The Blessing of Temples and of the Holy Ghost

27 Jan 2018

I forgot to mention last week that I and some other missionaries in our zone have started entering the metadata for oral genealogies from Ghana. The transcriptions have already been done before we get the files, then, we enter the data needed for the info to be searchable online. We’ll be working on oral genealogies from other countries as well, but, right now, it’s only Ghana.

One of our church service missionaries (who lives here in SLC), Sister Contreras, told us the sweetest story this week. She has been in the U.S. for more than 20 years but developed some severe anxiety issues after she got here. For example, she was afraid (terrified, actually) to drive on busy roads or highways. This meant that her children often missed out on things because she wouldn’t drive them. She also would not ride in elevators - and sometimes her husband would have a special event at work that he wanted her to attend, but if it involved an elevator she wouldn’t go. (Usually, he just stayed home as well rather than go without her.) For years she prayed for help to overcome this problem. Then, one day, she was in the temple and the spirit whispered, “Today’s the day.” So, even though she was afraid, she said, “Okay. I will do.” That evening was a special event at her husband’s work and he had decided not to attend because they would have to use an elevator. She convinced him it would be okay, and they went. After they got there, they heard an announcement that President Thomas S. Monson was going to be there. She was able to be at the front of the line and Pres. Monson spoke with her, one-on-one, and allowed her husband to take a picture of the two of them together. She was thrilled and felt this was an unexpectedly wonderful reward for overcoming her fear. She expressed her gratitude for the gift of the Holy Ghost to help her overcome the debilitating anxiety that had held her captive for so long.

Now, she will drive on busy roads and she uses an elevator every day that she serves here in our mission. What a blessing the Holy Ghost is! He comforts and aids us in more ways than we sometimes know.

We are missing having the Salt Lake Temple open. It’s closed for three weeks for winter maintenance. Of course, it’s nothing like having the Raleigh Temple closed. Ours is only closed three weeks – not a year and a half – and, we have several other temples within an easy distance that we can go to in the interim. I think the next closest temple to Raleigh is in Columbia, SC - about a 3.5-hour drive. It’s so much harder, now, for everyone in the Raleigh area to get to the temple. But, it will be glorious when the work is completed!

We enjoyed time in the Bountiful Temple yesterday. Then, last night, we got to hear a performance of the BYU Chamber Orchestra. Every year, from Jan – Apr, accomplished BYU students come to Salt Lake City for a set of performances called “Winterfest” - at the Conference Center Theater (just across the street from us.) Next month we have tickets to see ballroom dancers one night and another night, a group called Living Legends (with authentic Latin American, Native American, and Polynesian costumes, singing and dancing).