These pioneer era temples in Utah are monuments to our pioneer ancestors who built them. The intricacies in the workmanship are everywhere to be seen both outside and inside. I am constantly struck with the happiness I see in the faces of the people who attend the temples. I am an eyewitness of what I see in them, and I hope I project the same happiness in my face as I greet them.
With each session I attend, I come away with one or two impressions that remain with me. This week, I was impressed to remember "Health in the navel, marrow in the bones." Our physical bodies are the habitation of our eternal spirits that were created by our Heavenly Father and our Heavenly Mother. We are encouraged both in our observance of the Word of Wisdom, and in the ordinances of the temple to cherish these bodies we possess, so our days may be lengthened while we are on the earth. I love the thought that mortality is and can be a fulfilling and blessed state in which to live if we are true and faithful to our covenants.
In Logan last week, I observed so many elderly saints who filled the session. There were some young people too, now that school is out for the summer at Utah State University. I am struck with how many of those young people are serving as ordinance workers. The encouragement of President Russell M. Nelson is surely the catalyst for what I am witnessing no matter which temple I attend these days.
After the session, I had a strong impression to do something totally enjoyable. I stopped along my way home for a visit to Maddox Ranch House just south of Brigham City. Unbeknownst to me they are celebrating their 75th year anniversary this year, almost as old as me. I was not disappointed in my menu selection of a perfectly prepared filet mignon. Being fed spiritually and physically on the same day is an unbeatable feast!
In the space of a month's time I have gone from southern Utah to northern Utah to attend temples, and I have thoroughly enjoyed the journey. We are so blessed here in Utah to have the many choices we do to attend the temples. There is little in life that brings me a greater sense of happiness and joy as I contemplate the family members for whom I am serving as proxy in these ordinances. I had a name last week of a seventh-generation great-uncle who was born in 1620 in Scotland. I can't help wondering what his life must have been like as I perform these ordinances. Imagine it!
Sometimes I fear we might wonder if the divine mandate to gather Israel on both sides of the veil just isn't a pipe dream that could never possibly be fulfilled. But remember, life in the spirit world still lies ahead of us and the work of temples will be accelerated for 1000 years during the Millennium. The God of the Universe whom we worship and in whom we trust, has the timetable. I seek progress toward the goal with every session I attend in every temple I visit.
There are some parents I know who are lamenting the fact they have children who have left the Church for a season of inactivity. They are saddened and they seem to lose hope as they witness the ongoing poor choices that attend those children. I have tried to encourage them by sharing my devout belief that life is eternal in its nature. This moment in eternity for us is too often punctuated with temporary sorrow and grief, but I remind those parents our time here on earth is a small speck of dust in a vast landscape of eternal magnificence we can only catch a glimpse of on occasion as our eyes to see are opened from time to time. That's what those visits to the temple on a frequent rotation will do for us.
I was also in the Bountiful Temple last week, and happened to be on the same endowment session with President Jeffrey R. Holland. An ordinance worker rolled him quietly into the back of the room in a wheel chair after we were all seated, and after the session ended he waited patiently as we all went through the veil ahead of him. He embodies what a true servant-leader is. I thought as I observed his smiling face that it's never too late and we are never too old to attend the temple. Who can doubt the fervor of his witness and his testimony as we hear him speak?
He no doubt brushed against the veil this past year with the simultaneous passing of his beloved wife Pat within days of the passing of my dear Patsy. Once we walk alone after a lifetime of companionship, there can be many days of loneliness and sorrow. I have experienced those days, and I know exactly what President Holland is experiencing too.
But, there is hope for the future when we are a covenant-making and covenant-keeping people. There is nothing that bolsters that hope and conviction as much as performing those sacred and simple ordinances for our deceased ancestors, and I believe there will be few, if any, who will not accept that proxy work we do for them. They are grateful, and the peace we feel from them is payment enough in my estimation.
If you are some of those parents who pray for and long for your children to return to the fold of activity in the Church, please know you are not alone. I pray for you and for your loved ones that they may migrate back to the oasis of ever-flowing waters of truth and fulfillment within the Church.
Life is eternal, and truth in all its beauty will triumph! Even in the hearts and minds of those who may be considered lost sheep today.
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