The Temple

I have been studying a lot about temples this past month. Today I read the article in the Ensign called "The Steps to the Temple" by Cheryl C. Lant (Primary General President.) Here are the main points she makes:

"Each step in our personal journey to the temple is essential, and it is important that we not get discouraged or distracted by the world along the way. Each step prepares us and strengthens us."

Faith- its "not only the first step but also the foundation of all other principles of the gospel."

Repentance - "is essential to worthiness"

Baptism, Gift of the Holy Ghost - "worthiness to enter the temple depends on how faithfully we keep this covenant"

Obedience - Ezra Taft Benson said "When obedience ceases to be an irritant and becomes our quest, in that moment God will endow us with power."

Heritage Park

Today Cindy (my mom-in-law) took me and Allie to Heritage Park (This is the Place Memorial) and we walked through the Pioneer Village and such...It was really neat! You can really feel the spirit there and it really opens your eyes to the way people lived back then. We walked into most of the homes (which were mostly replicated) and talked to the people reinacting to learn more about the early settlers of Salt Lake Valley down to just past Nephi.

The best house we went into was the house of ancestors of Marjorie Hinkley's (Cindy knew this because she knows a lot about church and family history.) There was a cute old lady sitting inside that told us to come in and she would tell us more about the house. She was excited to tell us that her father was born inside the house and that her family had helped rebuild it after they transported the remains from a town outside of Nephi. So of course we asked her if she was related to Marjorie Hinckley and she is her sister! She goes up to the park just on Fridays to tell people about the house and because she loves being there. She was so sweet and told us some of the stories of the family that traveled to the Valley.

At the front of the park is where the big statue is there is a scripture from Isaiah that is also found in Nephi 12:2 "And it shall come to pass in the last days, when the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills, and all nations shall flow unto it..."

I always wondered if that was talking about the Salt Lake Temple, and I think that it is...this, in a way, confirmed it for me. When I read that and thought about the pioneers and all they went through to get to Utah and build the temple I just wondered what they would think if they saw Utah right now. Would they be excited and happy about how many people are here now and how the church has grown? Would they see all the wickedness here and wonder how it got so bad? I just wonder, and I hope that they can see all the good and growth that has come from the sacrifices they made. I have a real appreciation for the early members of the church, and I hope that I am living my life the way they hoped their future generation would.

For some reason our internet wasn't working yesterday...

2 Ne. 32:3 - "Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost, wherefore they speak the words of Christ. Wherefore I say unto you feast upon the words of Christ, for behold the words of Christ will tell ye all things that ye should do."

This was my scripture to think about yesterday...notice how it says the words of Christ will tell you ALL things that you should do. Not just SOME things or not just the IMPORTANT things. The scriptures really can give us the answers to ALL of our problems, especially with the help of the Holy Ghost and the power of prayer.

Today in church I got little tidbits of each lesson (since I was out in the hall most the time with Allie) But, I noticed that I heard little tidbits of things I had been thinking about a lot lately and things that I needed to be reminded of. In Relief Society I was reminded of how blessed we are in these latter days and that I need to be more grateful for my extremely fortunate circumstances. In Sunday School we learned about temples while reading in D&C a lot about the Kirtland temple...there are around 139? temples now!! I was reminded that I need to go as much as I can to do the ordinances for the dead, but to also bless and strengthen my family. In sacrament meeting we had two really good speakers. The first talked a lot about teaching -knowing what we are teaching and loving those we teach. The second talked about service. He talked about how living the gospel is a lifelong process...the church is like a school. In my ward of the elderly and newleyweds he said some here are almost ready to graduate, while others have just begun. I just thought that was an interesting way to look at it.