1st Presidency

In scheduling my sealing to my daughter to my wife and I, I was told I needed 1st Presidency approval for my oldest step-daughter to be in the Temple with us that day because she is not sealed to anyone or born in the covenant (they told me this 4 days after I scheduled).  My Bishop joked "Man, every time you go to the Temple we have to write the 1st Presidency a letter.  They should know you on a first name basis by now."  I joked that I wish I personally knew "Tommy Monson" so I didn't have to write these letters.  Being sealed to my wife with an ex-wife involved was an almost 2 year process and more letters than I care to remember.  As normal with these requests, it could take months to get approval.  Of course the Temple called after I scheduled the sealing and my parents had purchased tickets to DFW to see the sealing to let us know of this large detail.  No hurt feelings though.  The Bishop and Stake President must now write letters and fax these in to the 1st Presidency's Secretary.  I am hoping that we get a positive response because if not, we are going to be leaving all the children out in the foyer except for Y.  We do not want to exclude any of the children!!

My letter to the 1st Presidency is here:

Dear Brethren:

I am writing to humbly and prayerfully ask that my oldest step daughter, X, be allowed into the Temple to see her sister, Y, sealed to her mother and I.  She has not been sealed to anyone and was not born in the covenant unfortunately (we are in the very slow process of fixing this issue).  My wife, Mrs. Fishgutts, and I have a blended family of 5 children.  3 are biologically mine and 2 are biologically Mrs. Fishgutts’.  I have adopted one of Mrs. Fishgutts' children Y and love her like my own.  This is the reason for the sealing and I personally could not be more excited to have her legally as part of the Fishgutt Family.  It has been a long and financially costly adoption.  A blended family is extremely difficult with children coming in and out of our home but we have come close to having as “traditional” family as possible with a blending of so many children.  Each of the children refers to each as their brother and sister and they “fight and love” on each other just like true biological brothers and sisters do.

Our greatest desire is to have all 5 children who have grown up together be in the Temple with Mrs. Fishgutts and I as we are sealed to Y.  I have been taught my whole life that families are eternal and with the sealing of Y to our family we will have come one step closer to have the whole family sealed to each other.  Our hope is to have X sealed too at some point in the future. 

Please, please, please allow X along with all the other children into the Temple to witness this sealing!  Without X we are not a full family.  We would be without an integral and important part of our family.  We want her and all the other children there to further show them how important sealings are, how important eternal families are and how special a place the Temple is to our family and to the Lord.  We have a strong testimony of the Temple and would love to have both sides of our very extended families, along with X, present at the Temple to see the eternal addition of Y to our family.

Yours in Scouting and in the Gospel,

Brother and Sister Fishgutts