February 2010 Ensign
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more children—Hayley, Tessa, The Promise and Jenna—came to our family, and all five thrived in Primary, Activity Days, and Scouting. Over of the the next decade, John and I took the temple-preparation classes three different times, but they never resulted in our going to the temple. We wanted our family to be sealed, but we didn’t feel ready to live all of the command- TempleBy Ellen Rowe Sigety ments. We were attending church was born and raised in the worship with me and our two regularly and obeying most of Church but chose inactivity sons, John Rowe and Joseph. the commandments—that was in my 20s. I married a good We began attending our ward good enough, wasn’t it? Besides, Iman who was not active in his every Sunday. The missionaries our children didn’t really know own faith either. As John and I taught John, who embraced the the difference. began our family, which would gospel and was baptized three We soon realized that wasn’t eventually include five children, months later. actually the case. As we tucked my heart began to yearn for the We became active members him into bed each night, our teachings of my youth. I did not of our ward, fulfilling callings oldest son began asking when pressure John, but he agreed to in different auxiliaries. Three our family was going to the temple. That tugged at our heartstrings. About this time our bishop invited my husband and me to his office. He wanted to know why we had not committed to making temple blessings a real- ity for our family. We explained that we weren’t ready to live all of the commandments required for receiving a temple recom- mend and that we felt we were already doing our best. As bishops had done before, Bishop Riding counseled us about the importance of these The Sigety family in 2006. Front row, from left: Joseph, Tessa, John ordinances and the eternal FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF SIGETY FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY FAMILY Rowe, and Jenna. Back row, from left: Hayley, John, and Ellen. blessings available to our family. February 2010 47 But then something happened that I BLESSINGS OF THE will never forget. Bishop Riding sat TEMPLE quietly for several seconds before “When you attend the saying softly, “I feel impressed to tell temple and perform the you that the time for you to go to the ordinances that pertain to temple is now. The window of oppor- the House of the Lord, certain tunity is closing for your family.” blessings will come to you: We didn’t know all of the implica- You will receive the spirit of Elijah, which will tions of the bishop’s comment, but 1turn your hearts to your spouse, to your chil- we instantly felt the Spirit confirm dren, and to your forebears. its truth. We realized not only that You will love your family with a deeper love than the temple would bless us eternally 2you have loved before. but that our sealing could also help Your hearts will be turned to your fathers and our children as they grew older and 3theirs to you. started making important decisions You will be endowed with power from on high for their lives. 4as the Lord has promised [see D&C 38:32]. John and I left the bishop’s office You will receive the key of the knowledge of that evening with a new sense of 5God. (See D&C 84:19.) You will learn how you urgency. We set specific goals and can be like Him. Even the power of godliness will be a target date for our temple endow- manifest to you. (See D&C 84:20.) ment and sealing. From then on we You will be doing a great service to those who wholeheartedly tried to live all of 6have passed to the other side of the veil in order the commandments—not just the that they might be ‘judged according to men in the ones we were comfortable with. flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.’ (D&C In addition, we devoted consistent 138:34.) effort to prayer and scripture study “Such are the blessings of the temple and the and served with more fervor in our blessings of frequently attending the temple. callings. As we made these sacrifices, “So I say: God bless Israel! God bless those of we saw many blessings come into our forebears who constructed the holy temples. our lives. God bless us to teach our children and our grand- When we did struggle, we children what great blessings await them by going encouraged each other. I remember to the temple. God bless us to receive all the blessings one particular night when my hus- revealed by Elijah the prophet so that our callings band sensed I was feeling a little bit and election will be made sure.” apprehensive. He read a passage President Ezra Taft Benson (1899–1994), “What I Hope You Would Teach Your Children about the Temple,” Tambuli, Apr. 1986, 6. from President Boyd K. Packer’s The Holy Temple, 1 which we had been studying together. The words he shared broadened my vision and calmed my fears. 48 Ensign Bishop Riding continued to morning of October 21, our twins, at the temple, which reminds us of encourage us, as did ward mem- then 17, were in a car accident. Tessa our experience and the promises we bers. A friend gave us a copy of the sustained minor injuries, but Jenna’s know can be ours. Temples booklet, which we pored condition was serious. She was taken We are grateful for faithful priest- over. The teachers of our temple- to an area hospital, where she lay in hood leaders who counseled with preparation class answered our a coma. When we learned she might us, particularly for a good bishop questions and reached out in kind- not live, our three oldest children who followed a prompting that led ness and fellowship, and many ward returned from college. As we spent to eternal blessings for our family. members provided good examples of temple worthiness. Each night as we tucked our chil- dren into bed, we confidently told them yes, our family was going to go to the temple. As the time drew closer, we were able to give them a TEMPLE BY JED CLARK specific date. On April 17, 1998, about six months after that life-changing day in our bish- op’s office, John and I knelt at the altar of the Dallas Texas Temple with our five children. Many friends from our ward attended, and through their sup- We display in our home a picture of our family at the temple to remind us port I realized how eager they were of our experience and of promised blessings. for us to enjoy the blessings they knew in their own families. Without ques- the next days together in Jenna’s We are grateful for friends and ward tion, our sealing has been the single hospital room, our family took great members who encouraged us along most important event in our life. comfort in the ordinances that will the way and who provided good To my husband and me, the effects allow us to be together after death. examples for us to follow. Most of all, of our sealing seemed very tangible. We spent time talking about the eter- we are grateful to a loving Heavenly For instance, we noticed a change in nal nature of families—of our family. Father, who has made it possible for the atmosphere in our home, partic- A week after the accident, Jenna “family relationships to be perpetu- ularly in our children. They seemed passed away. ated beyond the grave” through the more obedient, and while they Our temple covenants have gift of His Son and through temple weren’t perfect, they did consistently become even more important to us ordinances. 2 ◼ strive to make good choices and fol- since her death. We miss Jenna terri- NOTES 1. The booklet Preparing to Enter the Holy low the commandments. We experi- bly and long for the day when we can Temple is based on the book by President enced an increase in family unity too. be together again, but our faith in the Boyd K. Packer. The booklet is available from Distribution Services in many lan- As rich as those blessings were, the plan of salvation and our testimony of guages (item no. 36793). 2. “The Family: A Proclamation to the reality of temple blessings became eternal families sustain us. We display World,” Liahona, Oct. 2004, 49; Ensign, PHOTOGRAPH OF PRESIDENT BENSON BY BUSATH PHOTOGRAPHY; PHOTOGRAPH OF ANGEL MORONI BY DAVID ANDERSEN; PHOTOGRAPH OF DALLAS TEXAS PHOTOGRAPH OF ANGEL MORONI BY DAVID PHOTOGRAPHY; PHOTOGRAPH OF PRESIDENT BENSON BY BUSATH especially poignant in 2007. The in our home a picture of our family Nov. 1995, 102. February 2010 49.