From President Thomas S Monson's talk on The Holy Temple during the April 2011 General Conference,

"My brothers and sisters, temples are more than stone and mortar. They are filled with faith and fasting. They are built of trials and testimonies. They are sanctified by sacrifice and service."



Why are we here?

Here is a wonderful quote from the April 2012 General Conference by President Thomas S Monson,

"In our times of deepest reflection or greatest need, the soul of man reaches heavenward, seeking a divine response to life’s greatest questions: Where did we come from? Why are we here? Where do we go after we leave this life?"

For answers to these questions, you can find them here.

This is a picture I took in the Kanarraville Creek slot canyon in southern Utah.

How Great Thou Art

Michelle and I just got back from a trip to Las Vegas for a training conference for work.  On our way there we stopped in Kanarraville, Utah to hike the canyon there.  When we were inside the canyon together and standing there in the creek looking up at the beautifully sculpted sandstone, these words came to mind,

O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made;
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

 

She said "YES!!"

This post is for my sweetheart.  You see, we have been married now for 14 years and in September it will be 15.  We have learned so much together and I am so happy that when I proposed to Michelle in June of 1997 that she said yes.  I tell her, "thank you for saying yes."  On that day she said yes to taking this magnificent journey here on earth and into the eternities with me.  For that I am eternally grateful that she is my companion on this amazing trip.  The picture I post today is of a little bed and breakfast in Midway, Utah.  Michelle and I have celebrated a couple of our anniversaries here over the years.  It works out great because it is such a beautiful setting to take such a beautiful woman.  Our anniversary generally coincides with Swiss Days up there so we are able to go and walk around the booths together to see all the different arts and crafts.  Spending time with my eternal companion and trying to make her happy is the greatest thing that I can do and brings about the greatest happiness for me.  I have changed a lot since getting married and all for the better I believe.  We do stuff together now that I would have never dreamed of doing as a single guy, but I find that it makes Michelle happy and that is what makes me happy.  We now are season ticket holders to Hale Theater and Broadway across America at Capitol Theater.  We watch period piece "chick" flicks together.  I now enjoy the arts and thanks to my wonderful wife's encouragement to do what I like and development my talents I have found a love of photography that I enjoy sharing with others.  I cannot wait for the many adventures that await the both of us as we grow old together knowing that we are sealed together for time and all eternity in the House of the Lord.

I love this quote by Germaine De Stael that states,

"Love is the emblem of eternity, it confounds all notion of time, effaces all memory of a beginning, all fear of an end."

Creation

Genesis chapter 1 verses 9-12 reads,

"9 ¶And God said, Let the ^awaters under the heaven be gathered together unto ^bone place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.

10 And God called the dry land ^aEarth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.

11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth ^agrass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.

12 And the earth ^abrought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his ^bkind: and God saw that it was good."

I am so grateful for such a beautiful earth that our Heavenly Father created for me and for all.  Everywhere you look, you can find the wonder of His creation.

Positive Attitude

I love this quote from President Thomas S Monson's First Presidency message in January 2012 when he said,

"We can’t direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails. For maximum happiness, peace, and contentment, may we choose a positive attitude."

This picture I took last year of the Bountiful Tabernacle.  This is one of the oldest LDS church buildings that is still in use today.  A beautiful building right in the heart of Bountiful, Utah.

Impact

In John chapter 15 verse 13 it reads, "Greater ^alove hath no man than this, that a man lay down his ^blife for his ^cfriends."  Daniel Lee Knapp did just that on December 29, 2011.  He gave his life to save another.  He entered dangerous waters to save a stranger and in turn gave up his own life.  He saw this person as a brother in the gospel of Jesus Christ and one who needed help.  He is a true hero in every sense of the word.
He was a special agent in the FBI and recently won a couple of great awards for his hard work and service in Puerto Rico.  Again, he was a hero to his country.

He was also a hero to his family, as he gave his kidney to his brother to save his life.  This band of brothers each standing there at each corner of his casket to carry his body to its final resting place.  A tribute to the fact that they are there for each other in this life and the next.

I only wish I could have known him better than I did because he was the type of person that many people would like to be.  He loved his Heavenly Father and you knew it.  He loved his fellow man and you knew it.  He loved life and you knew it.  He was prepared to return with honor to our Heavenly Father.  I am sure that as he passed through the veil and was able to run as a child runs to their Father and with open arms to embrace in a giant hug that he heard these words whispered in his ear, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant."  May we live our life that the same can be said of us and that we too can hear those same words and be reunited again with Danny.