Cleaving

I have just had one of the most uplifting, edifying, joyful weekend ever.  It's no secret that I love general conference.  In fact.  I love it so much that I'm more excited for it than Christmas.  My husband is also getting me addicted to seeing it live and in person.  Some might say that he is enabling my addiction.  Encouraging it, even.  

Before I start with my weekend full of cleaving to my covenants and rejoicing, there has been a little incident occurring in my home.  Each and every morning.  What is this little disturbance?  We have the 9 basic doctrines taped to my wall.  The first day or 2 lots of them refused to stay on the wall and fell down.  I doubled up the tape and slapped them on there good and told them to behave themselves and stay put.  Well, there's gotta be a punk in every bunch.  Priesthood & Priesthood Keys refuses to stay on the wall.  It has become the joke of my companion and I.  I don't care how many times it falls off the wall, I will always put it back up.  Opposition in all things never takes a day off, so I won't either :0)

OK, now onto my weekend.  For 20 years I have dreamed of doing a session in the Salt Lake Temple.  I lived in Utah for 4 months before I married Nate, so I wasn't endowed.  When we lived there again after we married and could go thru the temple, we just never made it happen.  We went to the Provo temple several times and even made it to the Manti temple, but never Salt Lake.  A crime, really - if you ask me.  Oh there were plenty of other opportunities on the many visits we made, but for whatever reason, it didn't happen (we did go thru the Timpanogas one a few times) .  So, the lesson here is:  it doesn't matter how long it takes you to accomplish your goal, it only matters that you did. 

What made it even better was getting to experience a live session.  I did a live session at Manti, but it was when I was still new to the temple experience and I can't really remember it.  I was looking forward to seeing if it would be a bunch of old people who could barely walk and recite their lines or if it would be young people.  All I can say is that it was completely perfect.  I loved it.  It made me think of things that I haven't thought of before when watching a video.  They did such a good job.  Not only did I get the experience of being there, but hello!  That temple is beautiful.  It is so ornate.  The hours put into beautifying that temple.  It oozes love for Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father.  We even got picked to do something extra special.  I was feeling seriously loved by the Lord that morning.  

Here's a little sad commentary on our days.  This special assignment required Nate and I to be married.  Naturally, the worker asked if we were married.  "Yes." Then he felt the need to qualify that with a "to each other?"  If there are people showing up to the temple on some hot date with someone other than their spouse, that's just a whole level of messed up to which there are no words!

Next stop on the awesome train was the church history museum.  I got super lucky, yet again, because it was still open thru the weekend.  It is closing for a year.  I really wanted to go because we are learning the Doctrine and Covenants this year - which is church history.  I can't wait to talk to the students about the stuff I looked at - it isn't my day to teach until wed. 

First thing you see is the manuscript for the Book of Mormon.  For me, I need look no further for evidence of it's authenticity and divinity.  It is just simply inconceivable that an uneducated man - even surrounded by more educated men - could have written a 500 page document - in long hand- without a word processor - without tons of scratch outs and rewrites - knowing geography (without access to a library or years of research) - keeping track of lineage - knowing the character of Christ so perfectly - keeping track of the line of events etc.....without it being exactly what he claimed it to be.  Do you know how many times I erase the things I type on here?  Do you know how many times I look back over something and say, you ding dong, you wrote that down wrong.  Now let's put the biggest caveat on it.  It took only 2 months!  Now add all my other witnesses and that's a rock solid testimony to which cannot easily be shaken.  But, that is something that I know for myself and everyone must take that journey alone.  

The next thing I loved was being able to see Emma's hymn book.  I love and admire her greatly.  I know she fell at the end, but I can't blame her.  It only testifies to me more the importance of enduring to the end and the ripple effect our choices have on others - not just ourselves (there was a talk about that in conference by Elder Katcher -sp?)  

When I made my way to the end of the displays there on the wall was the last scripture mastery verse we worked on in class.  It was cool to be able to ponder the ways the saints cleaved unto their covenants and the way that I can and do - and the joy that comes into my life from doing it.  

We always get excited when we see our beloved ancestor that has the greatest story of redemption ever.  He's related by way of Nate's Mom's Dad.  The real example to all those talks given in conference about coming back, staying in the boat and reaching out to those who are lost.  There is  his actual writing desk sitting on that chair.  

After seeing all the church history, we needed to go and look at how we can find our own history.  We walked next door to the Family Search Library.  That place is massive.  I didn't bring my bucket of genealogy with me, but we wandered around and found some books with Nate's family's history.  

Later Friday night we met Nate's brother at The Roof (totally didn't get a pic of them).  We had a lovely time just staring at the temple and the wedding photography happening while we were waiting for them.  Utah can be seriously beautiful.  

After our lovely dinner we met up with 2 sister missionaries that used to serve in our ward.  One of them is married now with a little boy (who is adorable) and the other is engaged to be married soon.  So much fun getting to catch up with them and their husband and fiancé, and getting to know them in their after mission lives.  I wish I would have gotten a picture.  Sometimes my brain just isn't thinking about documenting things.....I know.  Hard to believe! haha

Saturday was conference and we watched the first session in our hotel room.  It started off with power and the power just kept increasing.  When we got to the "which way do you face" talk, I said "boom baby!"  That was freaking awesome!  Can you use a sudo curse word when describing conference?  Welp, I just did.  This isn't a conference re-cap, but wholy moly was it a good session!

We had tickets to attend Saturday afternoon.  We made our way thru the sea of people.  Let me just tell you that it is pretty impressive to get the thousands of people that were in the 1st session out and the thousands in for the 2nd one.  It was crazy.  Not so crazy that while walking along S Temple street I come face to face with Caitlin.  What a small world and small chances that we would find each other in a sea of people.  Divine providence.  She was one of my yw years ago in a ward that I'm no longer in.  She just got back from serving a mission in Spain and she is living back in NM now.  Have I run into her at home?  No, I run into her in Ut - in a sea of people!

While walking into the conference center, what should my wandering eyes see?  Another family from home......and another one!  I guess that's what happens when your stake hands out tickets.  You all end up in the same section of conference.  I'm jealous of my friend in the bottom picture that was there for her mission reunion.  She served in France with Neil L Anderson for a mission president.  Lucky, lucky girl!  

Second session of saturday conference was equally super duper fantastic.  At one point I turned to my husband and said "This is such plain speech.  The second coming is for sure on the way."  I had my fingers crossed for a couple of apostles that I wanted to see.  I got to see 2 of them.  Elder Oaks and Holland.  Seriously every single talk was fantastic and spot on and perfect in every way.  

It still blows my mind how many saints can fit into one place at one time.  It's what makes being there so awesome.  We were actually pretty close this time too, which was fun.  

I'm the luckiest girl!

Look at all those people spilling out on the streets!  Walking past all the protestors is super fun too.  I just wanted to give some of them a hug.  Especially a lady that was yelling about how she wasted 30 years of her life.  I wanted to ask her what part was wasted.  The 30 years without drinking, a tattoo, premarital sex.  Or was she put out by all the years she prayed, read scriptures, received guidance etc...I just fail to see the injustice of wasted time in trying to live a righteous life.  Call me out of touch and judgmental.  I just don't get it.  Trying to fight light with darkness never ends well.  But, I'm happy to give out hugs to those who have "stepped off the boat" and offer an outstretched hand.  

Sunday we spent with Nate's parents and my adorably perfect niece.  You know what she said?  "I think the second coming is coming really soon by the sound of the talks."  That's a teenager ya'll.  Sunday was really good as well, but I gotta say, saturday was my favorite.  Though I did love President Eyring's talk and president Monson's.  That's the hardest time president Eyring has had keeping it together and it totally made me cry- which I have never done during conference.  The message was something that touched me deeply, not just his tears.  

Here's another affirmation of testimony I received during the Sunday session.  I can't remember who was talking, but it was about the quorum of the 12 and how there is unity in every decision and that we could take comfort in that.  That right there reminded me of the divinity of this church.  How could there not have been some coup for power by now.  Some serious infighting?  Pandering to the masses for more membership - which brings tithing dollars?  That right there is a testimony that this is the Lord's church here on earth.  

I had to hop in the car and head to the airport, so I had to listen to the last 2 talks in the car.  Wouldn't you know that they saved the best for last.  They were trying to give me a heart attack that I would miss the talk entirely.  Is it just me or is Elder Bednar getting funnier?  I think he is finding his grove and I love it.  

Even though I wasn't home to pester the kids into watching conference, they did it all on their own.  Emma even printed off activity sheets for the littles.  My kids are awesome and just really good kids.  Like really good.  I love them!

My weekend was amazing.  Not only did I get to cleave unto people in my life whom I love dearly, I came away with a renewed resolve to cleave unto my covenants and help those around me as well - because I know that is where real joy is found.