A Life Changing Event

For those of you who read this and are not members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (or you might know as Mormons) then this could be kind of confusing for you. My day and what happened and the realizations I came to happened in the temple, the house of the Lord. Inside the temple sacred things are done like; the marriage/sealing of two people and families for all eternity, work for the dead, and other very sacred things. Any questions about those things find one of those guys in the white shirts and ties and name tags – they can help you out!! :D

Now to enter the temple you have to be worthy and clean and pure. Clean of sin and hold a temple recommend. To get one of those you have to go through an interview with a church leader. Oh you also have to be a member of the church to go into the temple.

Now a little background on me so you understand maybe a bit more why this was such an experience for me.

Before today I cannot remember the last time I have gone into the temple and done work there worthy and with a worthy temple recommend since 8th grade. I know, that’s a long time for me.

I have not been myself lately. I have been a bit on the depressed side and stressed and just worried about every little thing in my life. I just feel that even though taking my trials as blessings has helped, but I have just been too weak to even know how to do anything. My nutrition has been bad, bits of depression have appeared in my life, and just my life style has not been the best for me lately.
Along with my trials I have had issues with people giving me service, I guess a bit of a pride thing, that I, I just couldn’t let anyone help me. This was mine and mine alone to deal with. Don’t help me with food, money; washing clothes, or anything, I can do it myself. I just couldn’t let other serve me, I didn’t need help, and they didn’t need to get dragged into my mess.

My roommate, Alisha, and I had planned to go to the temple today a week ago. We got a later start then we wanted to and when we got up there we were told it would be a 3 hour wait and that didn’t sound too good to us because we had homework and things that we needed to get done today. We considered not going and coming back later in the week. We talked about it and decided to talk to the other temple worker in the right part of the temple, since we went through the wrong door. We were there told an hour and a half wait and again considered it and I said yes we should so we did. That was the best decision that I think I had ever made.

To me I was thinking I have worked and waited so long to enter into the temple worthily and I KNEW that I needed to be there more than anything.

I had never felt the spirit so strong there, it such a change and different feeling being there when I actually am worthy to be there and do the work there. The temple is such a wonderful beautiful place, and I plan to go back every week while I am up here at school.

Sitting there in the temple I prayed and asked for help, I asked for guidance, and I prayed for those I love and for those things I was thankful for. I read my scriptures and I also read some church articles that became very close to my heart.

After I had changed into my white jumper I looked in the mirror, I saw myself dressed in white and felt so wonderful then saw my face and how much the world was shown on it from the makeup I was wearing. I don’t ever need to wear makeup like that. The scripture 3Nephi 13: 28 “And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the alilies of the field how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin.” Lilies are as they are, they don’t need anything added onto them to be beautiful. I am beautiful the way that God made me, I don’t need the ways of the world to make me who I am, I am who I am and I am beautiful to him.

After leaving the temple and spending 3 wonderful hours there I felt so much better about everything. I did not go straight to my room and lock myself in there; I went there to sit down and try to pull something out for my speech in my communications class. I had been working all week and just couldn’t get anything down for it. It came to me, my topic sentence and the 3 points. I was happier as well, bouncing around helping people out with things they were doing, and for the first time in a LONG time, loving m y life and smiling inside and out.

As I went to change out of my nice clothes I had realized that “Mt. dirty clothes” was missing. Basically I was out of clean clothes, everything of mine was dirty and I was starting to hand wash things in the bathtub again. I realized that my roommate Cathy had taken all my clothes home to wash them. I almost started to cry, I felt so blessed, and she didn’t have to do that.

I talked to my mom as well today, and remembered the promise I made to her on Friday that I would go to the store and buy some food. I was a bit scared but I went. I thought about the things I NEEDED but then thought that I needed food no matter what. I needed some fruit so I got some grapes, and I needed some veggies so I got carrots and spring mix. I got some sausage to put into the Mac and cheese I bought, because well, that’s a lot better than how I have been eating, and it’s a bit better of a meal for me as well. I got some bread and turkey and cheese and well a few other things as well. For a little snack I even got myself some PB cup ice cream and I got wheat thins as well. I was scared that what I got would bust my bank account, that I just didn’t have the money for it. But I as well had confidence that the Lord would provide for me, he would take care of me. I spent under $100. And I also bought something special to make for my roommates for how wonderful they have been to me through my really hard time.

My heart is full today. My life is greatly blessed. My eyes that have been over shadowed by darkness and just getting through with the hope of light, have been lightened and I really truly can see the light again.

In my search for and the progress of becoming the person I am supposed to be, the better daughter of God, the better dispel, the person that I know I am, the girl and the job that I was sent here to do, I know I have taken that next step. I worthy myself to enter the temple and I am living my life in the way to stay that way that I can go back each week. Adding the temple back into my life is just what I needed, and not only that but the feeling of finally being worthy to be in there and doing the work for the dead after 6 years was the most amazing thing in the world

I guess it really comes down to the fact that I cant 100% describe the true feeling and emotion and spiritual aspect of what happened today, but I know what happened. The feeling in my life, I know that I am again who I am supposed to be, and I will not stop being this person. I never want this feeling to go away again. My testimony of the temple grew today, the things that people always say about them, I experienced them. By just being worthy to be in there and holding a temple recommend I got without lying to get made a world of difference in being there and what experience I had.



<3 Erin Christina