As you may recall and as back story, Joseph was favored by his dad. This was a problem because Joseph had 10 older brothers who didn't like Joseph getting special treatment. To make it worse, Joseph had dreams and visions which involved him ruling over them. They got mad, threw him in a pit, sold him to the Egyptians and told his dad that he was devoured by wild beasts. Yikes. Joseph has every right to hate them right now. This is probably up there as one of the worst cases of sibling rivalry ever recorded. Yet, Joseph made the best of a bad situation, became favored in his masters house and yadda yadda until his masters wife made some moves, and got Joseph thrown in prison (unjustly, he fled, she got mad, lied and her husband believed her). Now remember, Joseph still hasn't done anything wrong. Well, next in prison, some people are having dreams, telling Joseph about them, Joseph interprets them, they come true. Pharaoh hears about Joseph, asks for an interpretation of his dream, and Joseph becomes the right hand man to Pharaoh to help prepare the land for a famine and then to manage the storehouses during the famine. And here is where we kick off with families.
Joseph is doing his thing, when one day who comes to get grain but his brothers. Oy. Joseph knows them but they don't recognize him. All sorts of adventure ensues until Joseph finally makes himself known to them. Obviously, they're troubled. And Joseph, good old Joseph, forgives them and says "be not grieved nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life." HE forgives them, tells them to forgive themselves, and gives glory to God for everything that has happened to him. His life was not easy, he loved his family and grew up without them. He was framed, betrayed, and yet he forgave and recognized Gods hand and found Gods purposes. Now, the greater lesson here, is that God saves families. It may have seemed like the family was torn apart through the trials and guilt and sorrow felt-but in the end, they were preserved and reunited.
Through faith in the Lord during trials, and by cleaving to our covenants, my family too will be preserved and reunited. Its illustrated over and over again. Lehi in the Book of Mormon did not have an easy road, he had rebellious children, but he was faithful and God preserved his family and worked salvation through his lineage. Joseph though sold by his brothers into Egypt was able to preserve his family, of who the covenants of Abraham are carried forth to the whole world. Abraham acted in faith and was blessed to receive the desires of his heart, through his faith and obedience and by the covenants he made, we all becomes heirs of eternal life. It was through the lines of these great patriarchs that our Savior was descended. And through the sacrifice of his life we can all overcome the injustices that befall us.
Families are eternal, they are not meant to end with the completion of mortality. The gospel of Jesus Christ teaches us how we can have joy in this life and in the next. It is restored to the earth by living prophets who commune with God and guide us back to Heavenly Father. The authority to seal families is on the earth in full in the houses of God-the Holy Temples. I pray for faith like Joseph as the trials of life come, and with happiness in my heart I thank God for the blessings of the Gospel and for my Temple marriage.
