temple with kerri

i had the most wonderful blessing today, being able to be the escort for my beautiful friend kerri as she went through the temple for the first time to receive her endowment. for those of you not of my faith, the prophet brigham young explained it as such: "your endowment is to receive all those ordinances in the house of the lord, which are necessary for you, after you have departed this life, to enable you to walk back to the presence of the father, passing the angels who stand as sentinels, being able to give them the key words, the signs and token, pertaining to the holy priesthood, and gain your eternal exaltation in spite of earth and hell."

you have to prepare and be found worthy to enter the temple as it is literally the lords house here on earth. such a feeling of peace and love is found within the walls. rosemary m wixom put it beautifully when she said, "in the temple all feelings of inadequacy and imperfection begin to fade." once inside we are all equal and there to feel closer to our father in heaven, not ever to compete.

seeing kerri so happy and being able to share this experience with her was a wonderful blessing. i am so grateful for the choices she made that led her here today.

♥

above all else, i am so grateful to have a temple so close and to be able to attend regularly. what a wonderful blessing it is in my life and in the life of my family. 

temple time

almost three years ago i made a commitment, to attend the temple at least once a month... sometimes it's been easy. sometimes it's been hard. sometimes i have ended up there multiple times in one month, sometimes i'm scraping in on the last day just in time. but i have managed it! today i scraped in for october on the first day of november, but i'm still proud and am totally counting it, because i had a baby not even three weeks ago and somehow still got there. woo!

i am so grateful for a wonderful friend who came with me, went in first while i fed baby and then snuggled baby alex so i could go in and do just one initiatory. it doesn't matter that it was just one, what matters is that i made it there. baby steps... especially with a new baby! i love to be at the temple and was so glad we made it work. here's hoping i can pull off november and december as well. 

halfway through!

it's the last day of the first half of the year and i am proud to say that my new years resolution is going well... it may be a simple one, but one that has certainly made my life better - to attend the temple at least once a month. this is the second year i've done it and i know the change it's made to my life is a real. i think about the lord more often and make sure i'm doing all i can in my life to be comfortable in the his house.

best resolution i ever made, to be closer to the heavenly father and serve others in his house ♥

seven temples in two weeks ♥

dallas, texas 17th february 

up until now in my entire life i had been to just 6 temples. as a 12 and 14 year old to the sydney australia temple, married in the perth australia temple, attended a wedding in brisbane australia, visited the hamilton new zealand, another wedding in melbourne australia and then our family trip to apia samoa. (there was also an occasion when on exchange in brazil as a teenager that i looked out the window of the bus and saw the forteleza brazil temple as we drove past but i suppose that doesn't really count...)

salt lake city, utah february 24th

while on holiday in america however, i had the blessing of visiting seven in the two weeks we were there. seven!!! that's more than i had in my entire life up until now! it was like something out of a dream as we visited each one... to know that there are places of peace and reflection for members of the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints no matter where you are in the world, that are in the world, yet not of the world.

provo, utah february 25th

my two eldest brothers served their missions in italy (jared in rome and aaron in milan) and so reported to the provo missionary training centre, in order to learn italian. for this reason, the two of them went through the provo, utah temple for the first time. i was so thrilled to be able to see it for myself all these years later. ♥ 

provo city centre, utah february 25th

my favourite, of course, was the salt lake city temple, followed closely by the provo city centre... what an amazing building! to know the story of how it was converted into a temple after the tabernacle made it so much more incredible to see and i was in awe as i walked around the grounds. 

draper, utah february 27th

each general conference i get so excited when they announce the new temples and where they are to be built. the church is truly being taken to all four corners of the globe and it brings such joy to my heart to know that the blessings of the temple are becoming available to more and more people each year!

jordan river, utah march 2nd

i am still blown away at the beauty of these buildings and feel blessed beyond measure to have had the opportunity to see so many of them in person. i love this church. i love the faith of its members and their love for the temples. having a temple here in perth is one of the greatest blessings in my life and i am so grateful to be able to attend each month.

mount oquirrh, utah march 2nd

as long as you can see the temple, you will never be lost! ♥

dallas texas temple

my first full day in america... and i am treated to this! not even kidding, after forcing myself to stay awake until 1030pm last night before i crashed, i managed to sleep through (other than waking up twice, but going straight back to sleep) and wake in the morning feeling surprisingly refreshed and ready to go. so here we are, with my first experience at a big temple... in dallas, texas. i think we could probably easily fit 4 of our little temple in perth on that block.

and it was... amazing! being in america, at a large temple, with family... and knowing once again, that no matter where you are in the world, the church is the same. the building was gorgeous, the spirit was strong... and i enjoyed every minute of being inside its walls.

its so nice to have come to weather that is a little cooler too. i wouldn't say it's cold, but it's certainly a step down from the weather back home where it is stinking hot! here it is texan winter, cool, a little overcast today and just pleasant. perfect to be outside!

i am so stoked to be here and still have to pinch myself a little to believe it's really happening! can't wait for what the next few weeks have in store! ♥

and most of all, for taking photos of all the beautiful temples that america has to offer! yay!

♥

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commitment achieved!

i would be so upset if i didn't have a chance to report back about the success of last years new year commitment that i made. as you can see from my coloured chart, i managed to attend the temple at least once a month, every month for the entire year (and lost my coloured markers... haha) and i am so, so proud of myself for doing so. 

attending the temple is often hard! things get in the way... heck, life gets in the way! but making time for heavenly father was so worth it. when i made that commitment and worked hard to see it through, life changed for me, for the better... and i know that temple attendance this year has made me a stronger and a better person that i was when the last year rolled around.

i haven't decided on any new years commitments as yet for 2017, but something tells me that doing that one all over again is going to help me, so here i go. let's jump into 2017 with a love for the temple and a promise to attend all over again... and see where it takes me. ♥

temples are a beacon

it's been almost 2 years since our little family ventured to samoa to visit my parents while they served their mission there. it was an incredible experience that we won't forget in a hurry... the sounds, the smells, the food, the heat... but their solid belief in god, every where we went was what really blew me away. loving the lord is like breathing to them. everyone believes in god there. 

it feels like i took a million photos of this beautiful building, which is a beacon in apia. people constantly give directions using the temple as a reference point because everyone, latter-day saint or not, knows where it is and where it stands for 

that's what i am trying hard to do, make the temple the centre of my life and something i can use to get and give directions ♥

"temples are more than stone and mortar. they are filled with faith and fasting. they are built of trials and testimonies. they are sanctified by sacrifice and service" - thomas s monson (from a talk the holy temple: a beacon to the world)