Much Needed Snow

24 Feb 2018

We heard on Monday, that one of our granddaughters, Sophia, broke her leg in her karate class. We're praying for a swift recovery. . .

It was fortunate, for us, that Monday was a holiday – since we had a big snow storm that day. We weren’t required to be out in it, so it was lovely.

Yesterday, though, was a different story. The forecasters seriously underestimated the amount of snow we’d get. The prediction was for 1-2 inches overnight – however, it snowed, big, wet flakes, all day long. As I walked to and from the temple yesterday, and later, to the Family History Library, I was grateful for a good coat and boots!

We had an AWESOME mission conference this week. Elder Kevin R Duncan, a general authority Seventy, and his wife, Nancy, were the guest speakers. They said that for the past five years their assignment has been in Central America.

Sister Duncan told a story about a time when she experienced miracle after miracle while trying to complete an assignment she’d been given for an upcoming conference. Everything she needed to know and every person she needed to meet seemed to just drop in her lap. (She said the best way to describe it was that it was as if someone else was driving the car and she was just along for the ride!) She was given a task that she was uncertain about, and the Lord put everything she needed in her path. And, she testified that Heavenly Father knows and loves each of us and he wants to bless us as we serve and follow Him.

Elder Duncan related an account from when the Honduras Temple was completed. During the open house, many area dignitaries were invited to view the temple. One day, the President of Honduras and his wife came for a tour. As they took them through each of the rooms, and explained about the purpose of the temple, they were very quiet. When they got to the celestial room, they didn’t want to leave – and sat in that room for 45 minutes, saying nothing. Then, as they proceeded on to a sealing room, the president said, “If only the people of my country could feel the kind of peace that is here, it would make all the difference.”

When they reached the sealing room and heard about families being sealed together for eternity, the president’s wife immediately knelt at the alter and said, “I want you to seal me to my husband right now!” Of course, that wasn’t possible, but it was impressive to hear their response to being in the House of the Lord.

The country of Honduras is filled with violence, and is fundamentally run by many different gangs (who are connected to the drug cartels and are at war with each other) rather than the government. Elder Duncan told of traveling with a stake president to visit some church members. On the trip, they crossed one of the invisible boundaries between gang turfs and the stake president told him, “Hurry. Roll down your window. Because they don’t know us, they will shoot and kill us if we don’t stop and talk to them.” Two men with weapons approached the window and asked what they were doing. The stake president explained that they were LDS and were going to visit church members. Whereupon, one of the men said, “Let me see your temple recommend.” Once they showed them, they were allowed to drive on. Elder Duncan said that sometimes, these “guards” have even felt along the chest area of people’s clothing to check for the line of a temple garment to determine if someone was telling the truth. (Evidently, they had learned to trust LDS travelers once they could prove they really were of our faith.)

What a blessing to have the peace the gospel brings! And, especially the peace of being in the Lord’s holy temple.