Josephine Elizabeth Mortensen is the luckiest little girl in the whole wide world. Her life has been blessed from the very beginning by two wonderful
women; Jana and Jana's sister, Amy. But that's another story for another time.
Joey's adoption into the Mortensen family happened around the age of one. Following her adoption, Amy and Duane proceeded to get their family ready so they could go to the new Oquirrh Temple to be sealed. You see, in our faith, we believe that families can be together forever. That can only happen in a Temple by men who have Priesthood authority. (see mormon.org)
Anyway, the whole family was excited for this event. Amy made sure all the family had white clothing. It's one of those rare instances where the whole family can be in the Temple as a family so it's a pretty special thing. Joey had been learning about the Temple for quite some time and she was excited to get "married" (sealed) to her family.
The sealing room was full of most cherished friends and family. They brought the family in and Joey was beaming from ear to ear. She kept whispering, "I getting married in the Temple!" She was so excited...until they told her to come and kneel at the altar by her mom and dad. She was quite emphatic about it. THAT was NOT going to happen! First they coaxed, then they held, it went from bad to worse. Joey was just not having any of that. She screamed, she kicked, she squirmed and used every muscle she could to stay away from her mom. In fact, she grabbed Amy by the hair and rammed her head into the altar. I honestly didn't know a two year old had that much strength!
The Matron left the room for a moment and did something I've never seen and will likely never see again in my lifetime. She brought Joey ANIMAL COOKIES! AND IT DIDN'T WORK! Joey was not going to participate in the ordinance. Our dear friend, President Ron Henline was officiating and he chuckled and said, "Well, some people will likely be dragged kicking and screaming into the Celestial Kingdom!"
The Matron finally just had to wrap herself around Joey and hold her tight. Bless that woman. I'm sure she needed a long nap after that.
After the sealing was done, they released Joey and she said through gulping sobs, "I married in the Temple!"
I love that little girl. She's spunky, she's charming, she's smart...and she knows what she wants. Somewhere in this world there is a little boy being prepared for her...he better take Karate!
