Of the Temple

Today was the dedication of the Gila Valley Arizona Temple. Church was cancelled throughout Arizona so we could attend it, via satellite to our stake centers. The dedication was beautiful, as is the temple. We weren't able to go to the open house, so it was nice to see what the inside looked like.

One of the stories President Monson shared in his talk was very powerful to me. Hopefully, I get the details right. He spoke of the time when he went to Tonga to organize the first stake there. He was talking to one of the men who was called to be a high councilor, and he asked if he had been to the temple. He said yes. He then asked if he had been sealed to his wife and children. The man got emotional as he said that he and his wife had 10 children. Because of the cost of making a trip to the temple (the closest being in New Zealand at the time), they were only able to take four of their children with them to be sealed to them. They were, of course, saving money to take the other six to the temple - even if it took his entire life, he said.

I started crying when I heard this! I live 5 minutes away from a temple, and how often do I appreciate it like I'm sure this man did? I can't imagine only being able to be sealed to half of my children!

The story has a happy ending, however. When he got home from Tonga, President Monson told the story of this man to his family one night. One of his teenage daughters was a part of the seminary council at the time, and they decided to have a fundraiser for temple funds for the Polynesian people. They raised enough money for that family to all be sealed, in addition to several others.

I'm so grateful for the temple, and especially for the ability to be sealed together as a family. I'm glad I chose to be married in the temple, so my children are automatically sealed to us. I'm also grateful for the chance to live my life so that I'm worthy of that sealing.

Our True Identity

Of the Priesthood

I have a great testimony of the power of the Priesthood. This testimony was strengthened last night.

Being almost 8 months pregnant, I've had a lot of heartburn for a few months now. Over the last week or so, it had gotten worse and worse, lasting longer and longer. Finally, last night, I was in so much pain - I was even getting heartburn from milk! It was really bad. So I asked my husband for a Priesthood blessing.

It was a simple blessing, but it was perfect. The heartburn immediately left. It's been 24 hours now, and I haven't had heartburn once. To me, that's a miracle! I'm so grateful for the Priesthood and its power to heal.

Happy Mother's Day

Your beauty doesn't lie in what you wear or how you look. It lies within. This video of Stephanie Nielson reaffirms that fact. She's truly a beautiful woman.

I love what she says about motherhood. Motherhood really is a synonym for beauty.

Of the Book of Mormon

This is an excellent video to watch over and over again. Today, there's a Facebook/YouTube challenge going on to see if we can get it at the top of the YouTube lists, so make sure you watch it again and again today! :)

Of Service

I'm about seven and a half months pregnant right now, and unfortunately, the extra hormones tend to make me kind of depressed sometimes. It comes in waves, so I'm thankful for the ups! However, my last "down" was a couple of weeks ago. It was just a hard week; it seemed like everything went wrong all at once. But of course, the Lord works through angels on earth! (Who gave that talk a few Conferences ago? Elder Holland? ... Found it!)

The very next Sunday after my hard week, our sacrament meeting topic was President Monson's talk from last October, What Have I Done For Someone Today? One of the speakers gave an excellent talk that was just what I needed to hear.

She related a story of one of her dear friends, whose entire family suffered from clinical depression. She knew all of her friend's siblings were on some kind of medication for it, but she also knew her friend wasn't taking anything. One day she asked her how she could handle the depression without taking anything. Her friend said, "I try to serve someone outside of my family every single day, as early in the day as I possibly can. I don't need medication when I do this." What a testimony of service! Because of her service to others, her body was physically able to produce what it needed to, to keep the depression under control.

I know service has that capability! I'm so much happier when I'm serving others. (As a side note, I have noticed that it's the days that I'm physically unable to serve others that my spirits fall. However, even sending a friendly email is something almost anyone can do while not feeling well!) I know that as we serve, we're not only helping those we serve, but we're blessing our own lives, as well.