Los Angeles, CA Temple

This is a departure from a 'regular' post. It is a letter I received via email from a lady who works in the temple. I thought it was a light of hope in the midst of some pretty bleak times going on in the world. Hope you enjoy. I would love to hear your thoughts on this.


My dear family, brothers and sisters, friends and leaders:

My heart is overflowing with joy and gratitude to our
Heavenly Father for His tender mercies and mighty miracles
in our behalf. I just have to share this with you. As most
of you know, I am a Temple ordinance worker and work the
morning shift in the LA Temple every Saturday. Today, I had
the privilege of translating sister Martz-the new assistant
Matron's-message during our devotional.
She started like this "The prophet Joseph Smith said
that no unhallowed hand would be able to stop this Work from
progressing. These past few weeks when mobs have combined
and armies have gathered against the saints, the Lord has
protected His house". She went on to say that those,
like her, who were inside the Temple when mobs were
surrounding it, did not realize how scary and terrifying
this looked on TV to the rest of us, because inside the
House of the Lord all was calm and there was peace abundant.
After Proposition 8 passed, the Temple began receiving
threatening calls and mail from those opposing it. They
were warned that more than 5000 people would come to the
Temple and burn it to the ground, and stop Its work. The
first Thursday when the mob came, the new LA Temple
President called the Salt Lake City Temple Offices for
instructions. He was instructed to call the local police and
to insure the safety of those attending the Temple by
closing
the gates. The assistant Matron said today, that it was a
tender mercy from the Lord that the mob chose that Thursday
to come since they had only one person coming to receive his
own endowment that day, which he received in time to leave
before trouble started. The LAPD and the FBI responded
quickly to the Temple Presidency's summons and patrolled
the grounds and kept the mob from entering the same. Most
of them had never been there before and expressed their
surprise at how beautiful and peaceful all around was. They
were invited to come back during the Christmas season to see
the lights and they promised they would. On Thursday,
November 13th, sister Campbell, a secretary in the Temple,
was opening the mail and upon opening a large manila
envelope found inside a smaller one. When she opened this
one, a white powder flew all around her desk. She thought
this could be related to the demonstrators and feared the
worst-ANTHRAX. She contacted the
President, who in turn called the Salt Lake City Temple
office again for instructions. The FBI, the LAPD, and even
the SWAT teams were once again in the grounds to
investigate, and the Temple once again had to close from
around 11:30 AM to 5PM. They closed the gates and were
instructed to keep all the people there wherever they were
found at the time. Those in the parking lot had to remain in
the parking lot. Those entering the Temple had to remain in
the first floor and those already upstairs were taken to the
Celestial Room. Then, the miracles began to happen: A
brother serving as a recorder that day is a Microbiologist
by profession and used to deal with hazardous substances
every day. He was the first to say the white powder in the
envelope was only talc, and put every one at ease. Then the
sister coordinator upstairs was impressed to call upstairs
to the sealing area, and said "They said we can't
go down but no one said we can't go up, and I
have many people in the Celestial room with their
ceremonial clothes on ready to work. Could they do some
sealings?" As it happened, there were four sealers
present that day and they ran four sealing sessions non stop
while the Temple was closed. Downstairs, someone else
thought to invite those in the Lobby to do some
initiatories, which they promptly did for all those hours
too, brothers and sisters alike. Among those waiting in the
parking lot there was a large group of young men and women
with their leaders who had come to do Baptisms for the dead,
and who waited patiently all those hours and decided when
the Temple was reopened to go ahead and fulfill their
assignment instead of driving back home. The Temple reopened
in time for the 5:30 PM session. The next day when recording
the ordinances, they discovered that they had performed 2000
sacred ordinances on Thursday, only one less than the day
before when three stakes had been visiting the
Temple. Once again the assistant matron reminded us of the
words of the prophet Joseph Smith, "No unhallowed
hand can stop the Work from progressing...". But, this
is not all, a prophecy was fulfilled also. When the new LA
Temple President was set apart by President Uchdorft of the
First Presidency, he received a blessing and these words
were pronounced: " The time has come for the LA Temple
to come out of obscurity and become an Ensign for
Righteousness to the world under your presidency." The
pictures of the Temple have been shown on TV, newspapers and
the internet, not only in this country but worldwide. People
of other faiths have called and sent letters to the
Temple thanking the Church for defending marriage and
protecting the family, and commenting how impressed they are
by how beautiful and majestic the Temple looks . One
minister of an African American church, who by his own
admission had harbored ill feelings against the Mormons
before
said " I am impressed by your integrity and Christ
like behavior, and even if I am not ready to consider you my
brothers and sisters in Christ, we can be first
cousins!". I asked the assistant matron if I could
share her comments and she said to go ahead. I can only add
my own testimony that I know the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter Day Saints has the power and authority of God on
earth. God Lives and Jesus, His only Begotten Son and our
Savior is coming soon to redeem His people. I am grateful to
know this and I pray we stand firm, steadfast and immobile
while the prophecies of the signs before His Coming are
fulfilled. "Be not afraid, only believe" He has
said, and also " What I the Lord have spoken, I have
spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and
the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall
all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice
of my servants, it is the same." I testify that this is
true and
testify it in the Holy Name of Whom I strive to serve,
even Jesus Christ. Be faithful and safe is my humble prayer.
Your sister in Christ, Patricia A


(Photos found from websites:
http://www.kendalldavenport.com/los_angeles_temple.html
http://ldspictures.wordpress.com/2007/12/09/los-angeles-temple-at-christmas/ )

Pray Always

Every year we have General Conference, where members and friends from all over the world gather for two days to hear the Prophet's voice and other leaders. A talk by one of the members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Elder Bednar, spoke on Praying Always. (Click here to read the full text). I really enjoyed his words and those quoted from scripture helping me to understand more of the purpose of prayer and how to make my prayers more meaningful. Here is a brief section of his talk regarding how our prayers can and should be connected and linked together:

"Consider this example. There may be things in our character, in our behavior, or concerning our spiritual growth about which we need to counsel with Heavenly Father in morning prayer. After expressing appropriate thanks for blessings received, we plead for understanding, direction, and help to do the things we cannot do in our own strength alone. For example, as we pray, we might:

Reflect on those occasions when we have spoken harshly or inappropriately to those we love the most.
Recognize that we know better than this, but we do not always act in accordance with what we know.
Express remorse for our weaknesses and for not putting off the natural man more earnestly.
Determine to pattern our life after the Savior more completely.
Plead for greater strength to do and to become better.

Such a prayer is a key part of the spiritual preparation for our day.

During the course of the day, we keep a prayer in our heart for continued assistance and guidance—even as Alma suggested: “Let all thy thoughts be directed unto the Lord” (Alma 37:36).

We notice during this particular day that there are occasions where normally we would have a tendency to speak harshly, and we do not; or we might be inclined to anger, but we are not. We discern heavenly help and strength and humbly recognize answers to our prayer. Even in that moment of recognition, we offer a silent prayer of gratitude.

At the end of our day, we kneel again and report back to our Father. We review the events of the day and express heartfelt thanks for the blessings and the help we received. We repent and, with the assistance of the Spirit of the Lord, identify ways we can do and become better tomorrow. Thus our evening prayer builds upon and is a continuation of our morning prayer. And our evening prayer also is a preparation for meaningful morning prayer.

Morning and evening prayers—and all of the prayers in between—are not unrelated, discrete events; rather, they are linked together each day and across days, weeks, months, and even years. This is in part how we fulfill the scriptural admonition to “pray always” (Luke 21:36; 3 Nephi 18:15, 18; D&C 31:12). Such meaningful prayers are instrumental in obtaining the highest blessings God holds in store for His faithful children."

I am grateful to God for inspiring His servants to help me learn how I can improve my worship and relationship with Him through a basic and simple principle, such as Prayer. It has made a difference in my life as I try the word and taste of its fruit.

Personal Testimony of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

My name is Trent(Nicole's husband), and I want to take a couple minutes to share my testimony. I know that my Heavenly Fathers lives and loves me. I know that I am his son. I know that Jesus Christ is my Saviour and Redeemer. I know that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ appeared to the Prophet Joseph Smith, and through a living prophet, they established their true church once again upon this earth with the proper authority and modern revelation. I know that Joseph Smith was and is a prophet of God. I know that through God's power, he translated the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ. I know it to be true scripture, for God has confirmed it unto me. I know the Bible to be the word of God. Lastly, I testify that our modern day prophet, President Thomas S. Monson, has been called by God to be our prophet in these latter days. I know this to be true, for the spirit has confirmed it unto me.

Atonement

There are few things in life I am more grateful for than my family. One of these is the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I know the Atonement is real. I know Jesus Christ went into the Garden of Gethsemane and paid for sins committed by the entire world. After he endured all that pain and suffering, "which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink— Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men" (D&C19:18-19) He then willingly took the beatings of the guards and people as they began to crucify him. Then to have to die a traitors death, all because He loved us first. And to have all the pains suffered from the Garden of Gethsemane return to him on the cross. I often wonder what the reunion of the Son of God would have been as the Father embraces His most obedient Son. It truly was only but a moment of suffering in God's time, and we have the most incredible promise possible-to receive all that the Father hath if we endure it well. I'm very grateful for a speaker I heard a few years ago tell us that "enduring to the end" was not meant to be something of a long and bleak experience, but instead can and should be something to look forward to-enduring to the end. We get to show our God that we have faith in Him, not in any devices of man or our own strength, but His power and timetable. It is very difficult to wait on God's timetable sometimes and I wish things would happen when I want, but that would not be teaching me many Godlike qualities. My faith is dead though, according to James, if I do not bring forth fruit. The fruit of faith is repentance. To repent is to change ones heart. If there are things I should change, I change them. If I have not been doing something, I need to start. If I need to stop doing something, I stop. To say that I cannot change because, "that's simply who I am", is the same as denying the Atonement of Jesus Christ. He paid for all sins. Not most of them, or part of them, but all. If there is anything in my behavior or person that is not a thing Jesus would do, or that I would be comfortable doing in the presence of God, I need to change it. To not do so is not showing proper gratitude for our Savior who suffered for the world, and each individual. It's like receiving the greatest gift man could ever receive but putting it aside simply because I cannot let go of the former habit/behavior or I don't want to make the effort of letting it go and changing it. Many songs have been written and many books, stories and parables have been given to help man and our finite mind comprehend something infinite and glorious. I hope to come to comprehend a greater portion of the Atonement and all its power sometime in my life, but only if I'm willing to work (have faith and repent) to get there. Our God is great.

Reflections of Christ

A beautiful slide show of photographs of scenes from Christ's life. Either click on the title or here to view. Very well done. Mark Mabry is the photographer and has been highly sought after for his work. His work was featured at the popular Mesa Arizona Easter pageant in the Visitors Center and as the Tribune reported, "Attendance to see the photos and video has been as high as 1,000 per day since it opened." Click here for the home page.

General Conference

Twice a year, during the first of April and the first of October, we all gather as a wide body of members and friends to listen to the Prophet and Apostles and other church leaders. General Conference is what this special meeting is called and click here to read about what General Conference is. This is one of my favorite times of year, and it's not because my dad makes the greatest homemade cinnamon rolls, but because I feel as the people must have in Moses' time or Abraham or Jacob or even the great orator Paul of the New Testament. They must have been excited and anxious to learn of the Prophet coming to their town to give them the words of God. I wonder if they went around and told their families and friends who it was that was coming and what that meant to hear the words of a Prophet of God. We now read those words that they heard first hand so many years ago.
On Saturday we were able to participate in a solemn assembly to sustain the new Prophet of the Church. President Gordon B. Hinckley passed away on February 27, 2008 and President Thomas S. Monson was called and sustained to take on the mantel of Prophet, Seer, and Revelator for all members and friends worldwide. In the solemn assembly, each quorum of the Priesthood was able to stand and sustain Thomas S. Monson as the Prophet of God. Below is a picture of the gesture one makes to signify that they sustain the newly called person.
As President Thomas S. Monson walked to the pulpit and began to speak to us, I was amazed that not only do I get to hear him speak, but churches and homes all over the world were also able to simultaneously hear the Prophet's voice. This has not happened in dispensations of the Church in the past. As President Monson spoke, I could feel the love of Heavenly Father. I know that He is aware of our situation, circumstance and happenings of our time just as much as He was concerned and cared for the people during Moses' dispensation, and Isiah and the Apostles of the New Testament. He spoke to His people so many years ago because He loved them, and He speaks to us today, because He loves us. He did not loose the power to call Prophets and speak to them, nor has He stopped caring. I know that just having a Prophet on the earth is a sign of God's love and hope for the welfare of His children on earth.


The First Presidency: Prophet Thomas S. Monson (sitting), President Henry B. Eyring (1st counselor), President Dieter F. Uchtdorf (2nd counselor)
Conference Center in Salt Lake City, UT

God is real

I recently went through a few events in my life that were fairly difficult. I knew that I should turn to God and trust in Him and He would answer my prayer. I personally wanted a miracle to occur and for my spouse to be healed without having to go to the hospital. I knew the money that we would have to spend on the many hospital bills would set our other hopes aside for awhile longer. We had just finished paying for the last 2 hospital bills (lung collapse and removal of bone cement that was placed when a tumor took the bone) and this next round of hospital bills was not a welcome site, nor very "fair" in my mind. I was praying so hard that God would just heal him so that he would not have to go to the hospital again and knew that God had the power to do so. We said a prayer together and called our home teachers over so that they would exercise the Melchizedek priesthood which they hold to give him a blessing. I prayed several times before they got to our home that God would heal him through His priesthood power which these men would exercise. After the blessing they left and my husband decided that he didn't feel too terrible, but not completely healed, so we would wait until the next day. Upon barely getting my eyes open the next morning, I asked him if he felt better. He said no, and we packed up our things and dropped the baby off at a friend's house to go to the hospital. After the xray we were told that his lungs had collapsed again, but not as bad this time. Instead of a chest tube, they put him on oxygen and told him he would have to be monitored and then take another xray the following day to see if improvement has been made. The following day it was only 25% better. I was worried that they were going to keep him for 2 days, not find enough improvement and then put a chest tube in him which would keep him for several more days. I felt frustrated at not knowing what was going to happen and torn between being with him and taking care of the baby. I continued to pray earnestly that God would heal him and that my husband would be able to return back home soon. I did not want to burden my sister or friend much longer to take care of our baby but at the same time I did not like the idea of leaving him all alone in the hospital for so long. I decided that if this was a test of my faith and commitment to God and obeying His will instead of mine, I would show God through my actions that I believed that He was still mindful of us and our individual situation and that there was some reason which I did not quite understand yet for these many setbacks.

I knew that just because I read my scriptures, said my prayers, went to church and paid my tithing that I would be free from trials. This was a heavy one to me, but I was anxious to show God, not just tell Him, that I was willing to submit to His will and do all that I was asked or endured and do so cheerfully. It changed everything once I decided that trials will not change or disappear, but how I react to them can make or break me. It is not the trial that is the determiner of how strong or faithful I am, it is how I react to the trial. I read in 1 Nephi 11:17 "I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless I do not know the meaning of all things". Isn't that what faith is all about? Believing in something that I cannot see, or quite understand? I know God is there and that He heard every one of my pleas to Him to heal my husband and give me strength. He felt just as horrible as I did and just as much pain as my husband felt. He grieves when we grieve and He rejoices when we rejoice. Just after my husband came home from the hospital after a 4 day stay, I asked God for some help with something very small, but meaningful to me, and He answered it beyond my expectation. I still don't know the reason for the trail, but I do not that my relationship with my Heavenly Father was strengthened and my faith in Him grew. I feel like Nephi-not knowing the meaning of all things, but do know that God loves all His children. Knowing this has made all the difference. I know that this was not the end of my trials, but I do have faith that God is very mindful of each and every one of us, our individual situations and feels our pains as well as our joys. He is our Father in Heaven and like a perfect Father, knows what is best for us in the eternal viewpoint. Prayer is the way I am able to speak with such a kind and attentive Father in Heaven, and scriptures is one of the ways that He speaks to us. I know that Christ too suffered something very great and more than I can comprehend, and asked His Father in Heaven to also take it away from Him, but that He would willingly submit to God's will. To follow Christ is not always the most easy way to travel, but it is very worth it. He is the creator of the world and has many children on the earth to attend to. I take great comfort in knowing that although He commands even the elements on the earth, He also takes the time to listen to my quiet pleas and finds no greater joy than helping His children come and learn more of Him.