Meeting My Hero

I had an incredible experience yesterday.

I got to meet Sister Julie Beck.

It was amazing. She is one of the most incredible women I've ever met. She just radiates love from her... pure and genuine.

For those of you who aren't LDS Julie Beck is the General President of the Relief Society, the women's organization of the church. She has been the General President for a good portion of my adult life and she has been such an influential person in my life. It seems like every time she opens her mouth to speak she says something that heals a hole in my heart.

I went to go talk to her about the book, The Gift of Giving Life:Rediscovering the Divine Nature of Pregnancy and Birth, that I am working on. The other authors all live out of State and so it was just me who went. We'd been feeling prompted for months to contact Sister Beck and let her know about our project but kept brushing the thought away because it seemed ridiculous. I mean really you don't just call up and invite yourself to talk with Sister Beck! But when a another highly respectable person suggested that Sister Beck might really like to know about it... we figured it wouldn't hurt to just try.

I was really surprised when her secretary contacted me a week or so ago and told me that Sister Beck had read my email and really wanted to connect with us. So yesterday I went to the Relief Society building on Temple Square which, for all of you who haven't been inside it before, feels like a palace. It really is stunning inside. I had to wait for her for awhile because the RS Presidency was in another meeting. When they came out I got to meet them all and shake their hands! Then Sister Beck took me aside and I got to go talk with her for about 20 minutes about the project and what we are trying hoping do. She was so kind and gave me a lot of really wonderful stories, ideas and, suggestions for the book. She told me to keep doing what we are doing and to go forward with inspiration... and to keep loving my babies.

Then she gave me a hug.

Wow. I could have floated away right then.

She truly in my hero. I don't think there would be anyone else on this earth I'd rather have met (okay the prophet would have been pretty good too). This morning I was thinking about the scripture in Alma 48:17 about how if all men were like Captain Moroni the very powers of hell would been shaken forever. I think that it would be fair to re-write that scripture and say, " Yea, verily, verily I say unto you, if all [WOMEN] had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto [SISTER BECK] behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men."

Really what an amazing woman. When I look at the picture it just feels surreal that I was even there. I feel so incredibly humble that she took time out of her busy schedule to talk with little ole unimportant me. God works in mysterious ways.

And just in case you were still thinking you'd like to submit a story for the book here is a list of he type of stories we still need. If you feel prompted PLEASE don't hesitate to send us a story or get your friend or sister to send us one.

Meditation - How did you meditate during your pregnancy? How did meditation prepare you for birth/motherhood? Share any growth, insights, or anything about meditation.

Preparation - What ceremonies/rituals did you participate in to prepare you for birth/motherhood/letting go of maidenhood? How did you spiritually prepare for the birth? Physically? Mentally and Emotionally? What would you write on a spiritual birth plan? We are also looking for stories about preparation and agency/consequences as they relate to pregnancy, birth, and beyond.

Healing from Sexual Abuse - How giving birth helped you heal from sexual abuse?

Your Legacy - How knowing your Mother's (or another person's) story affected your birth.

Constant Nourishment - How your nourished your body, mind, or spirit during pregnancy, labor, motherhood.

The Spirit/Mind/Body Connection - How did your mind affect your body, or your spirit effect your body?

Re-birth - Whatever that means to you.

Unity - We are looking for stories about unity with your partner, unity with caregivers, unity with baby, unity with God, and any other kind of unity.

The Atonement - Any stories or essays about pregnancy and birth and how it relates to the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

Spiritual Experiences with Medicated Births - We're short on these. We aren't sure why. We know birth can be spiritual no matter what, but for some reason, natural birthers are more excited to talk about their experiences. So if you have had spiritual Cesarean births or spiritual medicated births, please share. Birth is a miracle no matter how babies come. The point of this book is to bring that back into primary focus.

Please send us your story as a word document or in the body of an email. Try to keep them somewhat short. I know it's hard. Please don't send links. Also, this is a spiritual birthing book for LDS women, so please do not edit things of a spiritual nature. Don't worry about being a fabulous writer. We are good editors.

We can't promise we'll use them, but we can promise to get your final approval before we publish them. So sit down and writer yours today and send it to me at ldsbirthstories at gmail dot com.

This is Where My Passion Comes From

I quite often get asked why I am so passionate about birth. I've thought a lot about this, trust me, and it is very complicated answer. It isn't something that is easy for me to explain. Yet seeing as I've written a lot about birth on this blog, and probably will write more in the future, I feel like it is important for me to share where the source of my beliefs about pregnancy and birth originate. Perhaps in understanding my basic paradigm for how I construct my view of womanhood and motherhood it will help you understand why I've made the choices I have and why I have such a passion for it.

I've tried to explain a bit of how I understand the importance of birth, motherhood and womanhood in a post that I originally posted on my Women in the Scriptures blog. I know that many of you don't read both my blogs... it is okay, I forgive you... and so I thought I'd re-post it here. I welcome your insights but PLEASE remember that this is a part of my heart and I ask you to handle it with care.

With that said, here is what I wrote:

As I delve into this topic I first need apologize to those of you who aren't LDS or who aren't familiar with LDS doctrine. This piece is written for an LDS audience and it is too hard, and would take way too long, for me to explain all the concepts I refer to. I don't think that this means if you aren't LDS you won't be enlightened by what I have to say, it just might be a little confusing for you. Please feel free to email me with any of your questions or you can visit this website to learn more about LDS beliefs. Also PLEASE realize that the ideas expressed here are my own personal opinions and not official doctrine of the LDS church.

One of the things I've noticed as I've studied the scriptures is that birth is an over arching theme in the stories of the women in the scriptures. A good portion of the stories about women in the scriptures center around women's ability to bear, or inability to bear, children.

Personally, the births of my children have been incredible spiritual experiences for me and have completely changed my outlook on life and eternity. I've gained great spiritual strength through the birth process and a closer relationships with my Heavenly Father and Mother. As I've reflected on my own experiences and as I read about the important role birth plays in the lives of the women of the scriptures I am prompted to believe the ability to give life is a central part of what it means to be an eternal woman and that the birth process is incredibly important to God.

A friend pointed out that in the Proclamation to the Family it says, "We declare the means by which mortal life is created to be divinely appointed." The means by which mortal life is created is through the processes of conception, pregnancy and birth. It stands to reason that if God designed the way children are conceived to be deeply and powerfully symbolic of a man and a woman becoming "one flesh" (Genesis 2 :24) then He has also designed the way children are born into this world to be deeply and powerfully symbolic.

In order to understand the symbolism and meaning behind labor and birth, and to understand why so many of the stories of women in the scriptures center around birth, we have to go back to Eve and the Garden.

Two Trees

When God placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden he planted two trees, the tree of knowledge of good and evil and the tree of life. He told Adam and Eve that there would be consequences if they ate of the tree of knowledge but ".... nevertheless, thou mayest choose for thyself, for it is given unto thee;" (Moses 3:17)

We know that Eve exercised the agency God had given her and chose to partake of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Through modern day revelation we know that what we she did was for the benefit of mankind and that by partaking of the fruit she was fulfilling her divine mission as a woman. In his talk "What It Means to Be a Daughter of God" James E. Faust said:

We all owe a great debt of gratitude to Eve... The choice was really between a continuation of their comfortable existence in Eden, where they would never progress, or a momentous exit into mortality with its opposites: pain, trials, and physical death in contrast to joy, growth, and the potential for eternal life. In contemplating this choice, we are told, “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, … and a tree to be desired to make her wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and also gave unto her husband with her, and he did eat.” And thus began their earthly probation and parenthood. . . . If it hadn’t been for Eve, none of us would be here."

Eve was fulfilling her divine purpose when she partook of the tree of knowledge. From the foundations of the world she had been chosen and named as "the mother of all living" and she knew that in order to fulfill her mission she must partake of the fruit and become like God. She also knew that she wouldn't be able to fulfill her divine role without Adam's help and so she got Adam to partake of the fruit. The scriptures don't say she had to deceive or trick Adam into eating it, rather it seems that Adam "hearkened" unto his wife and agreed to the transgression so that Eve would be able to fulfill her divine calling.

Just as Eve was set apart to be the "mother of all living" from the foundations of the world, Adam was set apart to be the great High Priest of the earth with the responsibility to hold the keys and perform the saving ordinances that would bring the children of God back into His presence. Joseph Smith taught:

" The Priesthood is an everlasting principle, and existed with God from eternity… Christ is the Great High Priest; Adam next... the priesthood was first given to Adam; he obtained... it in the Creation, before the world was formed” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding Smith, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1938, pp. 157–58)

Adam hearkened first to Eve's divine mission and now, as Adam and Eve progress through their probationary time (Genesis 3: 22, 24), it is Eve's turn to hearken to Adam. God has designed a beautiful partnership in which Adam helps Eve fulfill her mission to bring God's children into the world; after which it is Eve's turn to hearken and help Adam fulfill his mission to bring those children unto Christ, the tree of life, and back into God's presence.

I don't think that it is any coincidence that God placed two people, male and female, in the garden and also planted two trees in the garden... two people, two trees, two divine responsibilities.

Two Veils

While the trees which God planted in the Garden of Eden have multiple levels of meaning one way in which they may be interpreted is as representing the two veils that all mankind must pass through on their journey towards exaltation.

The first veil that all mankind passes through is the veil of birth in which man is born into the world by water, blood and the spirit. Women have a stewardship over this first veil. When Eve partook of the tree of knowledge she became more like God, knowing good from evil and gaining the capacity to bear children. Eve's transgression "opened the matrix", as it says in Exodus 34:19, the womb, the gateway through which the souls of all mankind would pass through into the mortal world. The only possible way to enter this mortal world is through the body of a woman and by the shedding of her blood... there is no other way.

The second veil is the one we must pass through in order to re-enter the presence of God and continue on our eternal journey. Men have a stewardship over this second veil. Just like Adam, righteous men hold the priesthood keys and administer the ordinances which help us to become clean and enable us to go back into the presence of God. Just like the first veil, the second veil requires a sacrifice of blood, water and spirit. Through His Atonement Jesus Christ performed this great and last sacrifice for all mankind. Just as women are the only gateways into the mortal world, Christ is the only gateway into the eternal world... there is no other way.

These two veils are described in Moses 6: 59 which reads:

"That by reason of transgression cometh the fall, which fall bringeth death, and inasmuch as ye were born into the world by water, and blood, and the spirit, which I have made, and so became of dust a living soul, even so ye must be born again into the kingdom of heaven, of water, and of the Spirit, and be cleansed by blood, even the blood of mine Only Begotten; that ye might be sanctified from all sin, and enjoy the words of eternal life in this world, and eternal life in the world to come, even immortal glory;"

It is also interesting to note, and personally I don't think it is any coincidence, that the mother's side of the placenta (the organ the mother's body creates to house the baby and sustain its life) looks like a tree (for a bloody picture click here and for a non-bloody picture click here). The "fruit" of this placental tree is a baby.

This is Eve's gift to us... the promise of birth. That through our mothers, the daughters of Eve, all of God's children will partake of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and literally become the fruit of that tree. Through the power of God they will be born into this world through blood, water and the spirit and will be given a probationary time. During this probationary time it is the role of mothers and fathers to help their children to become worthy to pass through the second veil, the tree of life, through the water, blood, and spirit of Jesus Christ. This is Adam's gift to us---as the High Priest of this earth acting in authority for Jesus Christ--- the promise of re-birth.

In his talk "Equality Through Diversity" Elder M. Russell Ballard explained:

Our Heavenly Father assigned different responsibilities in mortality to men and women when we lived with Him as His spirit sons and daughters. To His sons He would give the priesthood and the responsibilities of fatherhood, and to His daughters He gave the responsibilities of motherhood, each with its attendant functions.

The creation of the world, the atonement of Jesus Christ, and the restoration of the gospel in the latter days through the Prophet Joseph Smith all have one unifying purpose: to allow all of the spirit children of our Eternal Father to obtain mortal bodies, and then, through the gift of moral agency, to follow the plan of redemption made possible by the Savior’s atonement. God prepared all of this for us that we might return to our heavenly home, clothed in immortality and eternal life, to live with Him as families.

Two Divine Stewardships

I've often heard women express pain over the fact the LDS church (and most religions in general) are so male centered-- only men hold the priesthood keys, there are much fewer women in the scriptures than men, and while we know we have a Heavenly Mother we don't hear much about her. These are questions that eat away at many LDS women's (and men's) hearts and make it hard for some of them to remain true to their faith. Yet when we remember that we have already passed through the first veil and are now working towards the second veil it makes much more sense why our world is so male centered.

Besides, who knows, if we could only glimpse into the pre-mortal world and see the other side of the veil would we see a world which was very female centered because the focus is on preparing children to go through the first veil? Would we see women working with their Heavenly Mother to prepare souls of mankind to receive their mortal bodies, teaching them their pre-mortal lessons, and guiding them to their earthly homes? Maybe.

We really don't know much about the pre-mortal world. Yet one thing we do know is that before we were born we received instruction that would prepare us for our individual labors in the Lord's vineyard. In D&C 138: 56 we read about the "noble and great ones" and how, "Even before they were born, they, with many others, received their first lessons in the world of spirits and were prepared to come forth in the due time of the Lord to labor in his vineyard for the salvation of the souls of men."

Given how incredible it is that women's bodies are able to create complete human beings, without their minds directing how it will happen, it seems possible to me that part of the "first lessons" women received in the pre-mortal world was how to create bodies and how to birth them. While their mortal minds don't remember how to do it, perhaps their eternal spirits do and it is a woman's eternal soul which directs and guides her body in the construction of the baby and oversees the process of labor and birth.

We also know that in the pre-mortal existence that Satan and a third of the host of heaven rejected God's plan to come to earth and receive mortal bodies (D&C 29:36). Because they were not faithful in keeping their first estate Satan and his third are the only ones out of God's children that will never pass through the first veil; no woman will ever create a body for them or shed her blood by bearing them into the world, nor will they ever have wives or children. This is one of the reasons that many of Satan's tactics are directed at women and at the structure which protects and guards the first veil... the family. Satan is doing everything in his power to convince women that their bodies, which are the gateway through the first veil, are dirty, ugly, imperfect, dysfunctional and of no importance. He is doing everything he can to distract and confuse women so that they abandon their responsibility as the guardians of life into this world. If he can destroy women's faith in their bodies and help them lose sight of the importance of the first veil---and the power and sanctity of conception, pregnancy and birth--- then he is well on his way to thwarting God's plan.

Satan is also trying to convince women that men's stewardship over the second veil is more important than their stewardship over the first veil and their role as what Valerie Hudson Cassler calls "the caretakers of light", referring to the great work that women do as mothers towards pointing children towards the light and love of Christ. In her book "Women in Eternity, Women of Zion" Cassler says:

"... there is a sequence to the stewardships which leads to misperception of the absolute equality of the stewardship. The caretakers of light, in their work as mothers, must perform their work for an individual before the caretakers of the Word [referring to men's priesthood oridance responsibility]... Because of this fact, the full drama of the work of the caretakers of light is muted. We don't see how some accepted the offering made by the caretakers of light, and thus the sacrifice of the caretakers of light seems common. Their very sacrifice in their work as mothers is concealed because of its perceived commonness. Pregnancy, labor, delivery and breastfeeding are concealed as far as their full drama and their full glory are concerned. The sacrifice of blood and water--- sometimes even the very sacrifice of life itself by the caretaker of light-- is usually not seen by the family or the community, but rather by a birth professional- a doctor or a midwife.

... We no longer see the drama and we value less the gateway and the sacrifice that brought us here. Even the caretakers of light themselves begin to view their works as mothers as ordinary, menial and dirty instead of the glorious stewardship it really is. Only young children seem to recognize the importance of the work of the caretakers of light and reward it with complete devotion." (pg, 149)

Women's stewardship over the gateway of life and their roles as mothers is not less important in the plan of salvation than the priesthood ordinance work men do. God has given both men and women great gifts and powers which must be respected and used with wisdom and righteousness. I believe that how women birth and how children come into this world matters deeply to God. I feel that He expects the processes of conception, pregnancy and birth to be treated with the same type of reverence and faith with which we approach priesthood ordinances. I also believe that He expects women to protect their wombs, honor their ability to give life, and to participate in cultural and medical practices which bear witness to the divinity and power of women's bodies and the birth process.

God has different plans for each of His children and each is a unique spirit so it makes sense that each child's birth will be different, each woman's body will be different, and every situation will be different. Yet no matter what the situation women can counsel with God and receive direct revelation concerning their bodies, their pregnancy, their labor and their birth. There are numerous examples of women in the scripture who turned to God to understand how, when and why they were going to give birth and God answered them with direct revelation. These birth stories are some of the few examples we have of women receiving personal and direct revelation from God. I believe that they teach us that God is very interested in birth and in the experiences women have while giving birth.

I also know from my own experience birthing my children that no child comes into this world unaccompanied and that God sends angels to be with them as they enter this world. I also know that God sends angels to laboring women to help them as they birth His children into the light of the world. The veil is thin for a woman in labor and if she is listening she is able to feel the power of God in an incredibly powerful way. For a few hours she becomes a wide open portal into heaven, foreordained from the foundations of the world to bring the children of heaven into this mortal world. What a great blessing it is that God has such faith in His daughters to entrust them with such a great power! It is just another testament to me that God loves His daughters just as much as He loves His sons and that they both have divine gifts which make His work possible.

This post was originally entitled "The Importance of Birth" and if you'd like to read the original post and the original comments you can go here.

Our Reenactment of the First Relief Society Meeting

I've been waiting to post about this till I got the pictures and it has just about been killing me.

Every year in March LDS women around the world commemorate the birthday of the Relief Society which was organized by the prophet Joseph Smith on March 17, 1842 in Nauvoo, Illinois. In the past our local Relief Society has just had a nice dinner and a simple program... but this year someone got the brilliant idea to reenact the original meeting. I got SUPER excited about this and volunteered to write the script and organize the actors.

As I started to write the script I realized that I wanted it to be historically accurate and that I wanted the actors to say the words that the real people would really have said. So being the overachiever.... super nerd... that I am, I made a trip to Salt Lake City to look at Eliza R. Snow's (the original secretary) minutes taken at the first meeting. The church has them digitized at the new Church History Library and it was so incredible to be able to see Eliza R. Snow's handwriting and read what was said that day.

I copied her notes word for word and then wrote my script making sure that the right people said and did the right things. In almost all the cases (I had to make a few exceptions for the times they used parliamentary procedure) everything that people say is exactly what Eliza said they said.

Getting everything organized was a lot of work but I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.

Besides... I got to be Emma.

And Jon was Joseph...

Doesn't he make the perfect, most handsome Joseph?
I told him that if he was a better actor he could totally be in all the church movies.
It was kind of strange kissing him when he was in costume :)

This really was such an amazing project for me and it turned out to be an incredible experience for our Relief Society. I think one woman, who was one of the actors, explained it best. She said, "It felt like Joseph and Emma and all the rest were really here. Like they were standing in the background watching us."

It really did feel like they were there and it is kind of hard to describe how beautiful it felt. We had our own little piece of history.

Researching, writing, planning and participating in this reenactment really strengthened my testimony of the Relief Society and of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. I realized what incredible people these early Saints were and how my life has been so blessed because of their courage and faith. I am so grateful to have such a great spiritual heritage. It makes me proud to know that I am helping to carry on the work that these women began more than 150 years ago. It is just as important today as it was then and seeing what they went through has made me a more dedicated follower of Jesus Christ.

If you would like to read the full script that I wrote you can access it here or email me at heatherlady at gmail.com for a copy. You are free to use the script for your own use as long as you give credit to where you got it from. In fact... I hope you do use it because learning about the incredible history and mission of the Relief Society is really powerful and helps women understand that as Emma Smith said, "... sisters, we are going to do something extraordinary!"

If you want to see some professional pictures they took of us go here

Oh, and just because I'm kind of proud of it... I made my dress. I've always wanted to sew a civil war era dress, call me crazy, and I figured this might be my only valid excuse to do it. It was so much fun to wear!

Midwifery as a Calling

Dr. Ellis Ship and her "sister-wives"
Image Source

Did you know that the early days of the Mormon church, midwifery was a spiritual calling? That a woman was called to be a midwife by priesthood authority, often after having been nominated by the Relief Society, and set apart by the laying on of hands. She was usually set apart by a General Authority of the church, if available, and the calling was for life, much like the calling of Patriarch.

Interested?

I've been doing a lot of research about early Mormon midwifery and women's birth experiences for the book I am helping with. I have some incredible stories.

Read more about it on my guest post "Midwifery as a calling" at The Gift of Giving Life.

Thank You Elder Oaks

Every six months the LDS church has a General Conference during which the prophet, apostles and other church leaders address the members worldwide. It always amazes me that during every conference there always happens to be a talk that specifically addresses one of my worries, questions or concerns. I guess I shouldn't be too surprised though, because the messages come from God and He knows exactly what I am struggling with. This conference I really appreciated Elder Dallin H. Oaks talk on service, specifically these two paragraphs in which he mentioned the sacrifice mothers and fathers make in order to have children. He said,

A familiar example of losing ourselves in the service of others—this one not unique to Latter-day Saints—is the sacrifice parents make for their children. Mothers suffer pain and loss of personal priorities and comforts to bear and rear each child. Fathers adjust their lives and priorities to support a family. The gap between those who are and those who are not willing to do this is widening in today’s world. One of our family members recently overheard a young couple on an airline flight explaining that they chose to have a dog instead of children. “Dogs are less trouble,” they declared. “Dogs don’t talk back, and we never have to ground them.”

We rejoice that so many Latter-day Saint couples are among that unselfish group who are willing to surrender their personal priorities and serve the Lord by bearing and rearing the children our Heavenly Father sends to their care. We also rejoice in those who care for disabled family members and aged parents. None of this service asks, what’s in it for me? All of it requires setting aside personal convenience for unselfish service. All of it stands in contrast to the fame, fortune, and other immediate gratification that are the worldly ways of so many in our day.

I feet like this little tidbit of truth was for me. It was such a beautiful reminder to me that what I am doing as a mother IS a sacrifice and that God realizes that it is a sacrifice and that He is blessing me for it. I realize that the reason I am are here on this earth is not to gratify my own desires but to build up the kingdom of God on the earth-- I really have no other purpose, everything else is just distraction. I know that my job as a mother is essential to the building of God's kingdom on the earth and that there is no one else in the whole world who can do my job. This has been a comforting thought to me as I've changed poopy diapers, vacuumed the carpet 30 times a day because someone likes to dump food all over it, and have been snuggling a sick boy for the past few days. I realize that even though the world may not recognize what I am doing, God does and He knows that it is my personal sacrifice and contribution to His kingdom. So thank you Elder Oaks, I needed your talk.

LDS Draper Temple Open House

Yesterday I went with my in-laws to the Draper Temple open house (which is when a temple is open to the public before it is dedicated). I'd never been to an open house before and it was a beautiful experience. Jon had to work and had class so he couldn't come with us, but I took Asher with me. I tried to tell Asher about what the temple meant and sang "I love to see the temple" with him, and then I just prayed that he would 1) feel the spirit in the temple and know that God loves him and 2) behave well enough so that we wouldn't ruin the peaceful feeling.

I think God answered both my prayers. Not only did Asher behave pretty near perfect-- except for one time in the sealing room when he wanted to get out of the stroller-- but I could tell he knew he was in a special place. The temple was absolutely beautiful. It is kind of small compared to most of the other temples I have been in, but the small size makes it feel more intimate and I really liked it-- I think it makes God feel closer. The ordinance rooms have THE MOST beautiful murals painted in them. There is one that makes you feel like you are sitting in the middle of the woods. The Celestial room was stunning. The ceiling is so high that it makes you feel like it goes on forever, and the crystal chandelier was amazing-- seeing it immediately turned my thoughts to God and his ever enduring light. Asher really liked the Celestial room, everyone was quiet in that room, looking upwards and pondering. Asher was quiet for the first few minutes and then he saw the chandelier. He leaned waaaaaaay back in his stroller, looked up, pointed and in an awed voice said, "baaaaaallllll....... bi baaaaaallllll (translation: big ball)" and then made motions to me that he wanted to touch it. Well that was out of the question since it was suspended 20 feet above us, but he was so cute. It was almost silent in there except for our squeaky stroller and him pointing at the "bi ball".

I am really glad that I had the opportunity to go to the temple open house yesterday. It was my first time in an undedicated temple and I was really struck by the feeling that it had compared to a dedicated one. There was definitely a strong spirit in the temple, even though it wasn't dedicated, but it still didn't feel like a temple. I'm not quite sure how to explain what I mean by that, except that it was so apparent to me as I went through the rooms that something was missing. The spirit was still present and I could feel it, but compared to the normal amount of peace, joy and spirit that dedicated temples have... it was nothing. It really made me realize that once a temple is dedicated God REALLY does dwell in it, and that it is His presence that gives a temple the overwhelming peaceful feeling it has.

As I thought about this yesterday I realized that I have really taken for granted what an amazing privilege and blessing the temples are in my life. It is such a great privileged to enter one of God's temples, to dwell in His presence, to commune with Him, and to serve Him. As I sat with Asher in the sealing room I was overwhelmed with gratitude that my husband, my son and I are sealed together for eternity and that as long as I live up to my promises to God, no power on heaven or earth can separate us. How different the world would be if every person realized how much God loves us and how many blessings He has for us if we will only obey and follow Him. Going to the temple yesterday gave me a spiritual boost, and made me want to be a better disciple and realize that I need to make a better effort to attend the temple-- which I hope will happen ;) The temple open house goes for a few more weeks and then it will be dedicated the middle of March. Then the Oquirrh Mountain Temple (just across the valley) will have an Open House in June. How exciting to have two new temples so close to us! Temples truly are the most amazing places on earth.

Blog as a Witness

Ever since the Ensign article came out about using the internet as a missionary tool, I've really wanted to find a way to use my blog to bear witness of Jesus Christ. As I was playing around ways to update my blog I found some buttons you can put on your blog that will link visitors straight to www.mormon.org so they can find out more about the LDS church. The author said she had gotten permission from the church to use them and I think they are FANTASTIC. There are several different types click here and here to see them all. Notice mine in the left hand corner! I like it. It is one way to stand as a witness of God at all times, and in all things, and in all places (Mosiah 18:9). If you are a member, I hope to see one on your blog sometime soon!