What's a Family?

My Primary kids are awesome!  On Sunday we were talking about what makes a family.  When I asked them "What is a Family?"  I got some awesome answers

 Families are people who eat dinner together.
Families are a group of people who love each other.
Families are people who fight with each other.
Families are people who see movies together.
Families are people who go swimming together.
Families pray together.
Families are people who buy you things.
Families are people who are happy to see you when you come home.
Families are people who love you even if they are mad at you.
Families are people you want to play with.
Families are the people you love more than ANYTHING!
FAMILIES ARE FOREVER!

Noisy World

Have you noticed how noisy the world is?  People and things are ALWAYS shouting.  Music shouts, movies shout, TV shouts, people shout.  It feels like everything is loud.  The problem is... the Spirit is quiet.  

In the past 4 weeks, I have had to COMPLETELY rely on the Spirit.  Being a Primary President is hard.  Especially in a new ward where you don't know people.  To get anything accomplished, I've had to rely on my counselors, my bishopric, and most importantly the Spirit.  But, like I said, the problem is that the world is loud.  The Spirit speaks in a still, small voice. 

How do I quiet down enough to hear the Spirit?  The temple.  Every time I walk through the doors of the temple I look up.  I read the words written over the door..."Holiness to the Lord, The House of the Lord" and the world quiets.  I remember the calm I felt the first time I walked through those doors (4 short months ago), and I can think.  I can be the Primary President.  I've never had an easy time focusing, but when I'm in the temple, I can focus.  I can hear.  I can listen.

Angels to bear me up

There are times... especially now, when I know I can't do it by myself. 

It's good to know that I don't have to.

The Temple...FINALE

Christmas 2012 came and went without too much fanfare.  I just couldn't get in to the spirit of it this year.  My whole being was focused on the Temple.

December 26th, there was a MASSIVE snow storm.  We had more snow that day than we'd had all year.  I knew that the next day was going to be hard, but I was determined.  I wasn't going to let ANYTHING get in my way.  

December 27th came with snow.  My parents picked me up at 7:00 a.m., and we were off.  The roads were horrible and I just knew that my brothers and sisters were going to struggle to get there.  I did NOT however doubt that they would get there.  My eye was on the Temple.  

I was apprehensive.  I didn't really know what to expect.  I believed that I was ready.  I had faith that I was doing the right thing, but I was apprehensive. 

We got to the temple and I was shaking like a leaf.  My Dad dropped us off at the front and then went to park in the covered parking.  I walked up to the front doors with my Mom and stopped.  I looked up and read these words...

Brigham City Temple...Holiness to the Lord, The House of the Lord

In that moment, I was calm.  I took a deep breath and entered the Temple. It was the single greatest day of my life.  And I assure you that I'm not exaggerating or overstating.

I didn't want a big fuss with photos, but my friend Lara made me pose for this one.  And I'm thankful...

Jen, ME, my Mom, and my Dad

  It was the BEST day.
    

The Temple, Part Deux

Okay, yes, the conclusion that I came to in my last post was big, but that's not why I put a hold on the post.  I stopped writing because I had to leave to go and visit my sister-in-law who just had a baby.  Scarlett Emilie Seamons was born on April 10th at 2:30, she was nearly 8 lbs and about 19 inches long.  That's 15 nieces and nephews for me. 

Okay, back to the post at hand...

The Harrisville 4th Ward gave me time to think.  One of the first things that my Bishop asked me was "are you endowed?"  When I told him I wasn't, he told me that it was his goal to get me there.  I took that with a grain of salt, just like I had countless times before.  Bishop Hadley, however, could not be swayed.  He wasn't about to "give up on me" until I was there.  His gentle insistence made me actually take the Temple Prep class this time with a mind open and receptive to what I needed to hear.

This time when I took the Temple Prep class, it was like a light turned on.  The material wasn't new, the teachers (though they were amazing) were not telling me things that I didn't already know, but the time was right.  I knew, from the first class, that it was time for me to get to the temple.  

I went though that class and drank in every word.   The problem was that the class ended and I had to make the next move.  That part, I'm not so good at.  The next few months were...difficult... to say the least.  As my friend the Bishop said, "Satan never wants you to progress."  I was second guessing myself right and left, I was finding excuses not to go to church, I was just an unhappy person.  I went to the Open House and Dedication of the Brigham City Temple, and felt nothing.  I just assumed that now still wasn't the time...even though I was still going through the motions.  

The bishop called me in and asked me to pick a date.  So I picked the week between Christmas and New Year's because that is when my sister would be in town, and no matter what, I was going to have my whole family in the temple with me.  Period.

Well, a week wasn't actually a day, and this went on for another few months.  Then came Thankgiving.  My sister-in-law Johnny kind of backed me in to a corner.  She said that there were two days that Matt could come to the temple and that I should pick one.  Well, the first day, December 26th, was the day that Emily was going to be in town, so I didn't really have a choice... It was either the 27th of December or I wouldn't have all my siblings in the Temple with me.

Okay, okay, I know that sounds like a lot of drama, but it was perfect.  The minute I made that choice, things just fell in to place.  It was like there was a shift in my world.  All of a sudden things made sense.  I didn't grumble when I paid my tithing, I didn't fall asleep during my prayers, I looked forward to going to church... I felt closer to the Spirit.  I can't say that I still wasn't apprehensive, but I had a date, I had an appointment, and I was going to the Temple.  Finally.

The Temple

Nearly 13 years ago, I came back to church after a pretty long absence.  I was bound and determined that this time it was going to stick.  In the 10 years I had been "less active" I had gone to church a few different times for a few different reasons, none of them the right ones.  But 13 years ago, I went back and it stuck.  There was no turning back.  

I hadn't thought about the temple until my friend who was in the bishopric at the time asked me to take the temple prep class.  And wow, was that ever the wrong time.  I don't think I even went to all the classes.  So fast forward a few years and I was temporarily living with my parents.  The Draper Temple was about to be dedicated and I wanted to attend the dedication.  It was the first time that the dedication would be broadcast to the meetinghouses, and I was truly intrigued.  Besides, I was teaching primary at the time (7 & 8 year olds) and we had talked about the dedication at length.  I needed to be there.  

So I went to my bishop for a dedication recommend.  He was shocked to find that I wasn't endowed.  He just assumed that I was.  He told me that he would like me to start the process of receiving my endowment.  I still didn't feel ready, but I told him I would.  So I thought about it, and prayed about it, and didn't really get an answer.  My bishop even had my parents give me the Temple Preparation class, and I still dragged my feet.  I spent two years living with my parents, and moved to Harrisville.

I think that when I moved in to that ward...the Harrisville 4th Ward... the Lord knew what he was doing.  Well, OBVIOUSLY  he knew what he was doing.  First thing, he put me in a calling that could have done in my sleep...and sometimes did.  At first, I was cranky about it, and really, it wasn't until this minute that I realized what he was doing.  He was letting me concentrate on preparing myself for the Temple.  My head is usually a mass confusion of right brained weirdness, so he let me concentrate on my preparation without distractions.

Hold on, I need to take some time with this... 

WHAT?

You know how life is... you go on your merry way, thinking that you are happy and content with the way things are and BAM! you get called as the Primary President.  SERIOUSLY.  The call came on Thursday, and today is Wednesday and I haven't jumped off a bridge yet. 


So here it is, my first blog post and I'm all over the place.  I'm not sure who I'm going to invite to read this blog, so far it's just for me.  Right now, it's about my journey as Primary President in this new ward, but it could turn in to any number of things... or nothing at all.