"And from this place they may bear exceedingly great and glorious tidings, in truth, unto the ends of the earth, that they may know that this is thy work, and that thou hast put forth thy hand, to fulfill that which thou hast spoken by the mouths of the prophets, concerning the last days."
-Doctrine & Covenants 109:23
Day two of my little blogging challenge, and I already almost forgot to get on the computer. I can see that weekends are going to require a concerted effort.
My weekend posts may just have to be a little shorter. What a wonderful day! Jessica came home in the dark of night last night. How nice to have all of my children under the same roof again. There was something so very pleasant about having her walk up the stairs this morning and perch herself at the bar and to listen to her chatter about her college adventures. We enjoyed a delicious breakfast, the whole family together. I took a picture, but the kids probably wouldn't appreciate me posting it here in blog land. To me they are still as cute as when they were sleepy toddlers in footie pajamas, sporting tired faces, and bed head, but we'll leave the photo out for today.
Two months ago I sent these two teenagers against their will to their first Ogden Temple Cultural Celebration choir practice. They insisted that they did not want to waste their precious Sunday evenings at some dumb choir practice. Call me a bad mom, but I quickly removed their agency and informed them that this would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I refused to allow them to forfeit. In my heart I knew they would thank me later.
Although I have yet to receive my verbal thank you, I think they are grateful in their hearts to have had this experience. I must say that that is one gorgeous young lady and one strikingly handsome young man all dressed up for a celebration of the dedication of another one of the Lord's temples on earth.
Neil, and Jessica, and Jonah and myself sat in a chapel watching the celebration via satellite. You see this celebration was not about the church leaders or the parents. It was all about the youth. Pres. Eyring presided at the event. He stood up and gave a very brief welcome and let the rest of the evening be about the youth. There were virtually no parents allowed into the venue to watch the event because they wanted every seat in the Dee Event Center filled with participating teenagers. There were youth from as far north as Wyoming and far south as Riverton. They sang, and danced, and played instruments, and held posters. There was a way for every youth who wished to to participate, whether they felt they had talent or not. It was not about the talent. It was about the rising generation singing praises to their God in gratitude for a new temple. It was about tens of thousands of young people feeling the power of the Holy Ghost. It was about these noble souls getting a tiny glimpse of the great work they will do some day in rolling the work of the Lord forward.
These young people will be the ones filling this temple in days to come. They are already filling the temples. I have yet to take my kids to do baptisms for the dead without having to wait a long time, for the baptistry is always full. Always full.
God loves His children. He loves the youth of His church. He knows that the adversary is working hard on this generation. But God is at the helm. He will strengthen and fortify this generation. With every new temple dedicated, the power of Satan is diminished. And the power of God is magnified. I felt that power emanating from twenty miles away and through a satellite signal. I felt it in that tiny chapel, and I shed not a few tears and said a small prayer of gratitude that my two valiant spirits were one of the several thousand in that room singing praises to a loving Heavenly Father. I hope this is a treasured memory that they lock away and share with their own children someday.
"Every foundation stone that is laid for a Temple, and every Temple completed according to the order the Lord has revealed for His holy Priesthood, lessens the power of Satan on the earth, and increases the power of God and Godliness, moves the heavens in mighty power in our behalf, invokes and calls down upon us the blessings of the Eternal Gods, and those who reside in their presence."
-George Q. Cannon 1877 (Logan Temple Dedication)
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