So Worth It

At the start of the summer a new sister moved into our ward.  She is youngish and she is vocal and she has been a breath of fresh air in our classroom discussions.  She openly shares the fact that she hasn't always been a practicing member of the church and that she has made some bad decisions in her life, but her past is overshadowed by the testimony she shares at every opportunity. She has come so far. She makes me want to be less judgmental; more loving and willing to embrace and encourage those who are struggling with their testimonies.  She brings hope to my heart when it starts to feel hopeless.

A couple of weeks ago she attended our visiting teaching interviews and then asked for directions to the bishop's house.  She is getting married the start of September and had an appointment to get her temple recommend so she could go to the temple for the first time.  She was so excited!  She shared how she had almost gone to the temple a few years before, but her divorce got in the way and it didn't happen.  How hard it had been to wait, when she wanted to go so badly. When she left she told us she would be back in a while for her interview with a member of the Stake Presidency.

I was in the hall when she returned with tears running down her face. I was worried that something hadn't turned out the way she had planned.  As I walked toward her she raised her signed recommend for me to see and said, "He signed it.  I signed it.  I am going to the temple."  We embraced and joyfully cried together.  So very, very happy.  She couldn't contain her excitement as she bounced around sharing the news with everyone that would listen.

Tonight I had the opportunity of being in attendance at her temple endowment session and as we embraced again in the celestial room we shed a few more happy tears and rejoiced in her accomplishment.  She did it! and it seems that all the struggles just made the final outcome that much sweeter.  She was so happy and thankful to be there.

As I sat in the celestial room, watching her and those who had come to support her, I reflected on some of the things she has experienced in her life, the choices she has made, and  how she was finally able to worthily stand in the temple.  I pondered on why the road to the temple seems so simple for some individuals and so difficult for others. Entering the temple for the first time was pretty easy for me. Luckily my choices had helped to make it that way, but I probably looked on the event as more of a rite of passage than an accomplishment or a privilege, just one more thing I needed to do before I left on my mission.   I was happy to be there, but I think my joy at that moment was minuscule compared to hers, and to the joy I felt for her tonight.

 There were 2 other people going through the temple for the first time tonight.  A young man who looked like he was getting ready to go on a mission and another girl who was soon to be married.  I wondered if they were as amazed and appreciative of this great blessing in their lives as my friend was. Had their choices in life led to a fairly smooth path to the temple or had they too struggled to get there? What had they done and gone through to make this opportunity a reality? Did they see their temple covenants as the marvelous blessing that they are?

As most of the patrons left the celestial room the young man and his father sat talking quietly in one corner while the unknown bride-to-be sat on a couch next to her future husband, her brother and mother nestled by her side as her father stood protectively near them.  It was such a sweet experience as the spirit of the temple sunk deep into my soul.  I hope they felt that spirit too.  I hope they realize what a great blessing it is to be temple worthy.  I hope they continue to visit the temple often and come to appreciate more and more each time they come how truly blessed they are to have the temple, and all it represents, in their lives.

As I have.

Whether the climb to the temple seems fairly simple or wrought with difficulty I testify it is So Worth It!

Do what you need to do to get there and then make it a priority to go often.  It will be worth any effort it takes!

But you don't have to just take my word for it.  Here is what the living prophet, President Thomas S. Monson has to say on this topic:

"Those who understand the eternal blessings which come from the temple know that no sacrifice is too great, no price too heavy, no struggle too difficult in order to receive those blessings."  

This quote comes from a conference talk Pres. Monson gave in April 2011 and you can read his entire message here.

Today I am thankful for

the new converts or re-converted members of my ward who help me see the gospel of Jesus Christ and the blessings that are mine through fresh eyes.  I learn so much from them.
temple promises.
the spirit that I feel in the temple.  Nothing in this world can compare to it.