn’t always pure joy, surely part of it is meant to be that way.

C. Individually, to fulfill our (individual) mission or purpose.  We at least presume, do we not, that each of us has a specific thing or things to accomplish in this life?

D. To Build an Eternal Family. . .

Hmm, not so obvious, is it.  Either my church leader and Elder Ballard are off their rockers or there is something more to understand about families and life after death which will actually make this make sense.  Of course there is.  We will attempt to figure it out in the next post.

Concerned Wife

So my wife immediately expressed concern, when I told her about my blog, that I would be doing it for the wrong motive–to preach–and by doing so would turn any normal person off, including herself.

I think that’s a good starting point, in a way, as a kind of initial preliminary caution.  I will try not to be preachy, but share sincerely what’s in my heart and mind concerning this subject.  You as the reader will probably be able to tell immediately if I get pushy in any way.

I know I will not be perfect in what I say, but for some reason I feel a desire to share some things and I believe my main motive to be sincere and respectful of others, etc.  I hope you enjoy it/benefit from it.