The temple is a place where families can be sealed for time and for all eternity. It is one of the most precious blessings we can receive--the assurance that through the Savior Jesus Christ, we can be with our families for eternity. It is a core part of Heavenly Father's plan for us. In the temple, we learn of the importance of the family to God's plan, for it is not only by the family but through the family that we can navigate life's difficulties.
Thomas Bedford Jett is my great-great-great grandfather on my maternal grandmother's side. Nearly twenty years ago in April of 2003, we went to the Houston Texas temple to seal his children to him. On that evening, the sealer allowed us to seal his six sons to him at the same time. It was a powerful experience! As we shared in our book:
"Aaron and I acted as proxies for Thomas Bedford, his second wife, Talitha, and six brethren were proxies for their six sons. While kneeling at the altar with three sons to my right and three sons to my left, a wave of emotion came over me as I thought about the great reunion that must be happening on the other side of the veil.
"I had looked many times at a picture of this family with its eight children (shown below).[1] Now, in my mind’s eye, I could see family members embracing one another with deep joy and heartfelt appreciation for the gift of salvation they had been offered. At that moment, I had a powerful spiritual confirmation that these ordinances were legitimate and that the members of this good family accepted them." [2]
This week in December of 2022, we went to the Dallas Texas temple to seal Thomas Bedford's grandchildren to his daughter Nancy Ann [Jett] Allison, and her husband, George Allison.[3] We were supposed to go to an endowment session, but due to traffic, we arrived late. So, instead of that ordinance, we decided to perform the sealings of five of Nancy's daughters to her and George.
We handed the sealer our names when we arrived at the sealing room. When he saw that there were five sisters from the same family, he asked if we wanted to seal them all simultaneously. Because we had performed the same ordinance for their six uncles almost twenty years ago, we happily agreed.
There weren't many people in the temple that night, but the sealer left the sealing room, and he found five female patrons who could join the ordinance. The seven of us knelt around the altar. As the sealer began the ordinance, my heart fluttered with joy! I was overwhelmed.
I felt such happiness that his sweet family would have five daughters sealed to them simultaneously. I could see from the expression on their faces and the tears in their eyes that the sisters who knelt around the altar with us felt that same joy. One sister commented, "I've never experienced anything like this before!"
There is nothing more special than sealing together a group of siblings--especially when they are members of your own family. I felt the same feeling tonight that I had almost twenty years ago. These people rejoiced in receiving their ordinances! The joy I felt was not only my own; it was theirs as well.
Picture: Jett Family. Left to right: Robert Jiles Jett (son), George Jett (son), W.E. Jett (son), Thomas Bedford Jett (father), Talitha Kirkendall (mother), Horace Jett (son), Rosie [Jett] Robertson (daughter), Josie [Jett] Ramsey (daughter), and Walter R. Jett (son). See https://www.geni.com/people/Thomas-Bedford-Jett/6000000000461470489 for a full biography.
Aaron and Julie Bujnowski, Discovering Your Temple Insights, (Springville: Cedar Fort Publishing and Media, 2023), 94.
Nancy Ann Jett was Thomas Bedford Jett's daughter through his first wife, Martha J. Vaughn.
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