The Joy of the Temple

The latter part of October I received a call while on our trip to Hawaii asking me to speak to the Damascus Relief Society evening meeting on the temple in January. It is always such a worry for me to speak, but it's also a great opportunity to ponder, pray, and search the scriptures to try to come to know what the Lord would have me say. Because of a scheduling problem, they pushed the date back to Feb. 18th. It was a pretty long time to have a speaking assignment to worry about, but it was a blessing to prepare for it. I decided to speak on the "Joy of the Temple."

I was feeling a little uncomfortable about the beginning of my talk, but Heavenly Father was so good to me. I happened to read an email that I received from Laura Evins Clark who I taught and saw baptized while on my mission. She talked about the happiness that had come into her life from joining the church, doing family history work and taking the names to the temple. It was the perfect introduction to my talk, and I'm so grateful for the inspiration that came that very day of my talk. I was blessed to have the spirit there with me. It was one of the better attended evening meetings than they usually have, and the sisters participated well which made all the difference. It was such a good feeling to have it over, though.

I do receive so much joy in serving in the House of the Lord and seeing His generous hand in my life, blessing me and helping me do each of the ordinances for the sisters. It is very painful and difficult to stand, but He helps me through it, and often I marvel at how He lifts that pain at times so I don't have to suffer as much. There are so many blessings that come from temple attendance and temple service.

 First row: Chauncy Childs, Danalee Stevenson, Sis. Russell, Sis. missionary, Janeen House, Amy Kelson. Second row: Donna McCain, Colleen Pattiani, Debbi Miller, sister, Linda Jorgensen.

 First row continued: Amy Miller, Jillian Barron. Second row: Tara Miller, Beth Newell, Dara Dillon, Leslie Hatton, Cindy Hansen.

Back row continued: Julie Milburn, Whitney Kelson, Leone Walton.

On Feb. 17th, Crismon joined me in serving in the temple each Wednesday. Because of his church calling, he can't be a regular temple ordinance worker, but he was called as a volunteer, as a veil worker, to serve at the recommend desk, and also in the baptistry. He can also serve in sealings. Pres. Pond called him and then set him a part. He had to do it twice since he didn't set him apart to serve at the Recommend Desk. One thing that was really sweet was he pronounced upon Crismon, all the blessings he had received precious would be added upon him as well. It's a joy for me to have him serving with me now. I'm enjoying reading Pres. Henry B. Eyring's biography called "He Will Lead You Along." Pres. Eyring has kept very good journals, and the book quotes from his journal. It is fascinating. This picture was actually taken a month after Crismon started serving.

February Happenings

Michael and Lori Fryar were so kind to let us use their beach house in Garibaldi, OR for a short Anniversary get-away. The temple was closed for the first two weeks in Feb. We left on Wed., the 3rd and returned Friday evening. We had such a fun and relaxing time together. The weather was cold, windy and cloudy, but we had some sunshine that we took advantage of.

The next week we were able to attend one of Sydney's basketball games. She is a good athlete. We had so much fun cheering her on while enjoying the boys, too.

We attended a fun Valentine's Day in Estacada with their ward on Friday night, Feb. 12th. A nice way to celebrate Valentine's and for me to meet more good members in that ward. Then, my sweetheart surprised me with beautiful roses and carnations on Valentine's Day. He is such a great husband, so loving, kind, and always working so hard. Saturday morning we fed 8 Elders and Bro Conklin by 7 a.m. We do that each month. It is hard on me, but I'm glad I can do my best to help support Crismon in his calling as it means so much for him to meet monthly with the Elders for breakfast in our home. There was a multi-stake broadcast that Sunday. Crismon spoke for 20 minutes before the broadcast. Every talk is stressful for him as he prepares, but he always does so well. The Lord blesses him for his great preparation. That evening was a fun dinner at the Vance's.

Tues., Feb. 16th was an exciting day as Seth called with the great news that he excepted the offer from the University of Oregon as an endowed chair. This honor is pretty much unheard of for one being so young. Earlier in the month on Saturday, Feb. 6th, Seth & Tiffany flew in to Portland after visiting the University of Missouri and Columbia. They were actively recruiting him for a position there with a high pay. We naturally wanted them to come to the Univ. of Oregon, but we wanted to make sure it was the best thing for their family. We had a family dinner together that evening and then early the next morning they headed to Eugene to visit some wards there and get a feel to see where they should land. We couldn't be more excited to have them moving to Oregon later this summer! That will bring half of our grandchildren to the NW!!!