A friend of mine shared some thoughts that have gotten me thinking.

She talked about how much she loves nature. She and her husband love to take walks outside (when they were younger, they hiked a lot). As for so many of us, she finds being in nature soothing to her soul.

For those of us who believe in Jesus Christ, He is found in nature. He is the Creator of the earth. He is the Creator and source of light in sun, moon, and stars. The peace we can find among His creations is His peace.

My friend built on this idea and made a spiritual connection to the notion of the tree of life. She explored the idea of staying at the tree — like the one mentioned in the Book of Mormon in Lehi’s vision of the tree of life.

The tree there represents Jesus Christ. To stay at the tree — to be a tree-hugger spiritually — is to stay by Jesus. That vision given to Lehi has many elements to it, and staying at the tree is one of the key protections against things like mocking voices and the shame that can come from listening to them. (I think about how easy it is to listen to shame from hamster-wheel thoughts in my own mind; I don’t need external mocking voices to feel toxic shame. Keeping Jesus close in my thoughts can help, especially when I remember that His voice is one of love and care and gentleness.)

Reflecting on my friend’s thoughts made me think of John 15 (see also Isaiah 27) about Jesus being the true vine. To truly stay by the tree is to be connected to Him as the Source of life (both now and forever). He is the Source of breath for our bodies. He is the One who makes resurrection possible for us all. His life as the True Vine showed us the Way, and His death (on a tree, as it is sometimes said) and resurrection made the Way for us to be forgiven and someday to return back to our Heavenly Parents.

My friend also talked about her love of family history. More trees to hug! I, too, love doing family history and discovering more about my family tree, and helping use the wonders of technology to build family trees in tools like FamilySearch and Ancestry. When I do family history, I feel like I sometimes can get a glimpse of how personally each of us is known to God. Even in a few records, I can learn more about a person — what they looked like, what their profession might have been, perhaps where they lived and how they died. When I find someone in the records who hasn’t yet been represented on a family tree, sometimes I stop and just say their name out loud. “I see you.” I sometimes wish I could give them a hug! But helping their stories be told feels like a way to show love for them. These people are not dead to God, and building family trees in records helps me remember that. Like in the Disney movie Coco (about el Día de los Muertos — a movie about family history!), they need not be dead to us. We benefit when we remember them and tell their stories (and let records help us do that).

For members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, building family trees in records also connects us to the temple. My friend talked about this, too — about the peace she finds in the rootedness of the temple. In the temple, sacred ordinances are performed to bind families together. The crowning ordinance performed therein is called the sealing ordinance — where husband and wife can be married for time and eternity — not just “until death do us part.” The authority to bind families together in this way was committed to Joseph Smith shortly after the dedication of the Kirtland temple when Elijah the prophet — the one who spoke anciently of hearts of fathers turning to children and children to fathers — came (just as other ancient leaders had done earlier to restore the power to baptize (John the Baptist) and to confirm the Holy Ghost (Peter, James, and John).

Once people receive temple ordinances for themselves (some of them symbolic of ordinances received in ancient times), then we can act as “proxies” for those who have passed on. In a favorite film of mine, called “The Mountain of the Lord,” President Wilford Woodruff is portrayed speaking to a newspaper reporter, who scoffed a bit at this idea of doing proxy work for the dead. I like how President Woodruff’s response to the reporter was represented.

“Many people believe in some form of vicarious work for the dead. The Atonement of Jesus Christ was a vicarious work. Whoever accepts Jesus as the Savior also accepts the principle of vicarious proxy.”

Since these ordinances require a physical body, we who have physical bodies act as proxy for those who do not have bodies anymore, as death separates body and spirit until the time of resurrection. And then those who have had ordinances performed on their behalf have the opportunity to choose to accept or reject them.

You can learn more about Jesus’ visit to the spirit world after His death (as referred to in 1 Peter 3:18-19), in Doctrine and Covenants 138.)

I love patterns and symbols, and appreciated my friend’s invitation to think about trees today, and all the many ways I can be a tree hugger.

The post Be a tree hugger! On earth and for heaven’s sake appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

The last General Conference was unprecedented in that the president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the prophet, Russell M. Nelson, announced that there would be 20 new temples built in various places all over the world.

Temples are important in the doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

“From the very beginning, there have been sacred places upon the earth where God has communed with His children. They were designated by God and hallowed by His presence as places where He would teach and bless His children. Many of these places are recorded in the scriptures….

“In addition to sacred places, the Lord also directed that sacred temples be constructed. (Exodus 26-27; 40:35; 2 Chronicles 5:1-14; 7:1-2; Ezra 3:1-13; 6:3; 2 Nephi 5:16; Mosiah 2-4; 3 Nephi 11:1–10; (Luke 2:40-49; Matthew 21:10-14)…The details varied, but the purposes of these temples remained consistent—they were places where the people sought to draw closer to God, participate in sacred ceremonies, and deepen their commitment to follow Him….

“Regardless of the time in history, a temple of God is the most sacred place of worship in the world — a place where heaven touches the earth, a place where marvelous blessings are bestowed, and a place where we can feel closer to our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and strive to become more like Them.”

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/temples/why-latter-day-saints-build-temples?lang=eng

On May 1, 2021, President Nelson announced another temple that will be built in Ephraim, Utah.

The post Yet another temple to be built appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

Following are a few other videos about temples in the Restored Church of Jesus Christ.

A video produced by the Church to explain more about the clothing worn in the temple.

This video includes perspectives from Church members, including Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, as well as those not of our faith who understand the ancient historical roots of temple worship in Biblical times, and of ordinances like baptism for the dead (as is mentioned in 1 Corinthians 15:29).

The post Inside the Rome Italy Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

It was a wonderful General Conference weekend! If you missed any or all of the conference, or just want to enjoy the messages again, there are multiple ways to do that.

See the April 2017 General Conference link for videos of all the talks on the LDS.org General Conference page. You can also listen to all the music from the General Conference sessions (such as the hymn that inspired the title of this post, “Rejoice the Lord is King!”).

You can also listen to/watch the April 2017 General Conference via the following links:

LDS General Conference YouTube channel

Mormon Channel YouTube channel

Transcripts will be available in a couple of days, and conference files will be available for the Gospel Library app shortly as well. (You can already access the Women’s Session on the Gospel Library App.)

We would love to hear what stood out to you from conference messages.

Messages about love, light, building on the simple foundation of the gospel plan and principles, faith not fear, and staying centered in Christ are some of the messages rolling around in my mind and heart. After hearing President Monson talk about the Book of Mormon, we started the book over as a family. I’m more committed to focusing on the good in the world and using social media in that positive way.

It was also exciting to hear about five new temples announced.

The post Rejoice! #LDSConf links appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

If you have ever wondered how a Mormon temple is built (the most sacred buildings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), this video is very informative.

You can also read this Mormon Newsroom article about Mormon temples.

The post The Process of Building a Mormon Temple appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

I have a very dear friend named Deanne Walker that I admire so much. She is a woman full of faith and perseverance. Her husband Doug is her equal in all things. They are parents of 18 children. They have nine biological children and nine that they have adopted. The adopted children are from different countries: the US, India and China. Eight of their adopted children have special needs such as a learning disability, a drug baby, a Down syndrome, one with mild Cerebral Palsy, one with moderate  Cerebral Palsy, Amniotic Bandind, a severe heart defect, and emotional and sexual abuse. They just lost their little three year old boy, Gideon following open heart surgery for the severe heart defect. He passed away on February 13^th, 2014.

All of these children have been sealed to them in the temple for time and all Eternity. They are an eternal family.

At this time they have three married children with 3 grandchildren, one of which was born on February 19^th. One son is home from his mission and going to school at BYU. Their biological children are mixed in between their adopted children. You will find that the older children are always helping the younger children. I love to watch them during our church’s Sacrament meeting. They take up an entire long pew about 3 – 4 rows back from the front.  You hardly ever see them take a child out. They are a very reverent family. Their children are polite, kind to others, very loyal and loving with each other.

Recently, while the parents were with their little son at the hospital, I had the opportunity to care for 7 of their children. A few of them I know well. It was an amazing morning. They were completely organized and had scheduled times for their morning activities. When relating this to my friend, she herself was surprised that they had organized their day so well. They all had chores and the home was in perfect order.  The oldest ones in charge were just incredible. Two of the older children made lunch and cleaned up afterwards. What a joy it was to serve them and especially to watch them serve one another.

One might ask why anyone would want to adopt that many children and especially children with special needs. I think as you read their family blog you will see how passionately they are about caring for and adopting children. You will feel their desire to raise a large posterity unto the Lord. You will walk the path with them as they go through the adoption process in China. You will learn of their challenges when picking their children up on China. You will read of their loving care for their special needs children.

You will read about each of their precious children and the love they have for each and every one. Their faith and testimony in the Lord Jesus Christ and the Plan of Salvation is firm and steadfast.

You will read the emotional account of the last day with their sweet little son Gideon that passed away in Primary Children’s hospital after open heart surgery on February 13^th. You will read of their testimony of life after death and of this son’s purpose in passing on.  They bear a strong testimony of Eternal Families. You will be greatly blessed as you read and follow their remarkable journey in raising a family such as this.

Here is their blog profile information:

We have been married for 27 great years. We have 18 children with 9 adopted and 9 biological. We have children from the US, India and China. We have been greatly blessed to be trusted to raise our Father’s children. Each one is unique and has their own strengths. We love to be together as a family and support one another. I wouldn’t trade what we have for anything in this world. It truly is “A Wonderful Life”.

Here is:  “It’s A Wonderful Life”.

Deanne wanted me to also share the following links. She States these links are mainly China centered but they address things in adoption in general, like what special needs there are and adoption stories. Three of their boys came through a program named, Love Without Boundaries. They aren’t an agency but a nonprofit organization that supports the orphans of China.

http://www.lovewithoutboundaries.com/
http://www.lwbcommunity.org/why-international-adoption-still-matters-2

www.nohandsbutours.com

http://www.rainbowkids.com/

– – –

LeAnn is a wife, mother to 6 children, 30 grandchildren and 1 great grandchild.  She is a lifelong member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She loved the occupation of nursing but most of all being a mother and grandmother.  She presently serves in the Jordan River Temple one day a week. She enjoys writing histories and pursuing her ancestors through genealogy research. She loves to enjoy the moments of her life. She blogs at Living Waters

The post It’s a Wonderful Life — a Mormon family and adoption blog appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

Al Fox, convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, shares some of her thoughts and testimony about the blessing and power of covenants, the temple, and the joy of living the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The post Al Fox: Stand, Be Not Moved appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

Hear more about Mormon temples and how temples differ from meetinghouses in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. See photos from inside a Mormon temple, and hear information about what we do different rooms in the temple.

The post About Mormon Temples appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

We’ve had a hard time keeping up with all the temple dedications and re-dedications that have happened, so today we’re going to try to make up for it a bit and share several links, as the 139th temple of The C’hurch of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Brigham City temple (in Utah, USA), will be dedicated. We hope these links can give an appreciation for what the temple means to Mormons. For more information, you can also read more about why Mormons build temples and what happens inside the temple. And learn more about how temples differ from the thousands of meetinghouses we have all over the world.

Open House: Inside a Mormon temple

Before a temple is dedicated, the public is allowed to tour the temple, to see what the inside of Mormon temples look like, and to learn a little more about the significance of temples in our doctrine and religious practice. You can see a slideshow of photos from inside the Brigham City temple here at the Mormon Newsroom. To learn more about the different rooms and their purposes, see this article.

Hear from an artist who helped create the mural in the endowment room in the Brigham City temple. Very often, the decor and art in the temple reflect the local heritage so that, as this artist explains, the temple will feel like home to the local people who worship there.

Mormon temple worship has ancient roots

Among the many thousands of people who visited during the Brigham City temple open house, American Jewish Committee (AJC) delegates toured the temple with Church leaders, including Elder Jeffrey R. Holland. There are elements of our doctrine of temple worship that bring a sort of kinship for us with our Jewish friends. Our beliefs about temples have ancient roots connected to Old Testament teachings. “[T]he Lord told the Israelites to build a portable tabernacle that would be their temple while they traveled in the wilderness (see Exodus 26-27; 40:35). Additional Old Testament references to temples are found in 2 Chronicles 5:1-14; 7:1-2 [and] Ezra 3:1-13; 6:3.” We also share a love for the prophet Elijah. (You can read more about his role in our beliefs here and here.)

Ancient records that are part of our canon of scripture talk about other ancient temples, such as the one built by Nephi, an ancient prophet. One of the most sacred events recorded in ancient scripture was the visit of Jesus Christ to people who had gathered — at the temple — in a land called Bountiful, as recorded in 3 Nephi 11 in the Book of Mormon.

The temple was also important to the Savior, Jesus Christ, and for us, the temple is a place where we can learn more about Him and His role as Creator, Savior and Redeemer of the world.  

This video explains more of the ancient roots of temples in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints:

Mormon Youth Celebrate the Temple

Last night, nearly 5,000 youth living in the area of the Brigham City temple participated in a cultural celebration — which has been a tradition for years in the Church. Youth ages 12 and up are able to enter a dedicated temple to participate in baptisms on behalf of those who have passed on (called baptisms for the dead, or proxy baptisms). These cultural celebrations allow the youth to recognize the history and heritage of their area and of Church members who have gone before them, making the blessing of a temple possible in their area. They also help the youth feel a connection to the temple.

The cultural celebrations always include a lot of music and dancing, with bright, colorful costumes, as well as historical narrative about the area. A temple dedication is a joyful time for Mormons!

Part of the cultural celebration included the creation of a mosiac mural of the Brigham City temple, which can be seen here. Testimonies of the artists of the different squares of the mosiac can be found in this document.

Here is a video clip about the Kiev Ukraine cultural celebration that captures some of what youth in that temple area did for their celebration. You can also hear some of their expressions of faith and gratitude as they had a temple built in their midst.

Read more about the Brigham City youth cultural celebration here, here and here (video is also available on that last link). You can see how the youth used social media to prepare for the celebration on the celebration blog.

Dedication of the Temple

Throughout the state of Utah today, there will be no regular church meetings today. (This will be a rare Sunday when LDS meetinghouses in Utah will not be open to the public.) Instead, Church members will attend one of three dedicatory sessions for the Brigham City temple. As explained in yesterday’s post, the temple dedication will include the singing and performing of sacred music, speakers addressing the dedication attendees (the dedication will be broadcast by closed-circuit satellite broadcast), a special dedicatory prayer offered by President Boyd K. Packer, acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, the singing of the hymn The Spirit of God, and the Hosanna Shout (read more about the history of temple dedications here).

Hosanna is a word from Hebrew that means “please save us.” As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints participate in this temple dedication, this becomes our plea to our Heavenly Father and to His Son, Jesus Christ. Again, the Hosanna Shout has ancient roots.

As explained in the LDS Bible Dictionary:

[Hosanna] is used in praise and supplication.

At the Feast of Tabernacles, which celebrated the Lord’s deliverance of Israel into the promised land, people chanted the words of Psalm 118 and waved palm branches. At the Lord’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem, the multitudes cried “Hosanna” and spread palm branches for Jesus to ride upon, thus demonstrating their understanding that Jesus was the same Lord who had delivered Israel anciently (Ps. 118:25–26; Matt. 21:9, 15; Mark 11:9–10; John 12:13). These people recognized Christ as the long-awaited Messiah. The word Hosanna has become a celebration of the Messiah in all ages (1 Ne. 11:6; 3 Ne. 11:14–17). The hosanna shout was included in the dedication of the Kirtland Temple (D&C 109:79) and is now a part of the dedication of modern temples.

The post Celebrating another Temple Dedication appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

Photo from Mormon Newsroom

Editor’s note: This is a question that we addressed a few years ago, but with recent temple dedications (or re-dedications, such as in Buenos Aires, Argentina), we thought some readers might be curious about what happens at a Mormon temple dedication. We’re reposting the information from this archived post. For more information about the significance of temples to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, see the website Mormon Temples, or see links to other articles on our site at the bottom of this post.  

After the construction on a temple is completed, the Church holds an open house so that anyone interested can walk through and see the inside of the temple, and learn a little more about what happens in temples and why temple worship is so important to us as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Once the open house is completed, a dedicatory service is held. The service includes the singing and performing of sacred music, discourses from Church leaders, and a special dedicatory prayer. Members of the Church ages 8 and above are given the opportunity to participate in the services. In a sense, we are presenting the temple — which for Mormons signifies one of the most sacred places on earth — to God and to His Son, Jesus Christ. We ask Heavenly Father to accept the temple and bless those who serve therein.

We bring white handkerchiefs to participate in what is one of the most moving and memorable parts of the service — the Hosanna Shout. This is a sacred moment for us, when we join our voices in unison, praising God and His Son, Jesus Christ. This is reminiscent of the praises voiced at the triumphal entry of the Savior (Matthew 21; Mark 11; John 12). There are also times in the Old Testament that are similar in this spirit of praise, where rejoicing was part of the sacred rituals of the tabernacle. We also see such sacred use of a cry of “Hosanna” when the Savior visited the American continent after His resurrection and ascension in Jerusalem, as recorded in the Book of Mormon.

Temple dedications have always been important to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. At the first latter-day temple dedication in Kirtland, Ohio,

“[h]undreds of Saints came to Kirtland for the dedicatory services; some traveled long distances to attend. There were nearly a thousand seats inside the temple, but many more people wanted to attend the dedication. The Prophet told the people who could not get seats in the temple to hold a separate meeting in the schoolhouse nearby, and the next Thursday the dedication service was repeated so these people could hear it…. [This illustrates the reason that multiple dedicatory sessions will be held, thus allowing many people the opportunity to participate in the sacred event.]

While the Kirtland temple dedication was more extensive than dedicatory services held today (it lasted over seven hours!), reading about it can give an idea of what happens each time a temple is dedicated:

The Prophet Joseph Smith read the dedicatory prayer, which had been given to him in a revelation. This prayer is recorded in Doctrine and Covenants 109. In the prayer the Prophet thanked Heavenly Father for the blessings he had given the members of the Church. Joseph prayed that the temple would be a place of prayer, fasting, faith, learning, glory, and order (see D&C 109:8, 16) and that those who came to the temple would grow in faith and wisdom (see D&C 109:14–15). He asked the Lord to accept the temple and make it a holy place (see D&C 109:4, 12–13). After the prayer the choir sang “The Spirit of God” (Hymns, no. 2), which had been written by William W. Phelps for the dedication of the temple. The congregation then…ended the service by giving the sacred Hosanna Shout: they raised their hands above their heads and shouted three times, “Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna to God and the Lamb, amen, amen, and amen.”

Temples are dedicated today following the pattern of the Kirtland Temple dedication. The prophet (or someone he chooses) gives the dedicatory prayer, “The Spirit of God” is sung, and the entire congregation gives the Hosanna Shout.

(All quotes above were taken from this lesson.)

For more information on our site about the topic of temples, see the following articles:

What can you tell me about Mormon temples?

What the Temple Means to Mormons

Why Mormons Build Temples

The post What happens at a Mormon temple dedication? appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.