Sunday was a pretty emotional day for me. I had my talk prepared for a while...(I'm kind of a psycho like that...have to be prepared or it makes me crazy!...(crazyer?) Then Sunday morning I woke up with a distinct feeling that i needed to go read in the "Our Heritage" book. So I went and found it and started thumbing through it...not exactly sure what I was looking for! Then I came across the part where it tells about Joseph Smith receiving the revelation about the Temple endowment. As soon as I read it, I knew that was what I was supposed to talk about. It talked about how they hadn't finished the temple yet but they wanted to have the blessing of the endowment before they had to begin their trek to Utah. They set up a room and dedicated it in the unfinished temple and started giving the Saints their endowment there. They worked night and day so as many people could receive this blessing as possible before they had to leave. They said this is what sustained them...the knowledge of God's plan for them and that they were sealed together as a family for eternity and that even death could not separate them now.
The thought came to me that we are on a similar journey...but ours is not one of physical hardships.
The challenges we face are the wickedness and temptations of the world. Satan is doing everything he can to have us. He is attacking the very strongest of our church because he knows of the good they will do. I have seen this personally as I watch people I have looked up to for many years falter and question the truth. We need now, like the pioneers, the strength and power that will sustain us and get us through these last days...and that power is found in the Temple. Satan knows that this is where we go gain this strength and that is why he tries so hard to keep us from the temple.
Anyway, I was kind of worried about changing my talk at this point (9:45) but I was having that feeling like when you are sitting in sacrament meeting and you know you have to bear your testimony (stomach doing flip flops, and heart pounding) so I decided I had better do it. As soon as I figured out what I would leave out of my talk so it wouldn't be too long and wrote down a few other thoughts, that feeling left me and I was pretty calm. I was able to give my talk (through lots of tears) but I was able to get through it. I don't think I have ever had the spirit work that strongly through me before. Kind of scares me when I think about it...perhaps it was to prepare me for challenges that are in my future, or maybe it was for someone in the ward. Either way, it has sure strengthened my testimony of the importance of temple work.