Temple Square

Did anyone see where April went?!  Seriously.  I cannot believe it is the end of April.  This year is flying by and I cannot keep up.  I definitely need like three more hours in my day.  That's not too crazy right...just three wee little hours!  

This last weekend was a crazy great one.  I drove down Thursday morning to Draper because we had A LOT going on this weekend down south.  Friday was a special day for the youth in our ward.  I don't think I have ever written in the blog about my experience working with the young women in our ward.  It is truly an answer to prayer.  I was feeling like I needed another outlet in my life - something different to think about outside of what was happening in our home.  And almost immediately I was called to be in young womens.  

If I am being honest, and I really try to be on here, it has been probably one of the most frustrating callings I've ever had.  And I knew as soon as I typed that that it is going to come across as really negative.  Frustrating usually equals bad, right?  But that's not entirely true.  It has been a huge learning experience and for that I am grateful for.  It's taken a long time and Mark has been incredibly patient as he hears me go on and on and on about different things that have gone on but, again, I have learned a lot.  It's been amazing to feel inspiration come to me about these girls and I have spent countless hours praying and worrying about them.  I am really grateful for this calling.  

Our young women president wanted to have a day on Temple Square with our youth and it was really great.  We had more young women come than we expected (which is ALWAYS a great thing!) and it was a really special day.  My parents were so kind to watch the kiddos for the entire day so that I could be with our youth. 

I met up with them at the Family History Library at 9 and it was so much fun finding out famous people we are related to and how so many of us (youth and leaders) are related to each other.  It was awesome.  

We then went to the Church History Library and were able to explore there and then grabbed some lunch at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building.  The girls had a blast sticking clothespin with happy thoughts written on them to each other...and to complete strangers.  They are great.  

Next, we went to the Salt Lake Temple and were able to perform baptisms.  I remember fondly being able to go to the Salt Lake Temple once when I was a youth to perform baptisms and what a special experience that was for me.  It was one of our young women's first time and I loved getting to watch her experience it.  

We then loaded up and went down to the Jordan River Temple Open House.  Even though it made for a really long day, it was neat to have those two experiences back to back and to have some great conversations in the temple with our youth about what happens in other places in the temple.  

I hope it was a faith promoting day for our youth.  They are great kids trying to navigate hard times.  I loved talking with one of our young women a couple days after asking her how she felt about the trip and her response was a sincere, "I loved it.  I didn't want it to end."  

Jordan River Temple Open House

Sunday evening, Mark headed back to Garden City and I drove down with the kiddos to Draper.  We had already planned on coming down Monday and we didn't see any reason to drive back to come down the next day.  So Mark went to work Monday, then drove back down Monday night so he could be with us Tuesday, and then drove back Tuesday night so he could work Wednesday.  He's pretty awesome.

We came down to celebrate my Mom's birthday and to see the Jordan River Temple Open House.  It was so much fun to get to celebrate my mom and get lots of one-on-one time with her.  We had already gotten tickets to the open house for the morning and we felt a little bad because my parents and sisters were all going later that afternoon.  As wonderful as it would have been to be all together, I knew late in the day would have been a lot harder to have reverent children. 

The temple was beautiful though.  This was my temple during my youth (the Draper Temple wasn't dedicated until my freshman year of college) and so it was really neat to go back and see all the parts I hadn't seen before and how they changed some of what I knew.  

Plus, it is totally worth it to me to spend that time in the temple with our family.  I pray for the day when we can all be together in a dedicated temple when they are older.  The temple was beautiful and enormous!  

DOUBLE Plus, it was the first time we've gotten Sarah to put on the booties so that was a win!  We talked about it before and she went right up to them - no problem!  Right next to us was a little boy, probably her same age, who wasn't wanting to wear the booties (which has ALWAYS been us before) and Sarah just looked at him and then looked up at me and said, "He's whining.  He needs to listen to his mom."  Oh brother...

Can you feel the love in this picture?  Yea, my neither.  But, it's there, I promise.  

Solemn Assembly

This was such an amazing General Conference.  I felt really distracted this conference but not so much that I didn't feel the Spirit testify of the truthfulness of what was being said.  It was also an especially special conference because it was a solemn assembly.  There is no doubt in my mind that President Russell M. Nelson is our prophet.  That through him, our Father in Heaven directs the affairs of His Church.  I sustain him. 

We were also blessed to have the opportunity to sustain two new apostles: Elder Gerrit W. Wong and Elder Ulisses Soares.  I am excited to learn more about them and learn from them.

There were so many amazing changes made during this conference.  It was invigorating and exciting.  After each one, it just made sense.  It was inspired.  It is refining us as a people - to become more like our Savior.  I hope I can rise to that.

I was also uplifted by hearing the words from our Prophet, President Nelson and his thoughts about revelation, both for the church and for our lives.  

{Here are my favorite parts...which is [almost] the entire thing!}

"In this, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we worship Him who commenced His Infinite Atonement in the Garden of Gethsemane.  He was willing to suffer for the sins and weaknesses of each of us, which suffering cause Him "to bleed at every pore."  He was crucified on Calvary's cross and rose the third day as the first resurrected being of our Heavenly Father's children.  I love Him and testify that He lives!  It is He who leads and guides His Church.  

Without out Redeemer's Infinite Atonement, not one of us would have hope of ever returning to our Heavenly Father.  Without His Resurrection, death would be the end.  Our Savior's Atonement made eternal life a possibility and immortality a reality for all.  

One of the things the Spirit has repeatedly impresses upon my mind since my new calling as President of the Church is how willing the Lord is to reveal His mind and will.  The privilege of receiving revelation is one of the greatest gifts of God to His children.  

Through the manifestations of the Holy Ghost, the Lord will assist us in all our righteous pursuits.  

Imagine the miracle of it!...We can pray to our Heavenly Father and receive guidance and direction, be warned about dangers and distractions, and be enabled to accomplish things we simply could not do on our own.  If we will truly receive the Holy Ghost and learn to discern and understand His promptings, we will be guided in matters large and small.  

Brothers and sisters, how can we become the men and women - the Christlike servants - the Lord needs us to be?  How can we find answers to questions that perplex us?  If Joseph Smith's transcendent experience in the Sacred Grove teaches us anything, it is that the heavens are open and that God speaks to His children.  

...What will your seeking open for you?  What wisdom do you lack?  What do you feel an urger need to know or understand?  Follow the example of the Prophet Joseph.  Find a quiet place where you can regularly go.  Humble yourself before God.  Pour out your hear to your Heavenly Father.  Turn to Him for answers and for comfort.  

Pray in the name of Jesus Christ about your concerns, your fears, your weaknesses - yes, the very longings of your heart.  And then listen!  Write the thoughts that come to your mind.  Record your feelings and follow through with actions that you are prompted to take.  As you repeat this process day after day, month after month, year after year, you will "grow into the principle of revelation."

I urge you to stretch beyond your current spiritual ability to receive personal revelation.  

Oh, there is so much more that your Father in Heaven wants you to know.   

Nothing opens the heavens quite like the combination of increased purity, exact obedience, earnest seeking, daily feasting on the words of Christ in the Book of Mormon, and regular time committed to temple and family history work.  

To be sure, there may be times when you feel as though the heavens are closed.  But I promise that as you continue to be obedient, expressing gratitude for every blessing the Lord gives you, and as you patiently honor the Lord's timetable, you will be given the knowledge and understanding you seek.  Every blessing the Lord has for you - even miracles - will follow.  That is what personal revelation will do for you.  

I am optimistic about the future.  It will be filled with opportunities for each of us to progress, contribute, and take the gospel to every corner of the earth.  But...if we are to have any hope of sifting through the myriad of voices and the philosophies of men that attack truth, we must learn to receive revelation.  

Our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ, will perform some of His mightiest works between now and when He comes again.  We will see miraculous indications that God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, preside over this Church in majesty and glory.  But in coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost.

My beloved brothers and sisters, I plead with you to increase your spiritual capacity to receive revelation.  Let this Easter Sunday be a defining moment in your life.  Choose to do the spiritual work required to enjoy the gift of the Holy Ghost and hear the voice of the Spirit more frequently and more clearly.  

We are followers of Jesus Christ.  The most important truth the Holy Ghost will ever witness to you is that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.  He lives!  He is our Advocate with the Father, our Exemplar, and our Redeemer.  On this Easter Sunday, we commemorate His atoning sacrifice, His literal Resurrection, and His divinity."

President Russell M. Nelson

Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives

Easter

We changed plans unexpectedly for our Easter weekend and it ended up being really fun!  We got up early and headed down to North Ogden Saturday morning to spend the weekend with the Bernings.  We pulled in just as the opening song was going for General Conference.  We got settled and were able to take part in the solemn assembly (more on that later).

Teresa and Daniel and their family were down visiting and it was fun to spend some time with all of them, Brian, and, of course, Gus and Darlene.  After the afternoon session, Grant and Kristen and their family also came over and the kiddos had a big Easter hunt!  Most of the kiddos are getting so big (our little family is the youngest by far!) but the big kids are so great to get in there with the little kiddos!  

It was a great weekend of visiting and inspiration from our leaders.  I can't wait to get my hands on my copy of the Ensign so I can dive into what was said more (also, I know that I can look it up online, but I much rather read something not on a screen...just call me "old school").  

The week leading up to Easter we hit "pause" on our normal family scripture study and each day spotlighted what the Savior did on that day during His last week.  It was actually really impactful to me and I am always amazed at the insight the kids have.  We are definitely entering a really neat stage with them and their understanding.  I love it.  

"It was a Friday filled with devastating, consuming sorrow...

I think that of all the days since the beginning of this world's history, that Friday was the darkest.  

[But} the despair did not linger because on Sunday, the resurrected Lord burst the bonds of death.  He ascended from the grave and appeared gloriously triumphant as the Savior of all mankind.  

And in an instant the eyes that had been filled with ever-flowing tears dried.  The lips that had whispered prayers of distress and grief now filled the air with wondrous praise, for Jesus the Christ, the Son of the living God, stood before them as...proof that death is merely the beginning of a new and wondrous existence.  

Each of us will have our own Fridays - those day when the universe itself seems shattered and the shards of our world lie littered about us in pieces...

But I testify to you in the name of the One who conquered death - Sunday will come.  In the darkness of our sorrow, Sunday will come.  

...No matter our grief, Sunday will come.  In this life or the next, Sunday will come.  

May we understand and live in thanksgiving for the pricelss gifts that come to us as sons and daughters of a loving Heavenly Father and for the promise of that bright day when we shall all rise triumphant from the grave.  

...No matter how dark our Friday, Sunday will come."

By Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin (Sunday Will Come)