The Mountain of the Lord

Yesterday we got the first email from Matt.  I just wanted to share a little part of it that really touched me.  This is why I love this boy.

"The most exciting part of the day on Wednesday was when they put the tag on me right at the beginning. I had always heard about what it is like to take the tag off at the end, but never about putting it on. As soon as they put the tag on me I felt the Spirit really strong, and I felt empowered, and really good. It was super exciting." 

I could hardly read that because the of the tears, the happy tears.  I'm so in love even with him gone, not being able to talk to him every night.

It has been quite strange to not talk to him.  We would tell each other everything, every little thing.  Thursday I went to work and there were just little things I wanted to tell him about work, and then I realized that I wouldn't be talking to him after.  It hit me in the face.  But that's okay.  The good thing is the fact that I have never felt such a need to record my life, the little things.  I would always tell him, and now no one knows!  So I've been much better at keeping up in my journal.

On a completely different note, I have been thinking about the temple a lot lately.  Part of it is the fact that Matt and I still never made out, which is a huge HUGE deal to me.  I know that the temple has a lot to do with it.  And now as I am writing, it really brings tears to my eyes.  The temple is such a blessing in our lives today.  It gives me the courage to go forward and "climb the mountains," as President Henry B. Eyring would say, that the Lord gives us to become better.

The day that Matt and I said goodbye was spent at the temple for a short time.  In that short time, however, we felt the most strength.  When we were there, it wasn't hard to think about saying goodbye and not seeing each other.  When we were there, we felt peace and love from Heavenly Father.  When we were there, we had some of the best conversations that we have had.  When we were there, we felt closer to each other.

Matt and I at the Provo Temple exactly a week ago.

One of my favorite LDS songs is called "Mountain of the Lord," talking about the temple, and I just want to share it with you.  You can click on the link to hear the music and the words are below.

There is a place on earth
Where I can touch heaven
Where I can leave the world
Remember who I am
Where I can stand on holy ground
Where peace and comfort can be found
A sacred part of truth restored
There at the Mountain of the Lord

Inside His Holy House
There lies the power to bind
In heaven as on earth
The family of mankind
God’s work on earth and beyond the grave
So many souls He wants to save
I will be part of these truths restored
There at the Mountain of the Lord

So let us go up and He will teach us
    His ways
And we will walk in His paths to the end
    of our days
There is safety inside and power to spare
That comes from the promises we make
    there

If hallowed walls could speak
What scenes have they beheld
Angels and Heavenly Hosts
The Savior, God Himself
Yet to this place He lets me go
Commune with Him and fill my soul
And something strikes a familiar chord
There at the Mountain of the Lord

There at the Mountain of the Lord.

I know, with all my heart and soul, that the Lord restored the true church to this earth, and a great part of that plan is having the temples so we can to ordinances for ourselves, our families, and strangers that we will meet on the other side.  We will do work for so many people, and when we see them again, they will thank us for what we did for them.  The temple protects us from the powers of Satan.  We have to be clean and worthy to enter the temple, and it also keeps us clean and worthy to enter.  We are so blessed to live so close.  I love the temple.  I love the Lord.  I love our Savior Jesus Christ and his atoning sacrifice that made it possible for us to see Him and His Father, our Heavenly Father, once again if we are righteous.  Go to the temple.  Partake of the goodness that is found inside the walls of the temple.

To learn more about the LDS church and temples, visit www.mormon.org