On many occasions, I have felt so extremely blessed and watched over that I have been nearly overwhelmed with gratitude. I vividly remember one such day, a day that was the most sacred of my life. I got up early and drove to Orem, Utah, to pick up my fiancée, Christine. We drove north for 45 minutes and arrived at the Salt Lake Temple, parked the car in one of the underground lots, and went inside the temple together.

I knew it would be a special day, but I didn’t comprehend just how amazing it would turn out to be. After we got dressed in temple clothing, we were escorted to the sealing room. There, our dearest friends and family members were waiting for us. I get emotional even as I write this now. After some instruction from the sealer, we knelt at an altar of God to be married and sealed for time and all eternity.

When the sealer began the sacred ceremony, my heart was bursting with gratitude. For the next few minutes, as the blessings and promises of the sealing ceremony were spoken, I was completely overcome. I wept through the entire ceremony. I couldn’t regain my emotions, but I didn’t want to. I had waited a lifetime for this sacred sealing and this wonderful day.

For me to share my life, my eternal life, with Christine, my spirit simply melted in gratitude. There was love, joy, and awe. This occasion had not come easily, but it had arrived and was priceless. I was so grateful that a loving God would allow me to be sealed to this wonderful woman (who I still love more than life itself). He filled my cup to overflowing on that sacred occasion. I don’t believe I have ever experienced more gratitude than I did in the temple that day.

While nothing quite rivals that day, there have been other times I have felt overwhelming thankfulness for a myriad of blessings. From times like this, I can identify with these feelings described by Helaman: “And so great was the prosperity of the church, and so many the blessings which were poured out upon the people, that even the high priests and the teachers were themselves astonished beyond measure” (Helaman 3:25). Have you ever felt “astonished beyond measure” for the many blessings you have received from the hand of the Lord?