I was just puttering around after work on Tuesday. I sat down on the couch and I may have even nodded
off while watching an episode of “How It’s Made” on Netflix. When I came to, there was a surreal light in
the sky. I got up and looked out the
window and said, “That’s weird.” The sun
was almost setting, and the last rays were reflecting off some clouds over the
city and off the mountains.
I grabbed my camera and rushed to the temple. I knew that I only had a few minutes to get
some fantastic photos. I really wanted
one that I could enlarge into a canvas print, like some I saw at Peach
Days. I wanted to buy one, but not for
$325. So, here are the photos that I
took on the first day the temple was in operation. The scene was stunning. Another mini-miracle for me of the grandeur and
beauty of the Lord’s House and the incredible blessing of having it here in Brigham City.
I also thought this would be a good blog to summarize my thoughts and feelings about the temple and the dedication.
I was reflecting on the experience during the week and wondering how the temple has changed me. Sometimes I still drive by the temple and think it can't be real, but there it is, right on Main Street!
On Monday and Tuesday after the dedication, I made significant progress at work on a problem that has been vexing me for some time. It was one of those serendipitous moments when I think, yeah! But, then I realize I must have had a higher power helping me, because I know the inspiration came from beyond me.
The inspiration and power that is manifest in my life is the reason I keep going to the temple to worship and make covenants with my Heavenly Father. His Spirit blesses my life and my family.
The temple reminds me of the analogy of the pearl and the box. This story has been told a number of times in General Conference. It goes like this:
There’s
an ancient oriental legend that tells the story of a jeweler who had a
precious pearl he wanted to sell. In order to place this pearl in the
proper setting, he conceived the idea of building a special box of the
finest woods to contain the pearl. He sought these woods and had them
brought to him, and they were polished to a high brilliance. He then
reinforced the corners of this box with elegant brass hinges and added a
red velvet interior. As a final step, he scented that red velvet with
perfume, then placed in that setting this precious pearl.
The
pearl was then placed in the store window of the jeweler, and after a
short period of time, a rich man came by. He was attracted by what he
saw and sat down with the jeweler to negotiate a purchase. The jeweler
soon realized that the man was negotiating for the box rather than the
pearl. You see, the man was so overcome by the beauty of the exterior
that he failed to see the pearl of great price.
In my interpretation of the parable, the temple is the box; beautiful, brilliant, polished, and of the highest quality. We admire the temple for these things, but the most important thing, the pearl, is what is in the temple and that is the Spirit of God.
In the temple, we make covenants with our Heavenly Father that will allow us to return to him with our families. That is His plan, made possible through the life, mission, teachings, atonement and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ. Temples direct our thoughts and actions heavenward, to Them. The "box" is wonderful, but the "pearl" is most important.
