Blog cleanse day 5: Seoul Korea Temple

We have had so many amazing experiences at the temple since we have moved here. I love to see the temple, i love to go to the temple, i love being there with my family. love love love.

the first saturday of every month we all go to the temple as a family. It is our district's temple day, where the workers in the temple are from our district and the work is done in english. There is a house right next to the temple that they open up for people to use and we all bring our children and everyone takes turns babysitting, and the teenagers do baptisms. etc. The younger kids have fun all playing together. Then after, we all walk (we are in downtown Seoul) and go somewhere yummy to eat.

Dave and I have always gone to the temple once a month, but now going as a whole family has really been so awesome.
I love the Korean members here. I love their dedication to the Lord. The picture above reminds me of that. The temple is usually closed on Monday, but Monday was the only day that a group of members from Japan could come. Among them some of our good friends. The space available flight from Misawa AFB flies in Monday and flies out Tuesday morning. It is cheaper for them to fly here than to travel to the Tokyo temple. So, the korean temple workers all came and opened the temple just for our small group of 15 (i came too). The plane was late and we got there a couple of hours later than expected. It was so nice to walk up and the worker opened the door to welcome us all dressed in white. How warm and welcoming they were. How gracious and kind. How strong the spirit was. It is like you are enveloped in a big warm embrace from your Heavenly Father when you enter the door. It is like going home. We really are strangers on this earth. It is like being away at college. How wonderful the feeling of going home is. So comfortable, so safe, so full of love. When the Korean worker prayed in English so humbly and with so much love, I couldn't help but cry. There is no place better on earth than the temple.

As a part of youth conference over Christmas break the kids went to the temple. The next day at church Jacob got up and shared his feelings about the temple. He said that he had never felt the spirit so strong as he did that day as he walked outside and everything was covered in snow so beautiful and white. He had one of those moments when the holy ghost truly bears witness to your heart that Heavenly Father really is real, that there is a plan for this life, that there is a reason why we follow the commandments even though it is hard sometimes. Those moments we never forget, and strengthen us to have the courage to continue living the gospel of Jesus Christ. I really challenge you to take your teenage children to the temple once a month. It will be the best decision you have ever made as a parent. Nothing will help them more to stay strong in a world that is growing increasingly immoral. When we were in AZ it was our kids favorite. They loved it more than anything. Just them and us, the temple, and out to dinner after. Your relationship with them will get stronger too. There is great power in the temple, as well as the scriptures.

Do you remember this ensign cover from September. We had just gotten in the mail right before we were moving and I brought it with me. When we moved into our house here Leah saw it and asked, "Are we getting the Korean Ensign now?" Too funny. What is crazy is come to find out this couple is Korean, and guess what? This is our new temple President and his wife, as of November. His name is President Song. I met with him in December when I was called to be a temple worker. Meeting with him and then having him place his hands on my head and set me apart as a temple worker was one of the most beautiful and memorable experiences of my life. He was speaking in Korean, so I didn't even know what he was saying, but I felt so completely his priesthood power and authority from God. If you don't know what I am talking about, let me try to explain, because it is one of the most amazing things. When you are asked or we believe called by God to serve in some way in our church no matter what it is whether you are a bishop or a nursery worker, when you are set apart (a blessing given to you by someone who has the priesthood) you are given the ability and the authority to do whatever you have been asked to do. I felt it the most in harder callings that I have had like being a missionary, or Relief Society president. I felt it the most then, because they were so out of my normal ability to be able to do. But being set apart to do so, it is like another one of those super powers that I keep talking about lately. You are yourself, but you are magnified in your abilities, if that makes sense. It was really hard to be released from these callings (another blessing by someone with the priesthood) because you really notice those gifts and abilities leaving. It is a bummer to lose the extra spirit and help that you have. You start thinking you really are that amazing person only to realize, oh dang, Heavenly Father just needed me to be that great to do all that He needed me to do.

I am already feeling that that will be the case with being a temple worker. I served in the temple as a worker for the first time this month. It was one of the best days of my life. To administer such sacred ordinances that prepare people to return to our Heavenly Father's presence and be together with their families forever filled my whole soul with light and love.

The temple is for everyone. Learn how to get there here

if you haven't already.

I can't wait to go next month.