As I read the historical background of Section 136 of the Doctrine and Covenants, I’m struck by the realization of how much the pioneers of the 1840s parallel the children of Israel leaving Egypt.
The pioneers were leaving persecution, and in many ways bondage, just as the children of Israel.
The pioneers had a humble leader, being inspired of God. Brigham Young said, “What I know, I have received from the heavens…Men talk about what has been accomplished under my direction, and attribute it to my wisdom and ability; but it is all by the power of God, and by intelligence received from him.”
The pioneers were on a covenant path. The destination was not as important as the journey. Section 136 is all about the pioneers learning to trust and follow God, whatever happened. This has many parallels with the children of Israel, from manna coming to heaven to their rejection of the full covenants with God along their way.
The pioneers were going to settle a new promised land. The children of Israel were going to settle the Lord’s city.
The comparisons go on and on.
As I’ve been writing this, I have said: the pioneers compared to the children of Israel. It’s important to realize that the pioneers were the modern children of Israel. It is no coincidence that their story so perfectly parallels the Exodus from Egypt. God works in patterns. This is proof of His work.
Brigham Young, when worries came from the pioneers about them being behind schedule in their goal to have crops planted, is quoted as saying, if the Saints “had done all [they] could,” he would feel “just as well satisfied as if [they] had a thousand acres planted with grain. The Lord would do the rest.”
Ultimately, the pioneers settled Utah. Salt Lake City has become a bustling and powerful city of the world. The desert has blossomed as the rose, (Isaiah 35:1) just as Jerusalem became a powerful city in ancient times.
I believe we often read the scriptures and forget that we are scripture. Very little differentiates us from the followers of God 2000 or 4000 years ago. Different places, different time, new technology; but we are still following God, trying our best to keep His covenants, and trying our best to come closer to Him.
If scripture verses were written about you, what would be written?
With this understanding comes an important realization. History repeats itself. I believe we can read of the ancient Jews condemning their Christ to death on the cross and scoff at the idea. We are ~170 years removed from our “time in the wilderness,” our pioneer days. If Christ came before Zion today, would we know Him?
I hope we would, but sometimes I worry for Zion. We know Zion will become complacent in the last days. It’s important that we stay vigilant in our devotion to God and to our covenants with Him. Otherwise we risk the same fate that befell Jerusalem so many years ago.
I was looking to attend a Christian University and when the counselor I was speaking to heard I was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints she got kind of upset. She seemed truly disappointed to break the news to me. “You can’t attend this university if you are not Christian.”
Yes!
I was so excited to respond to that.
“I’m sorry if there’s confusion, but I am very Christian. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.” I emphasized.
She didn’t seem convinced.
“I believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God, He is the Savior of the world, He is my Savior. He died so I can live. He came to this earth to sacrifice His mortal life for me. Christ has always been and will always be my Savior.”
We went around in circles like this for a bit.
Finally, she said with exasperation, “Do you believe Jesus Christ visited the Americas?”
An emphatic, “Yes, I do.”
Her reply, “Oh you see, we don’t believe there is any evidence of this in the Bible. I’m sorry. You don’t believe in the same Christ we do.”
The same Christ?
Speaking of “evidence” in the Bible that Christ may have visited the Americas leads me to Ezekiel 37:16 which reads:
“Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, for Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim and for all the house of Israel his companions.”
These sticks are the Book of Mormon and the Bible. One from Judah and one from Joseph.
“And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.”
I put quotes around “evidence” because evidence is a funny thing. Anyone can read those two scriptures and explain them away. The real evidence is in the Book of Mormon. Read it.
How can someone who has never read the Book of Mormon with its constant references to Jesus Christ, its beautiful and simple doctrine of Jesus Christ, and its eloquent teachings of Jesus Christ, tell me I’m not Christian? By their fruits you shall know them.
Do other Christians think Christ wouldn’t visit all His children across the globe? Do other Christians think Christ didn’t have time to show love to His other sheep? Do other Christians think Christ only loved the Jews in Israel?
Maybe we don’t believe in the same Christ.
But I do know that we believe in the same Christ. I know other Christians are confused about the nature of Jesus Christ and I know the Book of Mormon can shed light on His true nature and teach “Christianity” so much about our Savior whom they profess. He is everyone’s Savior. That is why I was so anxious to tell her about the Book of Mormon and explain to her that the Bible DOES testify of the Book of Mormon and show evidence that Christ visited the Americas.
I know she didn’t hear all of what I was trying to say that day. I know she was clouded by biases and preconceived notions. That’s ok. I know she’ll get a chance to learn about Jesus Christ’s love for all His children and His visit to the Americas. Someday.
Read the Book of Mormon for yourself. Let me know if it’s not the purest, most beautiful, most amazing description of the Gospel of Jesus Christ on the earth today.
I recently went about educating myself on the current conflict in the Middle East between Israel and Palestine. It was briefly a popular subject in the news recently. Then, as the news is wont to do, the next hot topic came, and we didn’t hear about this issue anymore. That doesn’t mean this is no longer an issue, only that we’re not hearing about it as much. This problem has been ongoing for decades.
First, a disclaimer before broaching this subject: what is happening in the Middle East is a complex issue today, has been for a very long time, and will continue to be. As is often the case in multi-decade feuds between different cultures, this isn’t a simple movie plot – bad guys vs good guys. No superlatives will properly express how complex this issue is, so I won’t use any. I’ll leave it at the statement: this is a complex issue.
Before I get into this complex issue, I must state something of vast importance. It is important we don’t hate anyone, on either side. That includes hating the Jews, which is becoming a “hip” thing to do lately. It is of critical importance that we don’t completely vilify and blame the Jewish people for the atrocities that have been performed. Yes, atrocities are being performed. But, if we hate and vilify and discriminate against the Jewish people for the acts of a few or even of many, we are doing exactly what we’re so angry at the Jews for. We are mistreating people. Whether people are right or wrong, mistreating them is never an acceptable response.
A little historical background on what has happened and has been happening in Israel/Palestine, for those like me who have kept themselves blissfully ignorant of the topic.
At the end of World War II many Jewish people were displaced, their homes destroyed, they had nowhere to go. As these refugees wondered where they should go, a natural gathering to their ancient homeland started to occur. The only problem was their homeland was already home to a new group of people. The area of “Israel,” the land gifted to Abraham and his Jewish descendants by God, had become Palestine. New people had been living there for centuries.
The Bible has long prophesied of the gathering of Jews back to their homeland. The 20th Century has seen many Jewish people gather back to the land of Israel, making it a nation again, for the first time in 2,000 years. Did this gathering fulfill prophesy? In part. That prophesy won’t be completely fulfilled until Christ returns and shows the Jewish descendants of Abraham the prints in his hands and feet and they accept the Lord as their Christ.
Since we are witnessing, in our time, a prophesy fulfilled only in part, it’s obvious why this topic is so important to study and understand. It fascinates me that something prophesied of for centuries has been happening right before our eyes, in our time, our parents’ time, and our grandparents’ time. Yet we all act like this isn’t a big deal. Prophesy fulfilled in the dispensation of the fullness of times. Another reminder of the significance of the time we now find ourselves in.
When I heard of the issues in Israel, I realized I needed to pay attention. I’m aggressive in my avoidance of news and current affairs. I know I should do better. When I heard about Israel in the news, and as a studier and believer of the Bible, I was ashamed and embarrassed to be so ignorant on such an important topic. My ignorance needed to be rectified. The events in the Middle East are prophetic and important. Which led to my study of the subject.
What has happened as part of this 20th century gathering is what has happened anytime a people travels to an inhabited land in hopes of making it their own. This mass migration of the Jewish people back to Israel/Palestine has led to war, contention, and oppression. The Jewish people have established a Jewish state: Israel exists again. This establishment has shown little regard for the previous inhabitants. As the Jews have established some dominance and control in the region, naturally they exert some pressure on the previous people. The oppressed from history and particularly World War 2 have become the oppressors. Due to a lot of outside support, the Jewish state of Israel has been given much leeway in human rights violations. Public opinion has always been on the side of Israel, largely due to the support of Bible believing Christian countries (see documentary The Occupation of the American Mind).
There is wrongdoing on both sides. The Jewish people/Israel are not blameless. The Arabs/Palestine are not blameless. There is blood on the hands of both sides. This is in large part what makes this issue so complex. When conflict becomes decades of conflict, an eye for an eye becomes 100,000 eyes for 100,000 eyes.
That’s the million-foot view. The difficulty I’ve found in researching this subject is the bias you get from both sides. I’ve found it difficult to find completely impartial, factual, and historical information. The best and most impartial documentary I’ve watched so far is Two Blue Lines. That’s where much of my thoughts on this topic will come from. That documentary really made me think about this problem from different angles.
My hope is that I can give some thoughts on this issue, in the simplest and most layman terms, to help others realize how important it is we pay attention to what’s happening in the Middle East. Instead of saying too much in a breakdown of this topic, I’ll just share some interesting thoughts that developed from the documentaries I’ve watched. At the end of this, I’ll list out these documentaries if you’d like to further educate yourself on the important events happening in Palestine.
One topic that developed in the documentary Two Blue Lines was the idea that the Jewish people had become grounded in the land and not in the people. I believe it was a Jewish rabbi that pointed out it isn’t the land of Israel that makes Judaism, it is the people, no matter where they are. He talked about how Judaism is confused. God wants love. Judaism is one with all people. Judaism should be love and peace and brotherhood. What’s happening in the nation of Israel is the people are becoming grounded in land, and not religion. They have linked themselves to the earth, to something temporal. Judaism is more than a land, it is bigger. Judaism has survived as a people, a religion, and a culture through centuries of persecution and attempts at eradication because of their strong roots in God. Jews believe they are God’s chosen people. Rooting themselves to the land of Israel weakens what has always been their strength. The issue in Israel has become a people linked to a land instead of to God.
As a studier of the Bible, I realized I fell into this grounded in land and not in people thinking. My first thought (when completely ignorant of the issue) was – “of course the Jews are coming back to Israel by any means necessary. The Bible said it was rightfully theirs, the Bible tells us they would return to it, of course this is happening.” That, though, doesn’t excuse oppressive or unloving behavior. Prophesy told us the Jews would be scourged from generation to generation for what was done to Jesus Christ (2 Nephi 25:16), this didn’t make the Holocaust rightful in anyway. In a similar way, just because the Jewish return to Israel was prophesied doesn’t make Jewish mistreatment of Palestinians acceptable.
Other thoughts, mostly from Two Blue Lines and The Gatekeepers:
This is quickly going to become a more relevant issue in the United States.
A girl talked about how the Jews are repeating history. Similar to what was done to them so recently in the Holocaust they are now doing to others. She talks about how it’s hard to stop because it’s not one person, it’s like a movement. It’s gaining momentum and it’s happening.
One Jewish lady said that history will not look kindly on what is happening in Israel. Live by the sword die by the sword. They are committing war crimes. History takes note. Maybe not today, but one day. She said this ~30 years ago. We’re seeing that day come. As mentioned, the public shift against the Jews and the state of Israel is happening now, right before our eyes.
A fascinating point was made about segregation. Israel was established in 1948. At that time, they modeled after and looked up to the United States which was the pinnacle of the western world. At that time the US was still a segregated country. 70 years later Israel hasn’t had a civil rights movement. They still live in segregation, but instead of black people being discriminated against it’s Palestinians who are being mistreated. For a real-world picture of this watch the fictional movie A Borrowed Identity.
These are quotes from individuals In Two Blue Lines
“It’s clear that there will not be peace if we continue to demolish innocent peoples’ houses….”
“What is more dangerous is what this (mistreating Palestinians) does to Israeli people… as Israeli soldiers and citizens we become, from year to year, more animals.”
“What’s worse is what is being done to Israeli people, we are becoming animals.”
The Gaza Strip (the most fought over land in possibly all the world) is the size of Mobile Alabama with 10x the population.
As you watch this, don’t villainize the Jewish people. Then you are perpetuating the evil. Understand they are confused, and they are wrong. They do need to be held accountable. It needs to stop. They need to stop treating others how they have been treated. They need to treat others how they WANT to be treated.
One individual pointed out that the Palestinians don’t have a state or an army. This “war” is against a people. You can’t have ethnic democracy, or “Jewish democracy.” Either you believe in democracy, or you believe in a Jewish state.
From The Gatekeepers – all former Shin Bet (Israel’s internal security service, think the FBI) leaders were unanimous; Israel must talk with the terrorists. They must talk with anyone that might talk to them. Peace cannot come through military or tactics or fighting or intelligence. Another of the Shin Bet leaders, the oldest one in the last 7 min of the documentary talked about how the occupation is making young Israelis cruel. They’re becoming like Germany when they occupied territories. Not how Germany was towards the Jews, but how they were to all the others they occupied (Polish, Danish, Norwegians, etc.). He said, “We win every battle, but we lose the war.”
That’s some of what I learned from conflicts in the Middle East. I’ll now present some scriptural evidence of the prophesy being fulfilled.
From a commentary on Doctrine and Covenants section 133 (items in parentheses are my own insertions): “The Gentiles who obeyed the Gospel were commanded (v. 12) to gather in Zion (Utah/America), and those of the house of Judah were to flee to Jerusalem (seen in 20th century, as discussed) (v. 13). This is in harmony with the prediction of Isaiah and Micah, that out of Zion (America) shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord (Bible) from Jerusalem (Micah 4:2). For from both these centers the Lord shall judge. Jerusalem shall be re-built and become a holy city, the capital for Judah, and Zion shall be the capital and city of our God, for Ephraim and his fellows (why so many of the tribe of Ephraim are already in America). Both shall be seats of government in unison with each other, and the Lord shall dwell in both.” (Smith and Sjodahl commentary).
Zechariah 14:1-5 reads:
Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.
2 For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
3 Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.
5 And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.
This what the Jews expected from their Savior, the Messiah. They expected a warrior. A soldier to redeem them from the occupation of the Romans. Instead, they got the Lamb of God. That phrase had largely been removed from their scripture. Search for it in our current Old Testament and you will not find “Lamb of God” referenced. Why? Because it did not fit the image the Jewish people wanted from their King. They wanted and expected a king more akin to David, not Solomon.
Zechariah 14:1-5 is a yet to be fulfilled prophesy. As I heard of the hate and vitriol being pointed towards the Jews in the news and on social media, I realized it was starting. It’s long been a question: with the state of Israel so favored worldwide, how would this prophesy come to be? When would the armies encompass them about? As we see time and time again, political alliances and mutually beneficial allegiances turn quickly when public opinion starts to turn. Public opinion against the nation of Israel is changing right before our eyes. Prophesy is beginning to take its shape.
54 And he (Christ) said also to the people, When ye see a cloud rise out of the west, straightway ye say, There cometh a shower; and so it is.
55 And when ye see the south wind blow, ye say, There will be heat; and it cometh to pass.
56 Ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky and of the earth; but how is it that ye do not discern this time?
The Jewish people must turn to their Savior and accept that He has already come before them. They can’t rely on alliances with the United States any longer. They must trust in the Lord their God. They are the chosen of the Lord, even despite their great mistakes. He still loves them; they are still His people. They must turn to Him and trust in Him. Political alliances are fickle. The Lord’s covenants with the people of Israel are eternal.
Tragedies have occurred in the Palestine/Israel conflict on both sides. Inhumane treatment abounds. The opposite of love has been shown for God’s children. We are all God’s children. The Jewish people know this. They must turn from their obsession in obtaining their homeland and instead make the world a promised land. They must repent for the sins of few or many. They must correct wrongs currently being done in the Middle East. When they do this, they will continue to have the favor of the Lord Jesus Christ, and no one can come against them.
For more on the signs of the Second Coming see this link:
About the media’s influence on America determining how we view this issue and ultimately whose “side” we end up on because of that media influence.
Two Blue Lines (2015)
Can be found for purchase on Amazon Prime Video, Youtube, Apple TV.
Best, most impartial documentary I’ve seen.
A Borrowed Identity (2015)
Can be found for purchase on Amazon Prime Video.
Fictional account of a Palestinian living in occupied territory. This one teaches less general facts as it’s not a documentary, but teaches a lot, nonetheless. It gives a real life feel to how this has impacted individual, real people, for generations.
The Gatekeepers (2012)
Can be found on Hulu, Starz, Amazon Prime Video, and others.
Documentary of the intelligence agency in Israel. Very powerful.
I posted War or Cheesecake Factory two weeks ago about an experience where tone made all the difference. I’d like to share two more examples when tone benefited me with my neighbors.
When my below neighbor got angry with me about a supposed leak that flooded her unit it wasn’t the first time I’d been yelled at by a neighbor about a leak. In fact, the last time I was threatened to be sued. Let me explain.
I had a great relationship with my below neighbors before they sold their place to the current tenant. It was a grandparently relationship. The older gentleman would come over and help with my toilet, etc. We would drop off a card and cookies to them on holidays.
One day they came to me and told they had black mold, and worse, it was my fault. The details don’t matter but basically there was a leak (supposedly) coming from me, they had found it, and they were upset. I communicated with them throughout to help however I could.
This man that had come to feel like a grandpa came up one evening and told me, basically, that there might be a lawsuit with my name on it and he didn’t want me to be caught off guard.
My response you ask?
“Oh, ok,” in a cheery, not at all concerned tone.
This was a combination of meek demeanor and ignorance. It was hours later, sitting on the couch, before it hit me. Oh! They just threatened to sue me.
I don’t know if they ever truly intended to sue me. What I do know is I never heard another word about it. I can only think my ignorance and kind reception at threat of lawsuit dissuaded them from taking that course of action. They fixed the issue on their end and we moved on like that conversation never happened. That neighbor came over multiple times in the future to help with household items, we dropped off cookies and cards multiple other times. Life moved on.
One more neighbor interaction story.
When this current neighbor moved in, my very first interaction was with her and her mom. They were moving stuff in and I introduced myself. I remember her mom jokingly saying, “now my daughter is deaf so you’ll have to yell when you speak to her.”
I don’t think this neighbor is really deaf. Maybe hard of hearing or something like that, she can definitely hear. I think her mom was playfully warning me about her daughter’s music tastes.
As soon as this neighbor moved in the music started. I’m talking, floor shaking, bass moving, beats jumping, party going, music. There weren’t many parties, but many days that sounded like parties. This music could be at any time of the day. Most often around midnight followed by 5 in the morning.
I think the main problem was that her speakers may have been right under our bedroom. Beth was pregnant and sleeping some nights on the couch. I was sleeping on the floor in the nursery some nights. We kept hoping it would stop. It never stopped.
One morning at 6:30am while the party was rocking, I’d had enough. Beth was pregnant and wasn’t sleeping. I constantly fought the urge to go down and yell and freak out. I finally realized I had to talk to the neighbor.
I knocked on her door at 6:30. She creaked the door open, looked at me confused like, “why are you here at 6:30am??” I wanted to say to that face, “why is this music playing at 6:00am?” Instead I said, again, in the kindest, softest (over the music), most meek way I could, “Hey… I just wanted to let you know we can hear the music.”
“What?!”
“Yeah… it kind of feels like our floor is shaking right under our bed. We’ve been having a really difficult time sleeping and you know Beth is pregnant and, just wanted to make sure you knew.”
“It’s not even that loud.”
I looked at her dumbfounded. She could barely hear me through the door with the music on behind her.
“Yeah well we can hear it, again, just wanted to let you know. If you were able to turn it down a little that would help us a whole lot.”
She looked at me annoyed, and I can’t remember what she said. I do remember walking away thinking, now what? Are we going to have to move? We can’t live like this. Clearly she wasn’t going to turn down the music.
We never heard the music again. Literally not one more time.
I think back on that often. We could have had a disastrous start to a neighbor relationship. Our life could have been living hell the past year. If I went down without sleep, angry, and accused her of maliciously keeping my pregnant wife up, who knows what would have happened. I can’t imagine anything good coming from that.
Instead we built rapport. I explained the issue as calm and kind as I could, and hoped for the best. The best came. When that leak happened (see other post), we’d already established a level of respect.
I don’t write this to be like – I’m a great neighbor, check me out. I just want to emphasize that tone and word choice can go a long way. The way we say things makes a big difference. Our mindset when we confront someone is important. If you attack, they attack back, and now we’re at war. Nobody wants war.
When you’re frustrated with someone, take one second and enter their shoes. Why did they frustrate you? Was it malicious? Was it intentional? Is there a chance they are having a bad day too? If we all take a moment to consider the feelings of others, it would change this world. I hope we can all take a moment and show kindness and compassion for those around us. Our country needs it.
I don’t recall a good temple miracle story for myself. I love the temple. I feel peace in the temple. The truth is, I’ve felt like I have a difficult time after the temple. The idea that you can take the temple with you and feel peace in the world after leaving, I’ve personally not experienced that. My experience has been more that as soon as I leave the temple Satan doubles and triples his efforts to bring strife and impatience into my heart. I feel the world engulf me when I leave that peaceful home. Of course, those are probably my own shortcomings.
So, if you asked me my best “temple story”- a story where I felt overwhelming peace, or received a profound answer to prayer, or something drastic in my life changed after a visit, I wouldn’t immediately have an answer. That’s not to say those things haven’t happened. I believe if we don’t write down the miracles we experience we seldomly remember them. What a sad thing to forget miracles.
Salt Lake Temple
Which leads me to writing this, to be sure I don’t forget this subtle, but profound and important miracle.
Recently Beth and I went to the Mesa temple open house. It was an extraordinary experience. It was my first time doing a tour of a temple. I’ve obviously been in the temple many times, but never taken a tour. Also, it’s been a while since I’ve been to the temple. Since Covid, I’ve only been to the temple once, for my sister’s wedding, aside from this recent open house visit.
Touring the temple was amazing. Every picture inside the temple was spectacular. I had a hard time not pausing to stare at every picture of Jesus Christ I encountered. I would have held up the tour if I had done so, but I love staring at any depiction of Christ and trying to fathom who He is.
The beauty in every detail of the temple is awe-inspiring. It is a place of pure peace. I kept tears at bay as I walked through the halls and eternally significant rooms as I realized how much I had missed that place.
This leads to my miracle. It’s small, almost unnoticeable, but significant.
Beth and I had been having some difficulty the few days, maybe week, leading up to this open house visit. Normal marriage stuff. Strife, snippy comments, unkindness, our house hadn’t been a super peaceful and happy place. I say this with the vulnerability of knowing we (as people, society, etc.) don’t often admit these things, but it’s important to understand what happened after the temple.
There was something I realized I needed to say to Beth earlier that day, but it was difficult to say because it’s extremely difficult for me to be “touchy-feely” or “lovey-dovey.” Wasn’t how I was raised. So there was something I needed to say but it was going to be difficult. Then, after the temple, it came out so naturally and easily. I believe the temple brought it comfortably out of me. Maybe because being in the temple had reminded me of the covenants I made there with Beth.
On our drive home from the temple I told Beth this:
“Things have been hard the past few days but that’s marriage. It’s not always going to be great. It’s going to be difficult and we know that. But I need to remind you, and I need you to know, I’m not going anywhere. I’m never going anywhere. And neither are you. We are here for each other no matter what, no matter how hard it gets. We made covenants to each other and I plan on keeping mine and I know you plan on keeping yours. And throughout any challenge we’ll become closer, and more united, and stronger for those challenges.”
This led to a conversation about the covenants we made and how important our faith is to us, and to our relationship. I know Beth and I will always be together because I know what our relationship is centered on. Our relationship is centered on Jesus Christ and a covenant we made with each other that included Him. Without that rock, without that stable foundation, the world is just too shaky and full of turmoil. But I know we will grow through any challenge because we made eternal covenants and we plan on sticking to them.
Where Beth and I were sealed for eternity
I believe being in the temple in some subconscious way reminded me of the covenants we’d made and made it so easy to have that deep, emotional, and important discussion.
I’m grateful for the temple and the covenants I’ve made there. Life and marriage is difficult enough. With the option of walking away, too many do. The temple is God’s house and I know that to be true. I know it is a beacon in a dark world. I know it is where peace can be found. I know it is where eternal covenants and a welding link can be established. I am eternally grateful for that home. I am grateful for the miracle it provided me that day. I am grateful for the miracle the temple is in my life every single day, whether I visit it or not, due to the covenants made there.
No Coincidences 