Friday Reflections

I love the sun. Sunshine makes me very happy, especially during the winter when it is not so prevalent. This last week in Spokane we have had glorious blue skies and plenty of sunshine. Granted, it’s been a cool 28 degrees, but compared to the “super storm” that supposedly gripped the rest of the country (Snow in South Texas! See Camille's blog!) our weather up here as been fabulous. I will take it, especially after last week when it was foggy and grey until early afternoon—similar to the inversion that descends on Utah every winter.

On the drive home from the temple a few days ago, I pondered sunshine. I thought about how I was able to substitute teach early morning Seminary on Thursday. Boy, it was hard getting up at 5:15 am to get to class by 6 am. I can hardly believe that I did it for 2 whole years . . . but then again so many amazing kids do it for 4. Anyway, they are studying the Doctrine and Covenants, and we discussed Section 95. There is a great scripture there, vs. 6 “They who are not chosen have sinned a very grievous sin, in that they are walking in darkness at noon-day.” I love this imagery. Picture a man with a bag over his head walking around in the sunshine. Why would he do that? The historical background of this section is that the Lord had commanded the Saints to build a temple in Kirkland a while back, and they had yet to comply. This phrase symbolically teaches that the gospel had been restored and the priesthood was on the earth (the sun), and yet because they had not been obedient, they were still in “darkness” and had yet to receive the saving ordinances.

My thoughts then jumped to recent emails from Jace and the experiences he is having in Japan teaching people that there is a God who loves them, and that His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, has made it possible for us to live with him again. These people, many who have not ever heard Christian theology, are also “walking in darkness at noon-day” but through no fault of their own. They don’t have a bag over their head, they simply have not yet been taught. That part is up to us as missionaries. Jace’s most recent investigators/converts have been Chinese. Imagine the “light” that will fill that nation when it finally opens its borders.

Hopefully in my eternal world, we will have sunshine every day. Somehow Brent and I will have to figure out how to blend our weather preferences—he loves the cold and snow and wants mountains and mountains of powder, while I want sunshine, lakes, green grass and flowers. We can have both, right? After all, it will be heaven, so anything is possible! Oh how I love the gospel and love the temple. We are so blessed to have a temple here in Spokane. I am forever grateful for the sun, literally and symbolically.