Week 25: The Blessings of the Temple

Most of my life I have been, for lack of a better word, spoiled, as
 far as the Temple is concerned. My family joined the church in New
 York City when I was 8 years old and the temple was several hours
 away, but at that point it didn't really affect me as I couldn't
 enter. At the age of 11 we moved to Provo, Utah just minutes from
 the Provo Temple. The year after we moved, I was sealed to my
 parents for time and all eternity in that very same temple. It was
 then that I first truly witnessed the plan of happiness in action
 and the beautiful blessings we can receive there. Since then I've
 had the opportunity to live several miles or minutes from a temple
 wherever I've lived.

 Until now.

 2 years ago, on a prompting of the spirit and personal revelation
 received in the temple we gathered our family and moved to Kansas.
 We'd never lived in the Midwest, had no family here and neither of
 us had ever been here before moving. We just knew that we needed to
 be here. I know that we made the right choice but there is one thing
 I truly miss...my ability to frequently attend and receive the
 blessings of the temple. Our closest temple is roughly 4 hours away
 and I've realized that it's much easier to "neglect" your temple
 attendance when you live so far away. You begin to put up excuse
 after excuse, it is much more of a sacrifice. The same could be
 said about living close as well, you take for granted what you have
 because it's always there. I make a valiant effort to attend the
 temple as often as I can and being further away from the temple has
 given me a better opportunity to reflect on what is that I do there
 and why it is that I go. What we all need to remember is the
 blessings of the temple are true. The covenants and promises we
 make are so important to our eternal progression. Through the
 temple families are sealed and bound forever, ancestors are brought
 to Christ's true church. "The teachings of the Temple of
 beautifully simple....and simply beautiful."

 I am happy to announce that on May 8th the groundbreaking for the
 new Kansas City Temple took place. I am excited to know that in a
 few short years I will again be close enough to attend the temple
 more regularly. I hope that what we can all remember is that the
 temple truly is the house of the Lord and an incredible blessing in
 our lives.

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