When life gets to tough to stand....kneel.

Last Tuesday we spent all day temple hopping! We finally hit the 3 that are in eyesight of each other... Oquirrh Mountain, Jordan River, and Draper -- it was a great day!

We started out by going to the Oquirrh Mountain temple to do initiatories. It's a smaller temple but beautiful, of course! It was about noon on a Tuesday so it wasn't too busy, we went right in and got started doing them. This was the first time that I had done these since I went through for myself. I remember walking out of the rooms when I went through for me and the only thing I said to my mom was, "Wow!" There are incredible blessings promised to us in the temple. Our Heavenly Father truly loves us so much and wants us to be happy. He wants us to be able to go through life with challenges that we learn from but also so much joy. All that He created is so that we could have joy in this life. Though we may be tested and tried, what an incredible blessing it is to learn and grow and have so much guidance from the scriptures, prophets, and through our own revelation from prayer. He definitely did not leave us here alone. It was really neat to be able to go and do this work for five sisters that have already passed on. Not only was it great to be able to think about them and imagine how their life might have been - by the information of where they were born and when - but also to be able to listen more carefully to the words and realize the blessings that they were given the opportunity to receive, as well as those same blessings that I have received for myself. Heath and I were able to talk about some of the things we noticed and thought of after the session that we went to after this.

Next we did an endowment session in the Jordan River Temple. We loved the outside of this temple - it was very unique! When we gave the front desk our recommends, the temple worker said - oh, we have some young ones today! :) As we were walking to the dressing rooms, a lady asked me if we were going through an endowment session. When I said we were she asked if I would do a family name for her, I told her I would. That was a neat little experience - just to see her and know that I was doing work for a member of her family that once lived on this earth. I love thinking about these people - how they lived, the time period they lived in, and to think about them possibly receiving the gospel in the next life. Anyway, after we got changed we met each other outside the dressing rooms to go up to the chapel to wait for the endowment session to start. When we met up, we looked over and realized that instead of stairs to climb there were escalators. It was pretty nice to just ride those instead of climbing stairs... you know, just a side note. :) We were in the chapel for just a little while before it was time for the next endowment session to start. As we were sitting there, the brother working there asked us to be the witness couple - he said it's nice to have young legs to do that job. :) It was the first time we've had the opportunity to do this and it was a great experience. I learned more from that and felt different emphasis on different parts of the endowment. Another interesting part of this was that the temple worker had a prosthetic hand. It was very real and he didn't have any trouble with it. You wouldn't really notice unless you watched him. It's always neat to see people with things that make serving a little harder serve so much. The session was a great one and the celestial room was beautiful as well! The chandelier in the middle was different then most other ones we've seen and we had a great discussion while sitting in there. After a little while and being just so full of the spirit, we left to go to the third temple of the day and do some sealings.

  

We finished inside the Draper Temple. We got dressed and then went upstairs to see if we were going to be able to do sealings. The sealing office was so helpful and they rounded up three temple workers - a sealer and two witnesses and we went into one of the smaller sealing rooms, just the five of us. We knelt down at the alter and did four sealings. After the fourth one, one of the witnesses asked about the words that were being spoken. In answer to his question, the sealer gave us some thoughts about the sealing ordinance and all the words that are said. He talked about the blessings that are given to husbands and wives in this ordinance as well and how much our Father in Heaven loves us. He truly desires all of us to come unto Him and His Son, Jesus Christ and reap the blessings that are given through our faithfulness to Their commandments. After explaining this to us all and providing that great insight for us, Heath and I were both ready for that last sealing we were going to do and intent on listening closely to the words that he spoke in the sealing. Before the sealer started the last one, though, he said - oh, I'm sorry I have kept you on your knees, are you both okay? We didn't even think about it because we both felt fine and said yes, it's fine, go ahead. As soon as he started saying that fifth sealing I started feeling sick and suddenly felt weak. The next thing I knew I was laying on the ground with Heath sitting by my side. I had passed out. The sealer said that it happened because we lock our knees when we kneel at the alter and the blood flow isn't very good because of that. Oh I was embarrassed and still didn't feel great but after lying there for a while and then with the help and oversight of five temple workers, I was able to sit up and then able to stand and walk down to the dressing room where I could change and we could go get something to eat. :) (It probably didn't help that we hadn't eaten since breakfast since we had spent so long at each temple.) Once we got home my wonderful husband made me Macaroni and Cheese and corn - the only things that sounded good to me at the time - and after that and a bit of napping I felt much better. It was a funny, embarrassing, unique, interesting, and great experience as well. I thought about how our bodies are still physical. They are subject to pain, fatigue, hunger, etc. And at the same time - we were in a place that is so perfect. They ordinances are perfect, the work is perfect and eternal, and if we are faithful and doing the best we can, someday we can become perfect like our Father in Heaven. What an incredible knowledge to have and to know that this is true. While at the same time, this means we have a great responsibility - to act on all the knowledge we have and do the very best that we know how. The gospel is an incredible thing. Many say that it gives rules and restrictions but I think it gives help and guidance so that our lives are the best they can be and so that we become the best we can be. What an incredible blessing it all is!

Tuesday was a marvelous day. We were able to go through the ordinances in the temple like we went through them for ourselves - initiatory, endowment, and then sealing. It was an incredible reminder to us of the blessings we have and can receive as well as the covenants we've made with each other and with the Lord. The very best part of all this knowledge, all the feelings of the spirit, all the blessings and covenants, all the experiences and spiritual enlightenment that I received is that I got to and get to (for eternity) spend it with Heath. He is an incredible man and I'm truly blessed to be able to be sealed to him for time and all eternity. I may have written this in every post so far in this temple blog we have but the temple really reminds me of how blessed I am. I'm blessed to have him by my side, we're blessed to have the gospel and temples in our life, and I know that my family will forever be blessed by it as well - current and future family. I love the temples! And when we do several temples in one day, we'll be sure to bring lunch! :) But this was one of the best ways to spend a day -- with my husband in the House of the Lord!