Sunday, October 31, 2010

A Spirit-Filled Weekend

This was the best Halloween weekend ever.

Did I celebrate? Not in your usual fashion. (That's what I love best about this holiday being on Sunday!)

We had Stake Conference this weekend, so I spent Saturday night and most of Sunday in meetings.  Wonderful meetings. Spirit-filled meetings. Meetings where I received personal revelation and insight about my life and what my Father wants me to do. Meetings and experiences so wonderful that I came home with a heart full to bursting with happiness. Indescribable happiness ...

I made a few insightful observations this weekend. Here are the two I feel ok with sharing...

First, I witnessed a scripture in action as Bishop McMullen from the Presiding Bishopric of the Church taught us in our meetings.  From Moroni 6: "And their meetings were conducted by the church after the manner of the workings of the Spirit, and by the power of the Holy Ghost; for as the power of the Holy Ghost led them whether to preach, or to exhort, or to pray, or to supplicate, or to sing, even so it was done."  And can I just say, this opens the door to revelation more rapidly than anything else I have ever experienced!

Second, I observed what the temple can do for us.  As I sat on the stand with the choir before the Annual Temple Workers Devotional today, I noticed something very unusual. By five minutes to the hour (when the meeting was supposed to start), everyone present was in their seats, quietly listening to the prelude music. Most meetings are preluded (is that a word???) by joyous visiting and talking and general cacophony. Temple workers sit in silent expectation, allowing the Spirit of the Holy Ghost to enter the meeting before the opening remarks. That is what the temple does for us. It teaches how to open our minds and hearts to revelation. It refines our spiritual selves so that we differentiate between the time for visiting and the time for quiet reflection. It elevates our hearts and minds to the things of heaven, and allows us to see the world from the perspective of the grand, eternal Plan of Salvation instead of just the mountainous temporal to-do lists.

Working in the temple is one of the best things I have ever chosen to do.

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