Pres. Nelsons Vision of Two Little Girls "We're Not Sealed to Anyone"

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Russell M. Nelson was a Heart Surgeon before he was called to be a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. During his time as a heart surgeon there were great strides made in the field.

In the 1950's, in the early days of his surgical career, Dr. Nelson attempted to save the lives of two little girls from the same family--Laural Ann and Gay Lynn Hatfield, the daughters of Jimmy and Ruth Hatfield. Both girls had died . It was a traumatic series of events for all involved.

The parents were grief-stricken, but they were also spiritually shattered. Not only did they lose two daughters, they lost their faith in God. And, from their point of view, it was their surgeon's fault. He should have been able to save their girls lives.

For decades they had been angry with Russell M. Nelson for failing them and that anger festered and blossomed into a deep resentment that led them away from the Church. The Hatfields weren't shy about expressing their anger, even hatred toward D. Nelson. That anger only intensified when Dr. Nelson became Elder Nelson, called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

Elder Nelson was well aware of this hostility, and it grieved him. Not only had the death of those two girls hurt him deeply at the time, but he was devastated that he'd had a part in the Hatfields disaffection from the Church. He felt personally responsible for their inactivity as well as the invective they spewed anytime someone mentioned his or the Church's name. Repeatedly through the years, he had attempted to establish contact with Jimmy and Ruth- usually working through local priesthood leaders to help him. But to no avail. One stake president after another had told him that the Hatfields literally hated him. They always refused to see him. For a man whose basic human nature is to avoid contention and resolve differences quickly, the situation gnawed at Elder Nelson. It was a heartache that had haunted him for years.

Then, one night in 2015- nearly sixty years after the first failed operation- Elder Nelson was awakened in the middle of the night by those two Hatfield daughters from the other side of the veil. He did not see or hear them with his physical senses, but he flet their presence and spiritually could hear their pleadings. They had one short but clear message for him: "Brother Nelson, we are not sealed to anyone! Can you help us?"

The next morning he told Wendy about the vivid experience he'd had during the night and with renewed determination, he again tried to contact the Hatfields. This time, he learned through the Stake President and bishop where Jimmy and his son Shawn lived that Ruth Hatfield had passed away. Much to his surprise, the father and son agreed to meet with him.

The Hatfields lived in a small community south of Provo, Utah. Out of convenience for them, Elder Nelson arranged to meet with Jimmy and Shawn, along with their stake President and bishop, on June 26, 2015, during the seminar for newly called mission presidents held annually at the Provo Missionary Training Center.

The feeling was strained as Elder Nelson entered the room. The Hatfields weren't going to make the visit pleasant for the General Authority they had hated for years. Elder Nelson began the conversation and during the first few minutes felt he was getting nowhere. Finally, he knelt in front of the eighty-eight-year- old Jimmy Hatfield. He told him about the thinning of the veil he'd experienced a few weeks earlier and of Laural Ann and Gay Lynn's pleadings to be sealed to their parents. He then said "Jimmy, I would be honored to be the one who seals your wife and you and your children to you and your wife."

As Elder Nelson quietly spoke to Jimmy, the Spirit flooded the room. Jimmy Hatfield was now listening, and it became clear that Elder Nelson's words were resonating with this fathers tender heart. Elder Nelson told him what would be required for him to prepare to be ready and worthy to enter the temple, and then he said "You're eighty-eight and I'm ninety, so that means you'd better hurry." After a few moments, Jimmy responded, "All right, I'll do it."

Elder Nelson then turned to Jimmy's son and said "Shawn, this family is going to be sealed. Will you be sealed with them?" and he responded "Yes, I will."

References:

"Insights from a Prophet's life: Russell M. Nelson" by Sheri Dew p. 298-299