Sunday Thoughts

I live within easy walking distance of the Mt. Timpanogos Temple but don't go there nearly as often as I could. I have greatly improved my efforts over the past couple of years and have made an effort to go there about once a month (though I missed last month) but I feel like something is missing for me because I still don't have a great, burning desire to go there.

So in an effort to increase my desire to go to the temple I have been reading books hoping to fill in the many gaps of my temple knowledge/understanding. It's a tricky business though because the temple is sacred, so we don't ever actually talk about things in detail outside the temple. Over the summer I have started reading The Holy Temple by Boyd K. Packer, but haven't finished it yet because I had to return it to the library before I was done, I read The Holy Secret by James L. Ferrell, A Heart Like His by Virginia H. Pearce and I just finished reading House of Learning by M. Richard and Kathleen H. Walker and am now reading Through His Eyes by Virgina H. Pearce.

Sadly, my reading retention is horrendous, so though I have enjoyed these books and felt inspired by them my actual take-away knowledge is minimal. This is part of the reason I prefer to own my books, so at least I can highlight passages and refer back to them when I need to refresh my memory (which is often)...but I digress.

The main thing I have learned from all of these books is that I need to open my heart to the spirit so that I am more teachable. I need to be more thoughtful about temple attendance and give myself time to sit in the chapel and think before my session rather than racing to change clothes and run into the session (which is what happened the last time I went, I barely made it into the session). It shouldn't be hard to do these things, but both require planning and effort.

 Here are some of my favorite quotes from House of Learning (which I own and have marked passages readily available).

"As we continually tried to condition our hearts, our ability to understand the spiritual meaning of the ordinances was greatly enlarged." page 4

"This challenge [to condition our hearts] requires constant attention and vigilance on our part to prevent the world from contaminating our hearts. In other words, every choice we make influences the spirituality of our hearts. The language we use, the clothes we wear, the places we go, the things we read and watch, are all taken into our minds and directly influence our hearts...The spiritual development of our hearts is controlled by the daily decisions we make. The world would oppose our spiritual development." page 6

"Those who go to the temple with hearts prepared will make themselves available to the impressions and personal experiences we all desire, even personal revelation." page 9

"Elder David A. Bednar explains: 'Please notice how the power of the Spirit carries the message unto but not necessarily into the heart...Ultimately...the content of a message and the witness of the Holy Ghost penetrate into the heart only if a receiver allows them to enter." page 78

**Thoughts??**

Comment Window Tidbit: Few things are as a wonderful as reading in the cozy and then drifting off into a luxurious Sunday nap!