Becca's "Last Talk" before the mish

Awesome weekend. Soooooo many people inside the Knell home on Sunday, and mostly relatives too! I know so many of you took pictures of this crazy and wonderful event so please email me: cassie.walters@gmail.com and I'll post them asap!

For now I only have this one: **UPDATE** I now have more!

Cathy Mills drove ALONE all the way down from Malad, Idaho!

 

Becca did wonderfully on her talk in Sacrament meeting, if you missed it you can read it here:

Gospel topic: Temples

What has the temple meant in my life?

Good morning brothers and sisters! Today I will be talking about Temples and what the temple has meant in my life.

Some of you may remember when my dad last month told you about my stubbornness as a little girl towards the church. How I never wanted to say the prayer, go to church, get baptized or go on a mission. All my older siblings would always want to say the prayer, go to church, got baptized and were so excited for a mission one day. Being the youngest, I liked to do the complete opposite of them. I was a very stubborn little girl and wanted to be different. For those of you who didn’t hear the story, my father tricked me one day into going to church, he told me the boogie man would get me if I stayed home all alone while my family was at church.

But even as a stubborn little girl, I always wanted to go to the temple and one day get married for time and all eternity. I have always thought temples were the most beautiful and sacred places. I knew there was something special about them.

There are three examples I would like to touch on that have helped my testimony of temples grow.

First, I would like to talk about my childhood experiences of the temple.

Example 1: Seeing your parents go as a child: I remember the importance of the Temple from an early age, my parents would always get a babysitter because they were going to go to the temple. I remember when they would come home; they had a little glow about them and were in such great spirits. As a child I never quite understood what that glow was. I knew there was something special about the temple and that temples were a sacred place. But I wanted to find out what that glow was. I wanted to enter the temple and experience the wonderful blessings we were promised by attending the temple.

President Gordon B. Hinckley said, “I hope that everyone gets to the temple on a regular basis. I hope your children over 12 years of age have the opportunity of going to the temple to be baptized for the dead. If we are a temple-going people, we will be a better people, we will be better fathers and husbands, and we will be better wives and mothers. I know your lives are busy. I know that you have much to do. But I make you a promise that if you will go to the house of the Lord, you will be blessed, life will be better for you. Now, please, please, my beloved brethren and sisters, avail yourselves of the great opportunity to go to the Lord’s house and thereby partake of all of the marvelous blessings that are yours to be received there.”

When I turned 12 years old I was so excited to finally get my little white recommend and partake in Baptisms for the Dead. I always looked forward to visiting the temple with the young women. Once I turned 16 and started going to the temple more regularly I started understanding why my parents came home in such great spirits, going to the temple was always the highlight of my day.

Second, I would like to talk about preparing for the temple.

Example 2: Preparing for the temple: Fast-forward 4 years to my 20-year-old self now preparing to go on a mission; As I prepared to enter the temple I was nervous for the unknown. As I went through primary, young women, and as I am preparing for a mission now, I realized I have always been preparing whether I knew it or not. Looking back I realized I prepared myself physically, mentally and spiritually. I prepared physically by trying my best to wear modest dress, portraying my standards through my outward appearance and speaking and acting with a pure heart in mind. I prepared mentally by familiarize myself with church doctrine, surrounding myself with good music to keep the spirit with me and tried to keep my thoughts clean by not associating myself with degrading shows and movies. And MOST importantly, I prepared myself spiritually by doing the small and simple things that I was taught at a young age that brought me closer to the spirit, such as: reading my scriptures, saying my daily prayers, attending all my church meetings, going to seminary, listening and heeding to the words of the prophets and doing things that would draw me closer to my Heavenly Father. 

In Jacob 2:28 it reads, “For I, the Lord God, delight in the chastity of women.” Heavenly Father is pleased when his children are being obedient and keeping themselves clean and pure. When preparing to enter the temple it is very important to keep yourself worthy to enter the temple. Keeping our bodies clean qualifies us for greater blessings.

Elder Russell M. Nelson said, “There are two concepts we especially need to keep in mind as we prepare for the temple. The first is covenant. We need to remember that a covenant is a promise. A covenant made with God should be regarded not as restrictive but as protective. Covenants with Him protect us from danger. This concept is not new. If our water supply is of questionable quality, for example, we filter the water. Similarly, divine covenants shield us from harm. When we choose to deny ourselves of all ungodliness, we lose nothing of value and gain glory known only to those who obtain eternal life. Keeping a temple covenant is not constraining but enabling. It elevates us beyond limits of our own perspective and power. It is like the difference between plodding through a muddy field and soaring through the skies in a supersonic jet. Keeping a covenant with God is both protective and enabling.”

Some may say the gospel covenants are beyond restricting and keep them from having a fun lifestyle while in their youth. But in reality it brings us lasting joy and helps prepare us to enter the temple. We all need to remember the blessings that come from preparing ourselves to return to our Heavenly Father.  

Lastly, I’d like to share my experiences of entering the temple.

Example 3: Entering the temple: Now I understand the glow my parents had. My parents were called as temple workers at the Timpanogos Temple in September. I loved waiting up for them to come home and share some of their experiences from the temple. While serving in the temple, their countenance had changed. When the announcement was made that the age requirement of sister missionaries was lowered to nineteen, I was so excited! I had already been thinking about going when I turned 21. I was more excited to go through the temple than to get my mission call. I knew there would be great blessings in store for me and I that I could finally experience the ‘glow’ my parents have every time they return from the temple. As I partook of the sacred spirit in the Temple I understood why I worked so hard to enter. The spirit of peace and comfort washed over me as I felt the Saviors love come over me.

The more I go to the temple the closer I feel to my savior and the more I become like him. I feel that is the ‘glow’ my parents have and I believe we should all strive to have that ‘glow’ every time we leave the temple. We should always remember the great covenants we made in the temple and the blessings we receive by partaking in these sacred ordinances. 

I would like to end with a remark President Monson shared in the October 2010 Ensign, it reads, “As we touch the temple and love the temple, our lives will reflect our faith. As we go to the holy house, as we remember the covenants we make therein, we will be able to bear every trial and overcome each temptation. The temple provides purpose for our lives. It brings peace to our souls—not the peace provided by men but the peace promised by the Son of God when He said, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

I hope we can all live worthy to attend the temple and experience the peace and joy it brings into our lives.

I’d like to bare my testimony…..