OCTOBER 24th,2015
A day that had always crossed my mind but never thought would actually happen...
A day that had always crossed my mind but never thought would actually happen...
my husband and I were sealed for time & eternity in the Salt Lake City temple.
For those of you who know me and my husband, you know that we've definitely come a long way.
As most people would say, being raised in the LDS church we always knew that the teachings were true... we just didn't necessarily live the way that was expected for members of the church.. and for some reason I was content with that.
I settled for less.. and saw nothing wrong with how we were choosing to live our lives.
Now that I think about it, I'm guessing that was satan's doing.. making you think that whatever you're doing behind closed doors is fine because "everyone else is doing it"...
But then devastation and heartache happened... and it led me to think that I must be doing something so wrong that God had to punish me not once, but twice.
I prayed to Him, and He listened.
As a mother, and I'm sure I speak for all mothers when I say, that if I had a child here in the physical world I would do ANYTHING for them. But how can I be a good mom when I have children that aren't here with me in the physical world?
A little while ago, Rob and I were laying in bed and he turns to me and asked me why it feels like we're not getting anywhere with life in general... why it feels like we're just in the same spot and not making any moves to be better? I really didn't know how to answer that other then letting him know that I felt the same way. The next day he got a message from a friend of his that wanted to dedicate a scripture to us...
"And I also beheld that all children who die before they arrive at the years of accountability are saved in the celestial kingdom of heaven."
D&C 137:10
I strongly believe that this was my answer--- knowing that my children are already safe in the presence of God and in order for me to see them again I must be able to live righteously and worthily here on earth... and I don't know about you guys, but the thought of not being able to be with my kid(s) in the afterlife, in the celestial kingdom, because of the decisions that i've made here... would make me feel like I've failed as a bereaved parent.
So Rob and I decided to take the first step in temple classes.... to help us understand things better and see where we go from there. This being our second attempt, we took temple classes while we were in Arkansas but almost never made it to church and/or didn't fully pay attention to the lessons. Therefore, we ended up not finishing them.
Yes i know, we suck.
But THIS time around was different, and you could definitely feel the difference when you fully open up your heart to the lessons as opposed to sitting there and hearing it but not actually listening to what's being said.... You get me? If you're married you might understand this because my husband is a perfect example of this! lol
For those of you who know me and my husband, you know that we've definitely come a long way.
As most people would say, being raised in the LDS church we always knew that the teachings were true... we just didn't necessarily live the way that was expected for members of the church.. and for some reason I was content with that.
I settled for less.. and saw nothing wrong with how we were choosing to live our lives.
Now that I think about it, I'm guessing that was satan's doing.. making you think that whatever you're doing behind closed doors is fine because "everyone else is doing it"...
But then devastation and heartache happened... and it led me to think that I must be doing something so wrong that God had to punish me not once, but twice.
I prayed to Him, and He listened.
As a mother, and I'm sure I speak for all mothers when I say, that if I had a child here in the physical world I would do ANYTHING for them. But how can I be a good mom when I have children that aren't here with me in the physical world?
A little while ago, Rob and I were laying in bed and he turns to me and asked me why it feels like we're not getting anywhere with life in general... why it feels like we're just in the same spot and not making any moves to be better? I really didn't know how to answer that other then letting him know that I felt the same way. The next day he got a message from a friend of his that wanted to dedicate a scripture to us...
"And I also beheld that all children who die before they arrive at the years of accountability are saved in the celestial kingdom of heaven."
D&C 137:10
I strongly believe that this was my answer--- knowing that my children are already safe in the presence of God and in order for me to see them again I must be able to live righteously and worthily here on earth... and I don't know about you guys, but the thought of not being able to be with my kid(s) in the afterlife, in the celestial kingdom, because of the decisions that i've made here... would make me feel like I've failed as a bereaved parent.
So Rob and I decided to take the first step in temple classes.... to help us understand things better and see where we go from there. This being our second attempt, we took temple classes while we were in Arkansas but almost never made it to church and/or didn't fully pay attention to the lessons. Therefore, we ended up not finishing them.
Yes i know, we suck.
But THIS time around was different, and you could definitely feel the difference when you fully open up your heart to the lessons as opposed to sitting there and hearing it but not actually listening to what's being said.... You get me? If you're married you might understand this because my husband is a perfect example of this! lol
But as the lessons continued we just wanted to know more..... more about the temple... more about the blessings... about why it's important to wear garments.. more about why things are the way they are and why we should keep commandments and covenants you make within the temple. I mean always knew that it was important to do so.... but I never really understand WHY until now. And it sounds really bad, but after 23 years I finally feel as though I get it.
I could seriously write a novel about my experience and my thoughts and feelings when going through the temple, but it's honestly something that you have to experience on your own. When YOU really and truly want to and not when you're forced to do it because that's what everyone else wants you to do.
My only advice is to do it when YOU are ready.
By no means do I consider myself perfect in any way, but working towards that has now become my mission. This started out as a something I was doing for my perfect babies in heaven.... but ended up being something much more for myself and my husband as well. Not only has it strengthened our marriage, but it's also helped us draw closer to our Heavenly Father.
I've noted in my past posts that I felt as though there was a part of me that was missing, and that void has now been filled. And I can honestly say that after going through the temple, the only regret that I had was not doing it sooner.
Oh how forgiving is our Savior..
