I realized that my temple recommend expired at the end of August. So I set up an appointment last Sunday with Bishop Harding to get my recommend renewed. Just a couple of days before that they had announced that effective immediately, we could return to having church weekly and have up to 150 people attend. We will also begin having virtual second hour meetings in a couple of weeks as well as broadcasting sacrament meeting to those who can't attend but would like to participate (other than the sacrament). I was so happy. We discussed our ward's plans during ward council and I got pretty emotional. I'm so happy to go back to church weekly and be able to take the sacrament weekly. So happy! So when I met with Bishop Harding he mentioned that I seemed pretty happy about that news. I said that I'd heard it a couple of days before but that yes, I was so happy. That I hope others will choose to attend and that I'm so grateful for the return to church. He thanked me for all I am doing as YW President and said that especially in his first few weeks when he felt so overwhelmed, that it helped so much for me to take the lead in youth activities. He asked how I was feeling about things and I said that I am concerned about some of the Young Women...but that I absolutely love them and love serving there and will serve there as long as the Lord wants me there. He said my love for the young women is evident. He asked how long I've been serving as YW President. I told him two years...but that I've been in YW for 5 1/2 years now. He said (thankfully!) that he doesn't feel any need to move me yet. (Thank goodness!) We both got a bit emotional talking about the return to church and the joy that brings us.
And then he proceeded to ask me the temple recommend questions. When he asked the first four, especially, I became so emotional:
Do you have faith in and a testimony of God, the Eternal Father; His Son, Jesus Christ; and the Holy Ghost?
Do you have a testimony of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and of His role as your Savior and Redeemer?
Do you have a testimony of the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ?
Do you sustain the president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as the prophet, seer, and revelator and as the only person on the earth authorized to exercise all priesthood keys? Do you sustain the members of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles as prophets, seers, and revelators? Do you sustain the other General Authorities and local leaders of the Church?
I love the Savior so very much and I do have a testimony of the Atonement. I love our beloved prophet and I sustain the leaders of the church...both general and local. I could barely get the words out to answer because I was so overcome with emotion.
Bishop Harding told me that a member of the stake presidency would get in touch with me to conduct my stake temple recommend interview. A couple of days later, the stake executive secretary contacted me to have a temple recommend interview with President Brandon Carlson...who was our Bishop until two months ago when Chris Harding was called and Brandon was called into the stake presidency. I love both of these great men.
Today, I had a particularly hard day of school with technology challenges and I was worn out and remote teaching was just not going as well as I would like. I taught all day and then it was senior night at tennis. I hadn't slept enough this week. I felt exhausted and overwhelmed and a bit down. In fact, I shed a few tears as I drove from the tennis matches home. 2020 has been rough. And while I know I am blessed in so many ways, online teaching is just not the ideal. I got home, made a very fast dinner and logged onto zoom to meet with President Carlson. President Carlson asked about school and about my family and about the young women. I've always known he genuinely cared about my family and each ward member and that continued to be evident as we talked and as he asked questions. It felt good to visit with this beloved former bishop and friend. And then he asked me the temple recommend questions and again I was filled with emotion. Again I could barely answer. Again I became weepy. And when he asked if I sustain our General Authorities and local leaders and I said that I do, he replied that he knew I did and thanked me. Typing this out has me weeping again. I am so grateful for the gospel. I long to be in the temple. I am so grateful to have a temple recommend. At the end of the interview when he asked if I considered myself worthy to enter the temple and I said yes, he said "I do, too, my friend. I do too." And again I felt His love. But I also felt like for a moment I was encircled in the arms of my Savior. Like He was letting me know that He knew it had been a hard week and He knew I was really trying. And that He had sent this tender mercy to me to remind me that it was going to be okay. That I was doing okay. I'm so far from perfect and I have so many weaknesses but I know I am loved and that God is in the detail of my life...even if it something small like making sure I would have my temple recommend interviews with my current and former Bishops (though I genuinely love the other members of our Bishopric and stake presidency as well) and that I would have such an outpouring of the spirit in each meeting.
LESSONS LEARNED:
God is in the details of our lives.
We should always be worthy of and keep a current temple recommend.
There is not only peace and joy in the temple...even the process of qualifying for a temple recommend brings peace and joy and comfort.
I am so grateful for priesthood leaders and their love and concern for me and for my family. Both Chris and Brandon--Bishop Harding and President Carlson--are good men, valiant men, and servants of our Heavenly Father. They have both blessed my life through their service and example.
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