President Dallin H. Oaks, President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has taught that “essential to our doctrine on the family is the temple. The ordinances received there enable us to return as eternal families to the presence of our Heavenly Father.”
After the San Diego California Temple was originally dedicated in April 1993, Elizabeth and Giovanni Guanuna were the first couple to be married and sealed in the new temple. Three decades later, on the temple’s rededication weekend in August 2026, they met with Church News reporter Aimee Cobabe on the temple grounds.
On this episode of the Church News podcast, the Guanunas reflect on what their sealing means to them and what blessings they have seen as they have continued to build their faith in Jesus Christ and serve in the temple.
Transcript:
Mary Richards: I’m Mary Richards, a reporter with the Church News and host of the Church News podcast.
In his October 2025 general conference address, Church President Dallin H. Oaks taught that “essential to our doctrine on the family is the temple. The ordinances received there enable us to return as eternal families to the presence of our Heavenly Father.”
In this episode of the Church News podcast, reporter Aimee Cobabe talks with Elizabeth and Giovanni Guanuna at the San Diego California Temple. The three met together immediately prior to the rededication of the house of the Lord in Southern California in August 2026. The San Diego temple was rededicated by President D. Todd Christofferson, second counselor in the First Presidency.
However, after the temple was originally dedicated in April 1993 by President Gordon B. Hinckley, the Guanunas were the first couple to be sealed in the new temple. More than three decades later, they reflected on what that day meant to them and what blessings they have seen as they have continued to build their faith in Jesus Christ and serve in the temple.
1:09
Aimee Cobabe: Thank you both for being here, Elizabeth and Giovanni, at the temple grounds once again.
Elizabeth Guanuna: Oh, I’m so happy to be here, Aimee.
Giovanni Guanuna: Thank you for having us.
Aimee Cobabe: And you both still live here in San Diego.
Elizabeth Guanuna: We do.
1:21
Aimee Cobabe: You haven’t gone far from that first day in 1993. Can you take me back to your wedding day? What do you still recall from that day?
Elizabeth Guanuna: Well, this is a perfect place for you to ask that question because I remember driving in and seeing the temple just like this — the trees much smaller, everything brand new. And when you walk in, it says “1993” there on a little cornerstone. And we were married May 1, 1993, very early in the morning.
And, I mean, it’s something every girl dreams of, dressed in white. And the bridal room is so gorgeous in there. And to be in there, I remember just tracing everything with my fingers and taking a minute to look at every single detail. And now that it’s rededicated, I was able to go through again and see the upgrades and how it’s once again brand new. Like my husband says, maybe we need to be remodeled too. We’re the same age.
2:12
Aimee Cobabe: Remodeled 33, almost 34 years later. What do you remember from that day?
Giovanni Guanuna: Very nervous. It’s, as you can imagine, it’s one of the most important decisions and steps that you make in life. And so just thinking that my life is going to change. Of course, happy, very happy to marry a beautiful girl in the right place. So it was a wonderful, wonderful day.
2:43
Aimee Cobabe: Take me back to being the first couple. Was that something you set out to do? How did that come about, to be the first couple sealed in this temple?
Elizabeth Guanuna: You know, it’s like you have to be somebody, right? Not really. God is no respecter of persons, and this proves it. We were just two kids, both going to BYU at the time, both teaching in the MTC, which is where we had met.
And we were driving up here to meet his family, and when we drove by — with still the scaffolding on the temple, they were just finishing it up, or just beginning to build and do the grounds — and he said to me, “Boy, I’d get married in that temple. That’s beautiful.”
So the next day, I called the temple, and they said, “How would you like to be the first?” And I was shocked and pleased, and I said yes. And we had our wedding date. So we actually had to rush and do a formal engagement.
3:31
Aimee Cobabe: So you hadn’t even asked her yet?
Giovanni Guanuna: No.
Aimee Cobabe: But you’d clearly — you knew.
Elizabeth Guanuna: We knew that is where it was going.
Giovanni Guanuna: We knew that that was the direction we were going.
3:38
Aimee Cobabe: Yeah. And a temple marriage, too.
Giovanni Guanuna: Yes.
Aimee Cobabe: That’s something that was important to both of you.
Elizabeth Guanuna: From the time I was a young child, that was clear to me. Many people think they just have the right to a wonderful family and a wonderful marriage, and I know that it takes preparation and living a higher standard, and I set my sights on that. And he’s a convert. Maybe you can tell why that was important to you, but when we met, that was clearly a value that we shared.
4:06
Aimee Cobabe: Yeah, tell us a little bit. So you’re a convert to the Church. How did that become so important to you? If you hadn’t seen that yourself in your family with the temple marriage and covenants, what happened to lead you to that?
Giovanni Guanuna: Well, I think it goes back to when I decided to join the Church. After I went through the missionary discussions and I was invited to follow the Lord and to be baptized, I didn’t make that decision right away. It took me a good six months, probably. By the time they asked again, it was maybe like the third or fourth time. I couldn’t turn around and say no, because I knew the Lord knew what I needed. And so I had to move forward and follow the Lord.
And so, having that understanding that the Lord wants us to make covenants with Him, the baptism being the first one, that we make a determination to follow Him. And there are other covenants that we are invited to do. And of course, those covenants can be made at the temple. And so that became unique, special to make those covenants.
Aimee Cobabe: Yeah.
5:30
Elizabeth Guanuna: We shared that value, and there was never any question. In this Church, to me, there’s a very unique doctrine, and that is the eternal family and the sealing that happens in the temple. What do you really care about? Everyone, if you ask anyone what you really care about most, it’s your family. So that aspect of the Church is honestly what has my heart above all else, and he shared that.
So, being sealed here, taking very seriously our covenants, feeling the weightiness and the grandeur of the promises that are made in the temple, that’s been the foundation for our family. That’s been the focal point of our family. All else has been secondary to support that aim, and it’s paid off. We’re happy. It’s been worth it. Beautiful children with similar values. And there’s no other way to live, in my mind.
6:24
Aimee Cobabe: Oh, that’s wonderful. You talked about your children, and I want to get to that.
But first, before we talk a little bit about what’s happened since 1993, let’s go to that day. You have a photo album. I would love to look at some of these and have you remember. So, how old were you when you were married? Let’s — maybe you don’t want to reveal that on camera, but how old?
Elizabeth Guanuna: A lot younger.
Aimee Cobabe: How old were you?
Giovanni Guanuna: Twenty-five.
Aimee Cobabe: Twenty-five.
Elizabeth Guanuna: We were both 25 years old.
Aimee Cobabe: Both 25, returned missionaries.
Elizabeth Guanuna: Both students.
Aimee Cobabe: Yeah.
6:58
Elizabeth Guanuna: I was studying law. He was studying engineering. We were both broke, so we had no photographer. We didn’t really have any reception plan that we knew about. Our parents had kind of worked that out for us. We didn’t have, gosh, gas in our car when we left. My dad had to run up and give us a $50 bill so we could get started on our honeymoon.
But my brother, fortunately — and he still takes photographs and does it for a hobby — but he ran up after and said, “Let’s get some photographs.” And he took this little cover photograph. But these were our engagement. And when we were both teaching the MTC, you can see his tag when we met.
7:35
Aimee Cobabe: And your engagement, I’m just going back to that page, is another temple. That’s the Logan Utah Temple.
Elizabeth Guanuna: Do you remember that?
Giovanni Guanuna: That’s when we got engaged officially.
7:44
Aimee Cobabe: Officially at the Logan temple. So, you started out that thinking of: “Oh, I want to get married in this temple. I would get married —” and then you finally popped the question at another temple.
Giovanni Guanuna: That’s right.
Aimee Cobabe: That’s beautiful.
Giovanni Guanuna: Logan temple was there. This one was not there yet. So we chose that temple to officially be engaged.
8:05
Elizabeth Guanuna: It was freezing cold, and he gave a big long speech about commitment, and I agreed with everything. I was shaking like this, but it was very beautiful.
And this is when we drove by to meet his family, and they still have the dirt all dug up, but you could see how beautiful the temple was going to be. And that’s when he said, “Oh, I’d get married there,” and I jumped right on that.
Aimee Cobabe: Almost right here is — it looks like where you were standing.
8:29
Elizabeth Guanuna: And this was originally supposed to be a reflection pool that didn’t come to be, but it’s very beautiful still with the grass. And he just knew that was going to be something, and he was right.
And this was our wedding invitation, which we included a scripture on here. “Behold, I give unto you power, that whatsoever ye shall seal on earth shall be sealed in heaven,” in Helaman 10:7. And this was the Lord speaking to Helaman when there was division among the people. They were fighting, and he was going to call them to repentance. But the Lord said, “I’ll give you this power to seal.”
And it’s the sealing power that drew us to the temple. We wanted an eternal family. This is what you get here if you can live up to the standards and put the Lord first, which has always been a theme in our home.
And then this was how we invited people to come to the sealing room. And I remember when we got sealed — do you remember kneeling at the altar?
Giovanni Guanuna: Yeah.
Elizabeth Guanuna: And the chandelier, and it catches all the light, and it was just surreal for that moment. You know, I just got lost in the beauty of it and the weightiness of what we were doing. But no regrets.
9:32
Giovanni Guanuna: And when the sealer asked my bride, “Would you take this young man for a husband?” it took her forever. I thought she was going to say no.
Elizabeth Guanuna: I was lost in the beauty of the sealing room, but I was not going to say no, as you can see.
Aimee Cobabe: Just a little distracted by the chandelier.
9:51
Elizabeth Guanuna: And then here, when we came out, his family, much of his family could not enter the temple, but they were so gracious and wonderful. And his mom had made me these flowers out of marzipan so I had something to hold. We didn’t even do flowers.
And then these are the pictures my brother took that we have, thankfully.
Aimee Cobabe: Yes.
Elizabeth Guanuna: That help us remember.
Aimee Cobabe: Beautiful dress and family.
10:10
Elizabeth Guanuna: There we are. You can see the trees are much smaller, but it was beautiful nonetheless.
Aimee Cobabe: Yes.
Elizabeth Guanuna: And then that’s on to our wedding reception, but I think that’s primarily it.
10:19
Aimee Cobabe: Beautiful California day there, different from the engagement in Logan, where it is very cold.
But tell me a little bit about that scripture. I love that, that you had that on your invitation, and it seems like that is something that you — the scriptures is something that we haven’t brought up, but I wonder if there are any scriptures that you think of as you sit at the temple, as you think about this and your decision to be sealed in the temple.
What scriptures, maybe, do you think about when you’re pondering?
10:56
Giovanni Guanuna: There’s one in particular from Matthew 22, where the Lord was asked, “What’s the first commandment, the most important command?” And the Lord replied, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy mind, with all thy soul” (see verse 37).
So, I have been pondering about that, and of course back then I knew that scripture as well. But throughout the years, I’ve been thinking about that, “What does that really mean?” Lately I’ve been thinking about that a lot. And to love the Lord thy God, to love my Heavenly Father, over anything and everything, I was trying to understand what would that mean.
But I think the Lord answered that question Himself in another scripture, in John 14:15, where He says, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” Keep His commandments, Heavenly Father’s commandments. Of course, He gave us His commandments to His Son.
And so that tells me what loving God means. What are the most important commandments that I should follow, that I should apply in my life? And for the last 33 years since I got married, the most important commandments to me, if I love the Lord, is to be a good husband, to be a good father, to be a good provider, to help others grow and to grow ourselves and become more like Christ.
12:46
Elizabeth Guanuna: I can tell you along that line, he — that’s beautiful to hear, because he has been a master of gentle persuasion in the home. He is kind, he is loving, he will not tolerate contention. He’ll sit with the children for hours, if he needs to, and patch a rift. And we have had peace in our home because of him. He takes that very seriously.
So, I won. I won big. He’s made it possible for us to have the family we have today. He takes these covenants seriously, and so did I. And we prepared the best we could. Were we perfect? No. We’re flawed in many ways. But I do know that when you put your effort in, the Lord will make up the difference and bring you where you need to be. And it’s been a beautiful ride.
Aimee Cobabe: I love that. A beautiful ride together.
Elizabeth Guanuna: Yeah, together.
13:32
Aimee Cobabe: And starting with that attitude of loving the Lord, as you said from that scripture in Matthew, really sets you up.
Let’s talk a little bit about your family now. In that time since you were sealed, you have how many children? And how are they doing?
Giovanni Guanuna: Six boys, two girls.
Elizabeth Guanuna: They are beautiful children and doing well, and they’ve served missions. We have one that just left home for college. He hasn’t served, but he’s got plans to do so. And it’s meaningful to them because the missionaries found my husband, the missionaries found my father. And so they go with that in mind.
14:09
Aimee Cobabe: You had a missionary just come home. How recently?
Giovanni Guanuna: Two days ago.
Aimee Cobabe: Two days.
Giovanni Guanuna: He came back from Thailand.
Aimee Cobabe: Pretty fresh.
Elizabeth Guanuna: Yeah, pretty fresh.
14:19
Aimee Cobabe: What has that been like, welcoming home seven missionaries?
Elizabeth Guanuna: Oh, it’s the best feeling in the world. It’s been a tender mercy because we’re just sending our last one off to college tomorrow — oh no, he left yesterday.
Giovanni Guanuna: Yeah, yesterday.
Elizabeth Guanuna: And we’re going up tomorrow to take what he needs, to the same college, Berkeley, that this boy graduated from. And God gave us one back as the last one leaves, because it gets pretty quiet.
14:41
Giovanni Guanuna: And we have one at the MTC right now.
Elizabeth Guanuna: And we also have one in the MTC.
Aimee Cobabe: Oh, OK. So you’ve welcomed home, I guess, six then.
Elizabeth Guanuna: Yeah.
Aimee Cobabe: One at the MTC. That’s amazing.
Giovanni Guanuna: So they served Uruguay.
Elizabeth Guanuna: Uruguay, the oldest. Slovenia, our daughter. And then the next one to Brazil, and then it was COVID, so they had him finish up in New Jersey.
Giovanni Guanuna: Rome.
Elizabeth Guanuna: And then Rome was the next daughter. Help me out; Edison went to —
Giovanni Guanuna: Thailand.
Elizabeth Guanuna: Wow, was he gone that long? And Easton went to Madagascar, and we have one that went to, or is going to Finland now. So, every continent, I think.
Aimee Cobabe: Beautiful.
Giovanni Guanuna: Except for Antarctica.
15:20
Aimee Cobabe: You’ve covered the world with — who would have thought?
Elizabeth Guanuna: Who would have thought?
Aimee Cobabe: Two kids, and you have a beautiful family and have shared the gospel with so many.
We have a tradition on the Church News podcast where we give our guests the last word. And so, I would just want to, as my last question, invite you to have the last word, both Elizabeth and Giovanni, what you would want people to know about your love, the love of the temple and your family.
15:56
Elizabeth Guanuna: You know, my parents set a great example. My mother just passed away April 1. She was living with us, and she’s the greatest woman I’ve ever known, because she modeled for me the values of the gospel. She — my dad actually met her teaching her class at college. And she quit that to raise us as children. It’s not easy, but I saw that commitment.
I also had a job with the federal government that I loved. I felt like it was something I could do my whole life. But because of her and because of a good husband who used his gentle persuasion, I stayed home with my children and raised them so that they can also make covenants with the Lord. Because to me, that’s the only true road to happiness. It’s the only thing that really fills your soul. Everything else is a supporting part to that.
I definitely have a testimony of the work that this gospel and this Church does, the authority that’s in it, the ability to seal families — which, to me, again, is the core doctrine. That’s what brings us happiness. We want to be with our families.
And first and foremost, the atoning role of Jesus Christ. Because we’re flawed, the fact that He makes that possible for us to continue to patch it up, make covenants and to continue to be, and ultimately be reunited with Him in heaven, which is our family there too.
17:18
Giovanni Guanuna: I can’t think of a better start than making covenants with the Lord at the temple when you start your family. That is everything to us. We are reminded of those covenants when every time we come to the temple, when we do temple trips with the youth, and we have seen the rewards of it on our family, on our kids. They want to follow the Lord just like we did. They have made covenants with the Lord in the temple themselves when they went on a mission.
Elizabeth Guanuna: Covenant keepers in an eternal family is our core identity, that’s for sure.
18:02
Giovanni Guanuna: And I think that was the foundation of our family. And I’m very happy that the kids are also willing to follow the Lord in the same fashion. And I think it’s because they know that that’s where true happiness comes from.
And we have been able to pass that testimony to our kids on our weekly activities that we had growing up, on reading the scriptures and learning about all these covenants, commandments, teachings that Jesus Christ has had that we can find in the scriptures. The results are there.
Elizabeth Guanuna: It’s great happiness above all else.
Giovanni Guanuna: There’s no greater joy than that.
