The grandfather sat in the shade on the shore of Jackson Lake in Grand Teton National Park just outside of Jackson, Wyo. The Teton Mountain Range loomed high in the background; its magnificence was reflected on the waters of the lake.

Visitors travel from across the globe to catch a glimpse of this very scene, but the grandfather didn't seem to notice it.

His focus was on the little girl standing at his side; he placed a beach towel over her shoulders, patted her on the back and sent her on her way. She ran down the beach — stopping briefly to grab a handful of Cheetos — and joined her cousins who were splashing in the water.

The little girl is the youngest of the grandfather's 18 grandchildren. In many ways she and her cousins are very much alike; they all love their annual family reunion in Wyoming, playing in the water, and, of course, Cheetos.

Still, the grandfather will never forget that a miraculous string of events brought his youngest grandchild — as well as two of her cousins — to his family.

The three were adopted; their stories are filled with beauty as grand as the Tetons rising above him.

And although different, the stories have common threads: a loving birth mother, adoptive parents who wanted and needed a child, a child deserving of both a mother and a father, and a Heavenly Father who provided a wonderful way for some of His children to build eternal families.

Their experiences can be summarized by a motto promoted in recent years by LDS Family Services: "Adoption: It's About Love."

This November, states, communities, public and private organizations, businesses and families across the United States celebrate National Adoption Month.

The Church joins the effort.

"We endorse [National Adoption Month] and express our support of unwed parents who place their children for adoption in stable homes with a mother and a father," wrote President Thomas S. Monson and his counselors, President Henry B. Eyring and President Dieter F. Uchtdorf in a statement.

"We also express our support of the married mothers and fathers who adopt these children.

"Children are entitled to the blessing of being reared in a stable family environment where father and mother honor marital vows. Having a secure, nurturing, and consistent relationship with both a father and a mother is essential to a child's well-being. When choosing adoption, unwed parents grant their children this most important blessing. Adoption is an unselfish, loving decision that blesses the child, birth parents, and adoptive parents in this life and throughout the eternities.

"We commend all those who strengthen children and families by promoting adoption" (Church News, Nov. 22, 2008).

Church leaders have long taught that children are entitled to be raised by parents who honor marital vows and who can provide love and support. "Adoption can be a great blessing for many children who are born without this opportunity," according to an official Church statement on the subject. "Adoption can also be a great blessing to couples who are unable to conceive their own children" (lds.org/study/topics/adoption).

One reason adoption is so important to Latter-day Saints is that temple-worthy adoptive parents can have their children sealed to them.

The sacred temple sealing ordinance promises children, born in the covenant or sealed to their parents, special blessings in this life and throughout the eternities. President Joseph Fielding Smith said those children "have claims upon the blessings of the gospel beyond what those not so born are entitled to receive. They may receive a greater guidance, a greater protection, a greater inspiration from the Spirit of the Lord; and then there is no power that can take them away from their parents" ("Why Adoption?" Ensign, January 2008).

The knowledge that three special grandchildren are sealed to their parents — and therefore have claim to promised blessings — is just one of the many things for which a loving grandfather is grateful.

Some of the others come from the everyday joys of family life: the sound of laughter; a Cheetos-stained smile; and a child wrapped tightly in a beach towel.

It's a scene that culminated years of hopes and prayers and miracles and that can be summarized with a simple motto: "Adoption: It's About Love."