A Milestone Trip to the Temple

Gary, Tanya, Rachelle, Caitlin, Paul, Robin, Dave

Yesterday, I was able to attend a session at the Detroit Temple. Dave drove to Kalamazoo from Chicago, and together we drove to Paul's home in Plymouth, and then headed to the temple.

The driving force behind all this (aside from normal desires to attend the temple) was Caitlin's decision to serve a mission. She's been attending BYU, studying theater, and decided to set that work aside for the time being. She submitted her request, and subsequently received her assignment to the New York New York North Mission, Mandarin speaking. (My brother Paul - Caitlin's father - blogged about her decision and her call here and here.)

Our temples today are places for prayer and worship and contemplation. We also make sacred covenants and commitments there, and that act (part of what we call the endowment) is a milestone in our spiritual journey. Yesterday was Caitlin's opportunity, before beginning her mission, to enter the temple and make those covenants. I was delighted to be able to share that with her and her family.

Rambling on the Road to Chicago

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to visit the Chicago Temple. En route, in an effort to get my head in the right place for temple attendance, I tried to listen to some appropriate talks and such on my iPod.

(I should warn you now - this post is a bit long; a 3-hour drive leaves lots of room for thoughts to ramble!)

First, I listened to an interview with Virginia Hinckley Pearce. This was episode #30 of the program Conversations, on The Mormon Channel.

Sister Pearce first came on my radar back in 1994, when she spoke at the General Young Women Meeting.  Her discussion of faith was clear and simple, and I've never forgotten it. She said

Faith means that I really believe that:

• Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ live, and they are in charge of this world.
• They know me.
• They love me.
• They have a plan for my future.
• I will obey the commandments, work hard, and trust in their plan. Sooner or later, everything will be okay.

Next, I listened to a BYU Speech, by Russell T. Osguthorpe (and let’s admit it: that is a cool name!), What If Love Were Our Only Motive? 

Again, there was nothing new or earthshaking in his talk – just the idea that love really can motivate everything we do. He said,

 ...is it possible to do everything we do out of love? Is it possible to study because we love the Lord and His children? Is it possible to be motivated by love when we take a test, read a chapter in a textbook, complete an assignment, or answer a question in class? Is it possible to love someone who has wronged us? Can love be our only motive?

...The Savior’s earthly ministry was a time of teaching, a time of miracles. He established His Church on the earth. He called the Twelve to become leaders in the Church. He taught everyone who would listen. He healed the sick and raised the dead. And why did He do all these things? He had only one motive—love. His message to us is that we need to be good and do good, but we need to do it for the right reason. This is precisely why the two greatest commandments are the greatest: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind” and “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Matthew 22:37–39). The motive means everything.

Then, I listened to some music, including “Someday He Will Come,” written by Tyler Castleton and Staci Peters, and performed by Felicia Sorensen. I’ll share some of the lyrics (even though, without the music, they are a bit limp and incomplete):

When He comes the world will melt away
Earthly things will slip right through our hands
Leaving just our hearts to stand before Him
Just our lives to speak for what we’ve done
What we’ve become

I will speak of Him with every breath
I will seek His spirit all my days
Everything I am I will surrender
Just to know him when this life is done
When he comes

These lyrics always remind me of the time when Aaron was teaching Lamoni’s father, and the king prayed  “if thou art God, wilt thou make thyself known unto me, and I will give away all my sins to know thee, and that I may be raised from the dead, and be saved at the last day” (Alma 22:18).

I listened to all this, and let my thoughts wander, and considered my efforts in these areas. It is so hard to be consistent, to always do what I know I should do. These are things I know for a certainty. The challenge is remembering them, and remembering to act according to what I know.

I thought of what President Kimball once said,

When you look in the dictionary for the most important word, do you know what it is? It could be remember. Because all of you have made covenants - you know what to do and you know how to do it - our greatest need is to remember. That is why everyone goes to sacrament meeting every Sabbath day - to take the sacrament and listen to the priests pray that 'they may always remember him and keep his commandments which he has given them.' Remember is the word. Remember is the program.
(Spencer W. Kimball, "Circles of Exaltation," Address to Seminary and Institute Personnel, BYU, June 28, 1968.)

Attending the temple helps me remember, so that at least for a short while, I’m moving in the right direction again.

It is Good.

The Blogger Goes to Illinois

Last Saturday, I drove to the Chicago Temple, in Glenview Illinois. Traffic was light, and it was a beautiful day. The trees along the highway were mostly bare, but every now and then I saw patches of yellow: daffodils? ground cover?

In one wet area, I saw lots of white birds, gulls, or pigeons, I supposed. Then I saw a lone bird flying by - a crane! (It's neck was bent, so does that make it a heron? But it was white - can herons be white?)

Every now and then, I saw a tree with spring leaves just starting to appear; I love the halo of green that spreads as the leaves start to unfurl. Out of nowhere, there was one tree, standing on its own, brilliant with green. It looked like the sort of tree a child would draw: a round green shape stuck on a tree trunk. It was wonderful!

Then I caught sight of deer, grazing among trees by the road - I counted 2, then 3 and 4, before I sped past. Just seeing them gave me an inordinate sense of happiness. I almost felt silly, but then I remembered a Mary Oliver poem, recounting moments with nature that had given her joy. Her experieneces were more personal, whereas mine were viewed from a distance, but: I take joy where I find it.

The Poet Goes to Indiana
by Mary Oliver

I'll tell you a half-dozen things
that happened to me
in Indiana
when I went that far west to teach.
You tell me if it was worth it.

I lived in the country
with my dog—
part of the bargain of coming.
And there was a pond
with fish from, I think, China.
I felt them sometimes against my feet.
Also, they crept out of the pond, along its edges,
to eat the grass.
I'm not lying.
And I saw coyotes,
two of them, at dawn, running over the seemingly
unenclosed fields.
And once a deer, but a buck, thick-necked, leaped
into the road just-oh, I mean just, in front of my car—
and we both made it home safe.
And once the blacksmith came to care for the four horses,
or the three horses that belonged to the owner of the house,
and I bargained with him, if I could catch the fourth,
he, too, would have hooves trimmed
for the Indiana winter,
and apples did it,
and a rope over the neck did it,
so I won something wonderful;
and there was, one morning,
an owl
flying, oh pale angel, into
the hay loft of a barn,
I see it still;
and there was once, oh wonderful,
a new horse in the pasture,
a tall, slim being-a neighbor was keeping her there—
and she put her face against my face,
put her muzzle, her nostrils, soft as violets,
against my mouth and my nose, and breathed me,
to see who I was,
a long quiet minute-minutes—
then she stamped feet and whisked tail
and danced deliciously into the grass away, and came back.
She was saying, so plainly, that I was good, or good enough.
Such a fine time I had teaching in Indiana.

blue sky & hyacinths

close-up of hyacinths - did you know
that hyancinth may also refer to a species
 of parrot, the hyacinth macaw?

a contented sleeping pup never fails to steal my heart

A Trip to the Detroit Temple

This past Wednesday, I drove over to Bloomfield Hills, and attended the Detroit Temple with Dave & Joyce, Paul & Rachelle, & Annie.

This photo is from the church's website - it didn't really look
like this on Wednesday; there was snow
on the ground, for one thing, and
no leaves on the trees! But it's a beautiful building.

Happily, Dave had a camera, so here are a couple pictures to prove we were there.

Robin, Annie, Joyce, Rachelle, & Paul

Can you find the difference between this photo & the
previous  picture? (Answer: Robin turned into David - scary!)

After our session, we lunched at the Potbelly Sandwich Shop, not far from the temple. The sandwiches were good, and it was nice to relax and visit. Conversation covered the movie Babies, Annie's experiences as an intern with church magazines, successful weight loss, and lots in between.

As always when I drive to the temple, I can't help but compare my travel arrangements with those of the pioneers, struggling to build roads and plant crops as they traveled. I am grateful for a warm car and good roads, and the fact that I can drive there, attend the temple, enjoy a meal, and drive back home, all in an easy day.

I'm also grateful for iPods and podcasts, and enjoyed listening again to the talks from last September's General Relief Society Meeting.

I picked up on Sister Julie Beck's use of the word "haven" to describe our homes, and pondered how I could make our home more of a haven.

And I appreciated this comment from Sister Silvia Allred:

How do we strengthen our belief in the affirmations that I have heard over and over again from so many of you, that you believe in God’s love for you, that you trust you will receive His blessings, and that you understand the plan of redemption through the Savior Jesus Christ and your important part in His plan?

I will suggest four things that have helped me: prayer, scripture study, obedience, and service.

I can remember teaching youth classes where the kids complained, "we've heard this principle a thousand times." I always replied that we have to get it right, so we keep teaching the same basic principles, over and over. Certainly I've heard Sister Allred's list a thousand times, and yet I haven't quite got it down yet. It's good to be reminded of these basic principles, and ponder how I can adjust my life to be more diligent in these areas.

Note to self: Keep trying!

Random Photos

Jim & I just got back from a trip to Chicago - we visited the Art Institute, and the One of a Kind artists show, and we ate some good food, and we did some serious shopping, and we were able to attend the temple as well.

I'll eventually share some photos from all that, but for now, here are just two photos.

This one we apparently took on Thanksgiving, but we didn't look at it until we were in Chicago - and then we were astonished - because look at how CUTE Bonnie is!

The adoring & adorable Bonnie

We adopted Bonnie nearly four years ago (in February, 2007), but we have very few photos. Why is this? Simply because, whenever we take out the camera, our dear little girl lowers her head, tucks her tail, and, if possible, leaves the room.

What would make a dog so camera shy?!? We cannot imagine, but we periodically try to photograph our girl, and on this occasion, the stars aligned in our favor, and this is the result!

Chicago Temple

Thursday and Friday, the weather in Chicago was cold but sunny, and we enjoyed walking around downtown. Today, when we drove up to the temple, it was quite a different situation, as this picture shows. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...!