In That Holy Place

Lately I have considered whether or not it is the right time for me to make an important step in my spiritual progression: that of attending the temple. I am blessed to live in a place where the temple is close enough that I can do baptisms on a regular basis. However, I have not yet been blessed with the opportunity of being sealed in the temple to a righteous man for time and all eternity. In my youth, I did not anticipate that there would come a time when I would be still unmarried but of an age and spiritual maturity that would lead me to consider receiving my temple covenants, rather than wait to do so until my knight in shining armor comes along. But though I did not foresee its coming, that time has come.

Before anyone assumes as much, this is not an announcement; I choose to share these feelings with you because they have been on my mind and in my heart. This is a deeply personal decision between me, the Lord, and with the counsel of my Bishop, and I feel that this is something I don't need to rush into. I feel I may be ready to make those covenants, but it is not something the Lord is urging me to do at this time. At a recent Stake Conference, my stake president, President Dahle, said, "It's not so much about getting into the temple, but about getting the temple in you." My efforts will be well spent in striving to purify my spirit and my life. If I focus on sanctifying myself and keep attending the temple regularly to perform baptisms by proxy, He will let me know when the time is ripe. Perhaps I will have met a man to marry by then; perhaps not. The Lord knows all things, and He knows what will happen then and what I need to be doing at this time.

"In That Holy Place", by Sally DeFord

Holy temple; hallowed walls; filled with heaven's light
Where the Spirit teaches truth and testifies of Christ
There within that holy place our hearts are made as one
United by the power of God in pure eternal love

House of learning; house of faith; house of peace and prayer;
House of glory; house of God; I’ll feel his presence there
I will stand with heart and hands kept clean and pure each day
Worthy of the blessings found in that holy place

Holy temple where we learn creation's grand design
Where our souls will be endowed with power from on high
There we kneel, our hearts prepared, to cov'nant with our Lord
And there his Spirit binds our lives in love forever more

House of learning; house of faith; house of peace and prayer;
House of glory; house of God; I’ll feel his presence there
I will stand with heart and hands kept clean and pure each day
Worthy of the blessings found in that holy place

Holy temple where we bless our loved ones gone before

Where eternal ties are sealed by sacred priesthood pow'r
There we turn our hearts to those who gave us life and birth
How beautiful that holy place where heaven dwells on earth

House of learning; house of faith; house of peace and prayer;
House of glory; house of God; I’ll feel his presence there
I will stand with heart and hands kept clean and pure each day
Worthy of the blessings found in that holy place.


http://www.defordmusic.com/inthatholyplace.htm

April Living (Avril Lavigne?)

Life in April is just great. It's a good month. It starts off with a holiday I don't really care for (April Fool's jokes are rarely genuinely funny anymore, they tend to be uncreative or just plain mean), but it makes up for it with the other 29 days. At the beginning of April is when the leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints speak to us, giving us counsel and guidance and commandments from the Lord. This provides us with a great spiritual feast. April 6th is the anniversary of the reorganization of The Church in the latter days. April is when it really starts to get warmer (except for here in Utah...it got really sunny but is now snowing again. The weather here is definitely bipolar.). April is the month of my sister C's birthday (yay!) and a few cousins' birthdays (also yay!). It is also the month ending winter semester at BYU, which means I get a break from course work until Fall semester. It's when I get to move (this week!) to a new apartment, which will be great. What's more, the end of April is when I get to go back home to visit family, friends, and California for almost two whole weeks! I'm excited. I'd say it's the best month of the year so far. =)

In Avril's own words, as applied to the month of April..."You're not, not, not gonna get any better, You won't, won't, won't, you won't get rid of me never..."*

*This may or may not be a slight adaptation of the meaning of the lyrics. To hear the original song, feel free to check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2i5Jp7mdMc.