I've been thinking for awhile now about this post. For the last week or so, I've been planning to share all the reasons I've been looking forward to this weekend, thanks to something called General Conference.
But something so amazing and wonderful happened during the first 15 minutes of General Conference that I have to tell you about that instead. I hope I don't ruin my keyboard with tears of joy.
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| Denver, Colorado |
I guess I better tell you a little bit about General Conference, or this might not make any sense. Twice a year, during the first weekend of April, and again during the first weekend of October, leaders of our church speak to us from Salt Lake City.
Of course, you can't have 14 million Mormons congregating in Salt Lake City every 6 months. Where would you put them all? So General Conference proceedings are broadcast, via satellite, around the world.
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| Hong King, China |
And this morning, during his opening remarks, the leader of our church, Thomas S. Monson, announced that a temple will be built right here in Fort Collins, Colorado. I'm so excited that I just revealed my location in the real world! I've never done that in any of my blog posts before.
Words cannot express what a wonderful blessing this is. I will try and explain . . . no, no I can't. I will share a story instead.
The Punta Arenas Chile Stake is the Church’s southernmost stake (a stake is a unit of the church made up of several congregations) anywhere on this planet, its outermost borders stretching toward Antarctica. Any stake farther south would have to be staffed by penguins. For the Punta Arenas Saints it is a 4,200-mile round-trip bus ride to the Santiago temple. For a husband and wife it can take up to 20 percent of an annual local income just for the transportation alone. Only 50 people can be accommodated on the bus, but for every excursion 250 others come out to hold a brief service with them the morning of their departure.
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| Santiago, Chile |
Pause for a minute and ask yourself when was the last time you stood on a cold, windswept parking lot adjacent to the Strait of Magellan just to sing with, pray for, and cheer on their way those who were going to the temple, hoping your savings would allow you to go next time? One hundred ten hours, 70 of those on dusty, bumpy, unfinished roads looping out through Argentina’s wild Patagonia. What does 110 hours on a bus feel like? I honestly don’t know, but I do know that some of us get nervous if we live more than 110 miles from a temple or if the services there take more than 110 minutes. While we are teaching the principle of tithing to, praying with, and building ever more temples for just such distant Latter-day Saints, perhaps the rest of us can do more to enjoy the blessings and wonder of the temple regularly when so many temples are increasingly within our reach. (Jeffrey R. Holland)
Yes, temples mean that much to us, that we'd ride on a bus for 110 hours and spend 20 percent of our annual incomes to get there. Some, in terms of local incomes, spend much more and travel much further, just to go to the temple once in their lives. And I will have one right in my back yard.
Excuse me while I go get some more tissue.
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| Salt Lake City, Utah |
You've probably seen a Mormon temple. There are currently 134 operating temples around the world. You've probably wondered what they're all about. Throughout history, the Lord has commanded His people to build temples. Temples are literally houses of the Lord. They are holy places of worship where individuals make sacred promises with God. (source: lds.org)
I'll share a little video clip at the end of the post that I hope will shed more light on why we build temples. But one of the many exciting things about a new temple is that before they are dedicated, there is always a public open house.
You can come inside and see for yourself what a beautiful and peaceful place it is. The temple here won't be finished for several years, but I'm inviting all of you, right now, to the open house of the Fort Collins temple! I don't have a lot of extra room, so if you're coming from out of town, you might have to get a hotel.
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| Jordan River, Utah |
In 1981, when I was ten years old, my parents took me to an open house at this temple in Jordan River, Utah. I walked into the bride's room, where soon-to-be brides put on their dresses and fix their hair, and thought it was the most beautiful place I'd ever seen in my life. I told myself right then and there that I would come back to that temple to get married one day. And I did.
And now, when I think about how this new temple will bless my children's lives in similar ways . . . well, I just need to go get some more tissue.
