my day. When it came to the last ten minutes of my last class, I would
become anxious and dream of that moment I'd walk through the garage
door. It was like I could even smell the bleach that my mom had just
washed the counters with.
Whether it's coming back from school, work, or a trip- I'm sure all of
you agree- there is no better feeling than going home.
Something that not many people know is, there is a place
where we can go -here on earth- that is similar to our Heavenly Home.
The very place we lived -previous to this life- with our Father in
heaven. Where we learned His laws and chose His plan. Where we
defended His truth and loved our brother Jesus Christ. Where we
promised to follow Him here on earth. Where is such a place? You may
be asking. It's known as the temple. The beautiful buildings that The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints build all over the world.
Today I want to share my thoughts and feelings on the temple. In my
younger years, I was taught by the example of my parents
the importance of the temple. My dad traveled a lot for work and he
would normally be home from late Friday night to late Sunday night.
Due to church and my dad's obligations- as part of the stake
presidency- he was mainly busy all of Sunday, leaving Saturday as the
only day my parents would have time to spend with each other. They
decided the way they wanted to spend their time together was in the
temple. I could probably count on one hand the Saturdays that they
MISSED going to the temple. There were many times I'd be woken up by
the sound of our garage. I'd run down stairs only to be greeted by my
parents dressed in church clothes just arriving home. I didn't
understand at the time what it really meant to "go to the temple" all
I knew was mom and dad would always come home happier, more united,
and more in love (which is hard to imagine! Ha)
I experienced my first time actually going through and seeing the
whole temple when I was 15. The Draper temple had just been built and
a member of my ward was going to be the new temple president, which
gave me and the other young women and men in my ward the privilege of
going on a private temple tour before the temple was dedicated by the
Prophet. It was a day I will never forget. Walking through the
beautiful wooden doors going from each room admiring the artwork. It
felt like I was home. Not that my home has crystal chandeliers :) but
just the spirit that I felt seemed familiar. The last room we saw
was the sealing room, a place where couples and families are sealed or
bound together for all eternity. After we were all gathered together
my bishop said, "Rebekah, will you share your testimony with us?" A
little surprised that he would pick me, I stood and bore my simple
testimony of the temple and how much it meant to me. I promised
everyone and Heavenly Father that I would never do anything that would
prevent me from entering into the temple. I would always be worthy.
After the tour was over the feeling of peace and comfort that was
there slowly started to slip away. I desired to have it back again.
From that point onward I decided that I would go to the temple once a
week and do proxie baptisms until I was old enough to make more
promises with God and receive the greater blessings the temple has to
offer.
Through out the years that promise I made really stuck
with me. Whenever I'd go on a date, attend a party, hang out with my
friends, I'd constantly be reminded of my promise to stay worthy.
When I received my mission call, not only was I excited to be able to serve, but it meant that I could enter into the temple and receive the other blessings that it has to offer. I remember my dad pulling me aside before we entered
into the temple and said, "serving a mission is great. You will have
wonderful experiences and meet amazing people. But what you are doing
today is even greater!" As I walked through the temple memories of the
first time flooded over me. I couldn't believe that I was really
there. The Matron (temple presidents wife) talked to me and my mom
for a couple of minutes as we waited for my turn. During our
conversation she asked, "do you want to see the sealing room while we
wait?" She didn't have to ask me twice! I quickly said, "I'd love
too!" I can't even explain the feelings I had as I stood in the same
sealing room where I had stood 4 years prior, knowing that I had kept
my promise, I was worthy to be there.
When people ask me today what the temple means to me, my answer is,
"In a lot of ways the temple is a symbol of everything that is
important to me; Being with my family for eternity, purity, happiness,
dedication... but most important of all it's like going home."
You can learn more about the temple here---> http://www.lds.org/church/temples
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