Each month we take our youth to the temple to do baptisms for the dead, and this month was a little extra special for me. All of the other Young Women leaders were unable to go last Saturday, so I had the chance to go with them myself as the only leader other than the Bishop. It was such a sweet experience enriched by the spirit. As we waited to go to do confirmations (which was about an hour because there were SO many people-they even ran out of clothes twice) one of the girls started to get a little anxious. So I went to sit by her and asked her a simple question. "Do you remember what you felt like the day you were baptized?" She thought for a brief moment and said, "Yes, of course I do. I was really excited and a little nervous." Then it was my turn to think... I then said, "Abbey, when I come to the temple to do work for the dead I try to clear my mind and think back to the day I did the ordinance for myself, I try to recreate those feelings so that I can be just as excited for those people who I am doing the work for. Because I strongly believe the House of the Lord is FULL of the spirits who we do the work for. Along with creating feelings of excitement and wonder I add reverence and most of all... I bear my testimony of the truth of the gospel to each one of the people who I do the work for. . . Maybe you should try that this time?"

We were both quiet for a few minutes as we pondered. 

From that moment on the spirit of the temple work, the spirit of the truthfulness of the gospel and Abbey's willingness to listen... wrought a change in her. She was completely reverent and at ease. She was really listening to the prayers as they were said and she was absolutely beaming when we finished. 

As I was the only female leader present I did the work with the girls and had a neat opportunity to spend some time in "heaven on earth". On the way home the Bishop was asking the girls how they felt, and they all said things like... clean, happy, refreshed and of course... hungry. Hahaha. These girls have my heart go out to them. I thanked them for living righteously so that we could take them to the temple, and then I told them how proud of them I am that they would get up early on a Saturday and give service to the Lord for a good part of the morning. I then said, "I want you guys to really think about the work you do in the temple. Do you realize that without you, those people who you were baptized and confirmed for would not be able to be saved? They would be stuck, trapped for all eternity unable to progress and unable to enter into heaven. Baptism is the first and most fundamental ordinance." Then I smiled and said, "Girls do you know what that means? That means you just became a hero! You have done something for those spirits that they could not do for themselves. And now that they have been baptized, if they choose to accept they can progress! There is a reason they are called the "saving" ordinances. Some of those people have been waiting for 30, 75, or 300 years! It only takes us 2-3 hours and we can save those souls!" 

All of the girls looked so excited as they digested what I said. One of my beehives said, "wow, I guess I've never thought about it that way. It would be a long wait." 

The spirit was super strong, and it was just SO inspiring to see these cute little girls leave behind the things of the Lord and be where they should be. The unity between them increases each time we go to the temple and I love watching them grow closer to the spirit and one another while we do the service there. 

I want to end by sharing a quick testimony that we as Children of God have great potential and as we glorify God and give all credit to him we will continue to humbled and become more teachable. It is when we do these things we can more fully obey the commandments and live up to our covenants. We do fall short of the Glory however I know we do have a mediator who is our Savior Jesus Christ, he completed the atonement and has given us the gift of that grace, enabling us to move forward and progress in joy and happiness. As we learn to obey we will truly be lifted up, picked up and encouraged to do what is right.

There once was a young woman who was completely happy with her life. She had a job (one that she didn't  really loved per say but it was a job) she had a supportive and helpful family who really encouraged her to do all that she could to succeed and push passed the limits she set for herself. . . she had a truck that she was madly in love with because it was a Royal Blue 1970 Custom 10 Chevy Pickup, and she had a plan for her life! What more could a girl want?

Yes, this girl was me.

What I wanted next was to prepare myself to go back to my summer occupation as a “challenging outdoor personal experience instructor” also known as C.O.P.E. One summer prior I had the neat opportunity to work for the BSA (Boy Scouts of America) at the Teton High Adventure Base in Wyoming. The lessons that I learned for myself were great, but the influence the inspiring beauty had on me was immense, the friendships I built were incredible, and the people I interacted with changed how I viewed a lot of aspects in life. Working with the BSA was not only fun but had its own challenges and rewards.

I’m sure there are many more stories to come later on from the land of the Tetons… stay tuned for more adventures. . .

While I was up at “camp” (yes we lived in tents for months at a time) I had a period off from work for a Holiday, so I invited some of my very close friends to come and visit. Among these friends was Tad, who was the older brother of a close friend. 

 As we enjoyed our activities we grew closer as friends and before we knew it, it was time for them to go home back to reality. If you have not caught on yet, Tad and I continued growing closer in our friendship. . . eventually we dated for a week then broke up because the timing was not right. Stayed close friends and grew even closer. 

 3 Months later we started dating once more, then progressed to courting...

 next we were engaged, 3 months after the engagement we were sealed (married) in the Temple. 

Then the real journey began....