Promises of Eternity

Temples I have visited.

Good things to come that is what we are promised. That is the promise of eternity. The hard things of life do not follow us into eternity. They will have built our character, strengthened us, and have the ability to bring out our very best selves if we turn to our Savior in them, but the hard things are limited to this mortal life.

The Temple for me is a place of peace, a place that reminds me of my eternal nature and helps me to find peace in my current struggles. There I am reminded that I can let go of my fears because I know that I can trust in a God who did not say I would escape the difficulties of a fallen world but did say that I am promised eternal happiness. 

There are moments in our lives when we get to glimpse into the joys of eternity. Many of these moments come from the relationships and love that we share with one another. I am truly grateful for the blessings of eternity and the joys I am able to feel now because of the love of God.

I have many holy places in addition to the Temple a few of which are:

family time

spiritually uplifting conversations with friends and family

acting on spiritual promptings

writing letters to missionaries

scripture study

church lesson preparation

my home

service

prayer

What are your holy places that bring you peace and remembrance of a loving Heavenly Father? What helps you to trust in the promises of eternity?

Click here to learn more about why The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints builds Temples.

Happily Ever After

Expressions of God's love

I have had powerful experiences with God's love in my life.

I have been reflecting on God's love and how he sees me and everyone around me. 

Feeling grateful for the ways he has shown me his love and the miracles I have witnessed in my life because of his love for me. 

I am grateful for those who have been his instrument and helped to bring his love more fully into my life

I am grateful for those times when I have been blessed to be an instrument and to share his great love with others along my path in this life. 

Really one powerful experience stands out to me and has become a part of my soul and has been etched in through joy and pain. My hope is that this dear friend that I love unconditionally without expectation recognizes that really it was not my love but the expression of the love of Heavenly Father and Christ in their life that was gifted to me to share during that experience. I was blessed to be an instrument in sharing that great love. 

Through these experiences I have learned more of the incredible love that our Father and Christ has for all of us, both through being served and serving.

I am a witness of the love that Heavenly Father and Christ has for you! He knows you and your circumstances, and he loves you, and always loves you!

Be Still My Soul

Throughout the years I have sought much solace in this beautiful hymn. 

 "Be still, my soul: The Lord is on thy side;

With patience bear thy cross of grief or pain."

I love the example of Abraham in bearing his grief or pain with patience. 

I have learned much from his example and tried to apply the principles he lived in my own life. 

Hebrews 6:10-15; Romans 4:18-22

I wish I could say that I never stagger in unbelief, but sometimes I have moments when I do.

Moments when I feel overwhelmed by loneliness, grief and pain. 

And then the words of this song sink into my soul,

The words of Christ, his promises, and the faith of those who have gone before me leave imprints on my heart.

"Leave to thy God to order and provide;

In ev'ry change he faithful will remain.

Be still, my soul: Thy best, thy heav'nly Friend

Thru thorny ways leads to a joyful end."

There are promises that God has given to us personally and collectively.

He will fulfill these promises, whether in this life or in the next.

"When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,

Sorrow forgot, love's purest joys restored.

Be still, my soul: When change and tears are past,

All safe and blessed we shall meet at last."

I am reminded of one of my favorite quotes regarding sorrows, tears, and disappointments:

"The Lord compensates the faithful for every loss. That which is taken away from those who love the Lord will be added unto them in His own way. While it may not come at the time we desire, the faithful will know that every tear today will eventually be returned a hundredfold with tears of rejoicing and gratitude."

~Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin

"Be still, my soul: Thy God doth undertake

To guide the future as he has the past.

Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;"

Hebrews 10:35-37

How easy it can be at times to lose confidence, to forget the beauty that I have been blessed with already.

My sister, who is serving a mission in New Zealand currently, sent me a beautiful letter in which she acknowledged much of the good that I have done for her in her life, she expressed her gratitude to me which brought me to tears to know of the great purposes the Lord had me be a part of in her life. And then she follow with this beautiful counsel:

"Before I close my letter I'll direct you towards the Book of Mormon, liken these scriptures to yourself. 2 Nephi 31:19-20. Nephi has just laid up for us the doctrine of Christ. He acknowledges the good that we've done then asks if all is done? Nay. Ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ having a perfect brightness of hope. We must feast upon the words of Christ and endure til the end. Then will we be granted eternal life. There is nothing greater to aspire for. And what a merciful God we have whose only desire is for us to obtain it. Again, he prepares the way.

" The last scripture has been pressing on my mind the last few days. I thought it applied specifically to me, but I wish to extend it to you. Alma 26:27. Ammon speaking says, 'Now when our hearts were depressed and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted us and said... bear with patience thine afflictions and I will give unto you success.' I know your desires. The Lord extends this to you bear these afflictions for a short time then will he pour out blessings upon you. As Isaiah we often beg the question 'Lord, how long?' Isaiah 6:11. Until the end. We don't know the timing of the Lord his ways are higher than our ways. May God grant you success!"

I have seen as I have applied these principles in my life of patience and trusting in the Lord's promises and timing he has brought me healing, peace, happiness, and comfort even while waiting upon the promises. 

I am grateful for those who have mourned with me, I am grateful for those who have lifted me with inspired words of faith from the scriptures, Prophets, and Apostles. I am grateful for the power of prayer, for the effects that it has on my heart. I am grateful for a God that brings peace and comfort to my soul in troubled and heartbreaking times. I used to think that it meant that things were going to change immediately that my circumstances would miraculously be different, sometimes it is different. And sometimes I have learned in patience that there is so much more the Lord would have me learn and that the whispering of the spirit is the Lord's promises that he will fulfill what he has taught me just not quite in the way I had originally thought, but that I can have hope in Him.

"All now mysterious shall be bright at last.

Be still, my soul: The waves and winds still know

His voice who ruled them while he dwelt below."

A Letter for You

Dear You,

I was thinking of you and the struggles that we go through in life. You are a (missionary, wife, mother, daughter, husband, father, son...) who desires to give all! What a beautiful thing that is! You will work your heart out to accomplish great things in the Kingdom of God. You have righteous desires to [insert desire here] and you will do absolutely everything you can to accomplish this. And sometimes when you have given your all and tried everything you can think of, it seems to not be enough and you are left asking the Lord and seeking for what more can you do. There must be something you are missing, because this is surely the desire of the Lord for you, so there must be something he can tell you that will bring about this great miracle of [insert miracle here]. Let me assure you if there is something missing he will share it with you as you seek for it!

But sometimes his purposes are not completely known to us, sometimes even though he has the power to change or soften hearts or other miraculous miracles that we think are needed it is not his will at this time. We can trust that all righteous desires will be fulfilled at some time, but those miracles will come about in the Lord's time. We have the opportunity to exercise our faith in knowing that the Lord can accomplish these miracles, because we've seen it, and trusting that he will be in all the details no matter the current outcome. As we exercise our faith and do our part to act we can learn to put our trust in his will and remember it is His plan, not our own, that we chose to be a part of.

Elder Bednar in his talk titled "That We Might 'Not...Shrink' (D&C 19:18)" stated: "a principle that applies to every devoted disciple: strong faith in the Savior is submissively accepting of His will and timing in our lives—even if the outcome is not what we hoped for or wanted. Certainly, [we] would desire, yearn, and plead for [insert desire here] with all of [our] might, mind, and strength. But more importantly, [we can] be “willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon [us], even as a child doth submit to his father” (Mosiah 3:19). Indeed, [we can] be willing to “offer [our] whole souls as an offering unto him” (Omni 1:26) and humbly pray, “Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42)."

You are a wonderfully devoted disciple and have much to do in the service of God. I am so happy for the choices you have made for you will be continually blessed and constantly learn throughout your life as you continue to give your heart to the Lord. You will continue to learn of your weakness and you will be able to envision how much the Lord loves you and glimpse throughout life the great purposes he has for you. There will be many struggles that come and there will be great happiness that you can't even imagine. Always the Lord will be with you, even if you feel alone you can trust he is there and he hears your prayers, he understands your desires. Hold onto that knowledge and the time will come when you will see his purposes fulfilled and you will rejoice in His will and that it was greater than your own.

Love, 

Me