Flames and Faith

I was saddened by the fire that burned the Provo Tabernacle the other day. However, as the clean up begins an intriguing story came out. Apparently the image of Jesus Christ from the classic picture of Second Coming of Christ did not burn even though everything around it went up in flames. Some are calling it a "Christmas Miracle". I don't see it quite that way. Still, it DID serve to remind me that even when it feels like our lives are going up in flames with all the problems of this fallen mortal world, so long as we stay focused on our faith in Jesus Christ we will be able to endure.

Christmas on Temple Square

My beloved and I are in Salt Lake for a holiday get away. Tonight we walked all over Temple Square seeing the magnificent light display and then walked through the visitor center. We watched several of the short films about various stories of the Book of Mormon. We also walked through the Tabernacle - and that's where the spirit hit me hard.

We were there during a down time so there wasn't anything particular going on. No concert. No speaker. Still, just being there in this amazing historical building where every prophet since Brigham Young has had an opportunity to speak felt signficant. I could feel the cumulative truth of the words that have been spoken in that room so strongly I could not help but weep. As I stood there looking up at the amazing pipe organ I thought of different talks I have heard from various conferences over the past 30 years and felt all over again a deep strength from that council that has sustained me and guided me in so many ways.

Too often I get into a rut in my church activity...going through the motions of leading a reasonably righteous LDS life, but losing sight of the power that is the core truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Yet every now and then I have these peak spiritual experiences when I feel the presence of God in my life in such an undeniably tangible way. I have these sacred opportunities to feel the witness of the Holy Ghost bearing the absolute truth of the teachings to my mind and heart in a manner that awakens my spirit with a sense of coming home. That's when I am reminded all the way to my bones of why I am trying in my fumbling mortal way to follow these teachings.


As we stood before the Christus statue I was able to spend several minutes in quiet reflection, and I was impressed with some answers to prayers that have been in my heart for several weeks. I was humbled by the certainty of the reality of the atonement, and of an overwhelming sense of the Savior's love.

I know that I will continue to cycle in and cycle out of feeling this special sort of closeness to my Heavenly Father. There will still be times I will get caught up with the concerns of every day life and be consumed with things of this world. But I also know that there will be a part of me that will hold on to this moment, just like I do other similar sacred witnesses I have felt over the years. Times like this carry me through to help me always remember the Gospel of Jesus Christ is true and that I am a child of God. It's real.

What a special gift to get this Christmas season...such a fierce reminder of why we have Christmas at all. It's not just a charming story. It happened. Thank you Heavenly Father for giving me these moments. Help me hold on to them. Help me not forget.

Finding Kindred Spirits

I just stumbled on a new blog that I am VERY impressed with.

It is We Seek After These Things

It is a group writing project by some valiant women who aim to keep the spirit in their lives. You can bet I will be going back there again to do more reading of earlier posts. Already I can tell there are some real gems there!