Pitching Our Tents Towards the Temple

This semester, I'm taking a Family History class. I honestly picked it because I found it slightly interesting, but mostly because I thought it sounded easy, and the rest of my classes had a pretty heavy workload. However, as the semester has rolled on by, I've realized how much I really do love Family History, and how very important it is for the work to be done. I don't think I'll ever be one of those "Family History Junkies" where that's all I do with my life, but I just find it neat to see my ancestors, what they did with their lives, and know that I was related to them.

However, as great as all this is, we've started talking about the temple in our class, and I have been absolutely glued to my seat every single class we have each week. I am so enamored with the temple, and I can't wait until it's my turn to go inside one day for my own. I've been thinking a lot about how everything we do here in life, and especially with family history as I'm finding out, points to the temple, leads us to the temple, and guides us to the temple.

I've watched so many videos this past week or so for my class on "Pitching Our Tents Towards the Temple". Many have brought tears to my eyes as I watch, just because I feel the Spirit so strongly, telling me that these buildings are eternally significant. They aren't just there for fun, for a beautiful architecturally different building, or a good place to go take pictures, but they're there for families. They're there for us.

I have started working on cutting out distractions from my life (limiting my time on Facebook, Pinterest, watching movies, etc) and replacing that time with watching General Conference talks. It has brought such an amazing feeling, and even a power, into my life, that I can assume only comes from living closer to the Spirit and striving towards making going through the temple your priority.

I also thought of the song that we would sing so often in Primary, "I Love to See the Temple", but the lyrics have never hit me so hard, or rang as true to me as they have this past week. Those lyrics are beautiful, especially for those who are making preparations to go through the temple one day. I'm so glad they taught us those songs in Primary, but I'm even more grateful for them now, because of the wonderful meaning and spirit it brings when I think about them.

"I love to see the temple,
I'm going there someday,
to feel the Holy Spirit,
to listen and to pray.
For the temple is a house of God,
a place of love and beauty.
I'll prepare myself while I am young.
This is my sacred duty."

"I love to see the temple,
I'll go inside someday,
I'll covenant with my Father,
I'll promise to obey.
For the temple is a holy place
where we are sealed together.
As a child of God, I've learned this truth:
A family is forever."