I Love to See the Temple

"And it shall come to pass in the last days, ^awhen the ^bmountain of the Lord’s ^chouse shall be established in the top of the ^dmountains, and shall be exalted above the hills, and all nations shall flow unto it.

 And many ^apeople shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the ^bmountain of the Lord, to the ^chouse of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will ^dwalk in his paths; for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem."

2 Nephi 12:2-3

 

This Wednesday I had the amazing opportunity to spend some time in the Portland Oregon temple. It was beautiful, of course, but it was also so much more than that. Our Heavenly Father knows that this world can and is full of chaos, and it is really hard to find a place where you can really clear your mind and be at peace. This is why I love the temple. It is the house of the Lord. It is a place where I can feel peaceful, remove all distractions, and receive answers and guidance for my life.

All these things are wonderful, and help me to feel my Heavenly Father's love. Even more so, however, is the comfort knowing that in the temple, our families can be sealed together for all of time and eternity. I am so grateful for the joy that comes with God's plan for us, which truly is the plan of happiness and salvation. If we choose to do what is right and stand in holy places, we all have the opportunity to find peace in this life! What is your holy place? Why is it special to you?





Who Is Christ to You?

"Wherefore, beloved brethren, be ^areconciled unto him through the ^batonement of Christ, his ^cOnly Begotten Son, and ye may obtain a ^dresurrection, according to the ^epower of the resurrection which is in Christ, and be presented as the ^ffirst-fruits of Christ unto God, having faith, and obtained a good hope of glory in him before he manifesteth himself in the flesh."
Jacob 4:11

The question of "Who is Christ to you?" has been running through my mind over and over the past couple of weeks as I've really studied in depth of Him, prayed, and as I have asked the people I teach about their own faith in Christ. Christ, in His day, was a great leader, a great teacher, and the ultimate example for how I should be living my life. But that still doesn't answer that question; I need more. Christ didn't just set an example; He suffered and died for me and my sins, and overcame death so I too could return to my Heavenly Father someday. And I thought, "This is all great, but that was centuries ago. What should that mean to me today?"
Then my mind directs me to the Garden of Gethsemane, with the Savior, my Savior, suffering beyond my comprehension and bleeding from every pore. In His most agonizing moments, when I most likely would have given up, He endures. Not only does He endure, but He is thinking of me and the things I would be going through. Wow.
After His suffering in the Garden, He comes to His disciples, still drenched in blood, and finds them sleeping. They didn't realize what He had just suffered. Immediately after, as they are walking, Judas Iscariot, who was one of the 12 apostles, betrayed His Savior for some silver. How hurt I would have been if a beloved friend had done so to me.
Christ was then led to various places where He would be beaten, mocked, spit upon, and eventually crucified. Again, through all of this, did He think of Himself for even one moment. No. Not one word or complaint. Again He was thinking of you and I, and our moments of trial. Suddenly this great Atonement becomes a lot more personal. The question "Who is Christ to you?" repeats once more in my mind.
I could continue to go on about my love for Christ and His Atonement, but words cannot describe my feelings. I love my Savior and strive to become more like Him every day. As you do your own study and as you pray, I challenge you to answer this question for yourself: Who is Christ to you?



Going To Battle

"Therefore what say ye, my sons, will ye go against them to battle?
And now I say unto you, my beloved brother Moroni, that never had I seen ^aso great ^bcourage, nay, not amongst all the Nephites. ...
Now they never had fought, yet they did not fear death; and they did think more upon the ^aliberty of their ^bfathers than they did upon their lives; yea, they had been taught by their ^cmothers, that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them."
Alma 56:44-45,47

In the Book of Mormon, one of my favorite stories is that of a group of 2 thousand young men. They knew that their fathers could not go to war because of a covenant they had made, so they courageously took up arms to defend their familes. Their mothers had taught them in such a way that they knew God and trusted that they would be delivered if they obeyed Him with exactness.
Today we do not have such battles in which we have to wear helmets or breastplates and carry sheilds and swords. We do however, fight daily against the powers of hell as we strive to obey with exactness the commandments of God. We must take courage and stand up for what we believe. Today we fight for the life and liberty of the souls of our families and friends.
And that leaves us with a challenge and a question: Are we willing to be valiant warriors in our modern day?
What helps you to have the daily strength to go to battle?

One Way

"For behold, it is as easy to give heed to the word of Christ, which will point to you a straight course to eternal bliss, as it was for our fathers to give heed to this compass, which would point unto them a straight course to the promised land."
Alma 37:44

I love this scripture. It says that "it is as easy to give heed to the word of Christ ... as it was for our fathers to give heed to this compass." And I was thinking about the meaning of it for us today. How could I apply this scripture to my life?
For those of you who need some background, the compass that this scripture is referring to is the compass used by Lehi and his family as they left Jerusalem and came to the promised land. As they were dilligent and obedient in keeping God's commandments, script would appear and give them clear directions as to where they needed to go. However, when they chose to be disobedient, the compass would no longer direct them, and they were forced to wander aimlessly.
So how does this apply?
There so many things that distract us from our course to our Heavenly Father. And sometimes we go through trials wondering why we need to suffer, forgetting who our one source for comfort is. We all know life is not easy--so why does this say it is?
Think of it this way. God is our loving Heavenly Father, who wants to bless us and wants more than anything for us to be happy, just as any parent would! He gives us commandments, which help us be more in line with His will as we follow them, and it is then we are willing to listen to Him. In those moments, it is easy to hear those promptings and guidance in our daily lives. The path is clear.
When we aren't living those simple basic commandments, he may be giving us the most obvious sign in the world, but we would not see it. It takes us doing the small and simple things before we can receive greater direction in our lives.