The wedding

was absolutely wonderful. I wish I had time to write about it now - the beautiful spirit of the temple ceremony, the joy of having all of my loved ones gathered around me, the way my heart jumped when I looked into sweet Brandon's eyes and the sealer pronounced us as husband and wife for all eternity, the gorgeous reception, and most of all, the sweet love I witnessed everyone sharing with each other that day. It was truly heavenly. 

Someday when we finish unpacking and taking midterms, I'll write more. But for now, just look at the pictures our sweet friend Jennifer voluntarily took. I think they express the day much better than my words ever could. 

And for everyone who has showered their love upon us, thank you, thank you, thank you.

Why I'm Getting Married in the Temple: The Doctrine of Eternal Marriage

Image found here.

It is difficult for those outside the Mormon faith to understand our marriage customs - why we are so anxious to get married and start our families, why our marriage ceremony takes place inside a temple that only authorized members of the Church may enter. I hope to help explain why we do these things and share the beautiful truths I have learned about the covenant of marriage. 


The temple is a place where very special, sacred ordinances take place. In order to enter, one must be willing to make very big promises, commitments to change one's lifestyle and fully dedicate oneself to the Lord. The temple is not a secret - we want everyone to attend, but we do not want anyone to promise to keep these big commitments unless they are truly ready to consecrate themselves to God. 


The most important and sacred of these promises is the marriage covenant. We believe that this ordinance is necessary to enter into the highest degree of glory in the Celestial Kingdom. Most people view marriage as a contract - an agreement between two or more parties for the doing or not doing of something specified. 
Marriages that take place in the temple are covenants, or promises between the individuals and God. The terms are specified by Heavenly Father, and if we keep our commitments, He has promised to pour out blessings upon us. This means that when challenges arise, we cannot run away because we do not like the contract any more, but we are accountable to keep our promises to God and our spouse. One of the blessings promised in the marriage covenant is being sealed to our spouses and our children for time and all eternity. This means that death is not the end of family life, but that our relationships can continue forever.

LDS marriage is very focused on the family. We believe that the commandment to multiply and replenish the earth still applies, and when we enter into the sacred marriage covenant we commit to bear children and raise families unto the Lord. We believe that having children is a sacred privilege, and that family relationships teach us how to become more like our Savior, Jesus Christ. We believe that families are essential to God's plan, and that they have the potential to bring us a fullness of joy. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints provides us not only with the ordinances that allow our families to be together forever, but teaches how to treat each other so that we actually want to spend eternity together. (The Family: A Proclamation to the World goes into more detail about this.)


We believe that temple ordinances, especially the temple sealing, are necessary for exaltation. Through the ratification of sacred ordinances and the sanctification of keeping our covenants with God, we can someday be perfected through the Atonement of Jesus Christ and live with Heavenly Father again, enjoying all the blessings He has. 


Can you see now why I have always dreamed of getting married in the temple? The promise of being sealed to the man I love the most for time and all eternity, of having our future children sealed to us as well, of having God directly involved in our marriage, of someday being able to return home to Him and receive all of the joy and goodness that He has - these promises are so, so beautiful. I still feel like I can barely comprehend them, and I am so amazed that Heavenly Father would offer such blessings to me. 


One of my friends remarked that my fiancé and I seem to have reached "fairy-tale levels of happiness," and I would have to agree. Our parents, church leaders, and prophets have taught us how to serve and love one another, and on Friday we will enter the Holy Temple and be sealed to one another forever and ever. The best part is that because we are committing to love one another as perfectly and unselfishly as God loves us, the joy and love that we feel now will continually grow through all eternity. There is nothing greater than knowing that as wonderful as it is right now, the best is still yet to be.  

"Some think of happiness as a glamorous life of ease, luxury, and constant thrills; but true marriage is based on a happiness which is more than that, one which comes from giving, serving, sharing, sacrificing, and selflessness." - President Spencer W. Kimball


“The whole subject of the marriage relation is not in my reach, nor in any other man’s reach on this earth. It is without beginning of days or end of years; it is a hard matter to reach. We can tell some things with regard to it; it lays the foundation for worlds, for angels, and for the Gods; for intelligent beings to be crowned with glory, immortality, and eternal lives. In fact, it is the thread which runs from the beginning to the end of the holy Gospel of Salvation—of the Gospel of the Son of God; it is from eternity to eternity.” -Brigham Young

How grateful I am to be able to embark on this wonderful journey with a wonderful man who loves me so sweetly and is my very best friend - and how even more grateful I am for my Savior, Jesus Christ, who has made this joy possible.

What a beautiful Monday!

Taken on my trip to the Provo temple Friday the 9th

Since finals are coming up, I haven't had much time to write a real post. I hope you enjoy these Monday links and a little tidbit of what is going on in my mind. I promise there is more meaty stuff coming soon :]

*10 days from now, I will be flying home. I'm not sure how I am going to get everything done in that short amount of time, but it will work out somehow!
*I watched this movie a couple weeks ago. It is intense, but so good. And in German :]

*This is my new favorite music video. So ridiculous!
*I absolutely love this building.
*I think I need to make this. I love barrettes and my collections needs an update.
*This made me cry. In the computer lab. It's beautiful.
*This is my favorite song at the moment.
*Love this post.
*Tomorrow evening is my choir concert in the beautiful Provo Tabernacle! I love singing praises to God in that beautiful building!

*Love this post from Brother Bott!
*This made me think.
*This weekend my friend went hiking and found a mini hot air balloon. We had a lot of fun playing with it, and fortunately did not burn down any buildings. Hooray!
*This dance is incredibly beautiful, and their comments afterwords made me teary-eyed.
*As mentioned before I went to the temple with my best friend. As always, it was a beautiful experience. I get to be roommates with that beautiful girl come fall, and it is going to be so great. She brings out the best in me and "because I knew her, I have been changed for good." I love you Courts!

Have a wonderful Monday everyone, and enjoy the wonders of spring!

Draper Temple Open House

Yesterday morning I had the opportunity to attend the Draper temple open house. It was absolutely amazing! I think the last time I went to a temple open house was when I was 14 or 15, and I didn’t appreciate it as much as I should have. The temple was absolutely gorgeous, but the best part was the Spirit I felt in there. Even though it hasn’t been dedicated yet, the Spirit is so strong, and you just know that it is a Holy place. I loved the Bride's room and the muraled instruction rooms. The Spirit was so powerful, and it strengthened my desire to one day go to a House of the Lord and receive the fullness of the Priesthood ordinances. It made me yearn to learn as much about my Heavenly Father and His gospel as I possibly can.

But my favorite part was the sealing rooms. The spirit was so beautiful and so strong that I couldn’t stop crying! I can't wait to go with a righteous young man into a sealing room just like that and make covenants with the Lord that will enable us to reach the Celestial Kingdom. I can't wait to start my own family who will be sealed to me for time and all eternity. I can't wait to learn and grow on the path to Godhood. These are the things that I long for the most, and I will work every day on following the Lord so I can receive them.

I am so grateful for the gospel and righteous parents who have led me towards the Holy Temple. I'm so grateful that I get to be with them for all eternity! The gospel is amazing :]

Family History, I am doing it!

I had the best Valentine's day ever. I felt went to the temple with Brian, and it was so wonderful! When we were walking there it was snowing harder than I've ever seen before, but it worked out well because it took us only 1 1/2 hours instead of the usual 3 hours it is on Saturdays. And when we were done, the sun was out! Brian said that Satan must have been trying to stop us from getting to the temple, but once we got inside he just gave up. hah :]

But the really awesome part was that Brian was baptized and confirmed for his great-grandfather. I'm not related to John Adolf Anderson, but I felt the Spirit so powerfully and peacefully as Brian did his work. There was also a sweet, humble Mexican couple ahead of us doing baptisms for his grandparents. There was just so much love in there - perfect for Valentine's day! What better way to show love for our ancestors and our Heavenly Father than to serve in the Holy Temple?

Brian is such an example to me. He decided this week that he was wasting too much time on things that don't matter, and that now he's going to give those things up for things that are productive. So Friday afternoon I was hanging out in their apartment, and while Brian's roommates were playing games on facebook, Brian found 4 generations of his ancestors online! And let me tell you, Brian had a lot more joy than his roommates did! I'm going to try to do the same thing. As a ward family history consultant, I am developing a deep love for genealogy and hope to be able to do much good. I'm still learning the ropes, but that's what eternity is for, right? I've found 7 names on my dad's side and hope to do the baptisms for them this week. Next, I want to work on my mom's side, especially the ancestors from Lithuania. There is a lot of work to be done with them. Oh, how the Spirit of Elijah is burning inside me!

What's new in life?

Hello to anyone that reads this, or just to the void.

Life is officially getting busy. I've been doing schoolwork, working extra hours, going to the temple once a week, and I got a new calling! I'm a family history consultant for my ward! I am team teaching a FH class and am just supposed to help whoever needs it. I taught the first lesson today and it went pretty well...other than running out of material 20 minutes before church let out. Oops! It went well though, and lots of people came to the class, which made really pleased. I have such good and supportive friends.

We are continuing to practice for our stake performance "From Cumorah's Hill" which will be put on on Feb 22. It is awesome material, and it will be fantastic! I love the songs and getting to sing with others in my stake.

So I put that picture up there on my blog because 1. It's beautiful and I love it and 2. I wanted to brag about how awesome my best friend is. I've been freaking out this week with all the stuff I've had to do, and Brian is always there to bring peace back into my life. It is such a blessing to have him to remind me of the eternal perspective, but also for me to be able to help him when he needs it. I will miss him when he goes on his mission in the summer, but I am mostly excited because he's gonna be the best missionary EVER!!!

Well, as they say in You've Got Mail, "Goodnight, dear void."

A new year

Things I learned in 2008:

*How to love difficult people
*How to get along with roommates
*How to stay close to my family from 705 miles away
*How to stay happy while waiting
*How to dance Hip Hop
*How to stand alone for what is right
*How to rely on the Lord and know He'll provide
*How to pray effectively
*How to find peace during times of uncertainty
*How to serve in a calling
*How to hold onto dreams
*How to love selflessly
*How to cook for myself
*How to live without Disneyland!
*How to make the Savior my friend
*How to sing in a choir
*How to appreciate art
*How to enjoy the simple things
*How to share my testimony every day
*How to do missionary work
*How to find answers to prayer
*How to raise and love children
*What I want my future home to be like
*What true love is
*Qualities that I need to work on
*The blessing of forever friends
*How to let go and let God
*The incredible power of the Atonement

My goals this year are to:

*Be more friendly and selfless
*Regain my confidence without losing humility
*Get close to my new roommates
*Learn to let my best friend go as he leaves on his mission
*Spend more time in the library
*Audition (and hopefully get in to!) an auditioned choir
*Not hide my light under a bushel
*Go to the temple once a month
*Feel beautiful
*Be healthier
*Find joy in the journey
*Keep a better journal
*Forgive
*Draw nearer to my Savior

Temple Square at Christmastime

Is the best place in the world :]