highlight of my week

i got to go here on thursday with jen and it was so nice. even though we got there right after two youth groups and were there for two and a half hours, it was so nice. after a crazy week, it felt so good to just sit and think of the important things in life and not feel like i had to worry about school or money or my future just then. it's a chance for me to communicate with my heavenly father and be in the world but not of the world.

i am seriously so blessed to be SO CLOSE to a temple. here, even if i had to walk, it would probably only take about twenty minutes. some people don't even have a temple in their country, let alone their city! i feel absolutely awful that i haven't taken advantage of it more but, i promise, from now on, i will.

i feel like i've heard a lot in church and general conference and the church magazines about temple attendance in the last few months and i've felt horrible cause i've always been slacking in that area. but something we talked about in relief society one sunday completely changed my thought process. we were talking about the pioneers and how much they suffered and how supposedly we were saved for this time because we were strong enough. this whole time i'm thinking, are you kidding me? there's no way i could pull a freaking handcart across the freaking united states of america. but then someone pointed out how it was their calling and duty to establish the church and bring it across the plains and how we have a duty as well- to attend the temple and do the Lord's work. how hard is that?! people risked their lives to cross the plains in the dead of winter, losing all their possessions and loves ones and i can't even find time in my oh so busy schedule to go two minutes up the road and spend maybe just two hours in a nicely temperatured building and serve others?! i needed to make a change in my life and now was the time to do it. i hope i can redeem myself for the few and far between times i have been over the years.