“Eternally Linked to My Family,” Liahona, June 2015, 6
Youth
Eternally Linked to My Family
The author lives in Utah, USA.
When I was adopted at age three, my birth mother allowed the adoption to be finalized only if my parents agreed to have my Church ordinances done after I turned 12. She thought I needed to be old enough to make the choice for myself, but it was really difficult to wait.
Yes, it was hard to see many of my friends get baptized when they turned eight, but what was even harder was knowing I couldn’t be sealed to my adoptive parents and five older siblings until I was 12. I was scared that something would happen to me and I wouldn’t be able to be sealed to them.
As my 12th birthday approached, we began planning for my baptism and sealing to my family. My parents let me choose which temple we would be sealed in. I had always thought that the San Diego California Temple was the most beautiful, so my entire family agreed to drive to California for the sealing.
I couldn’t wait to become an eternal family with my parents and siblings. During my sealing, I felt the Spirit so strongly that it is hard to put into words. Now that I am finally sealed to my family, my feelings of worry have been replaced with comfort and peace, knowing I am now eternally linked to them.