Layton Park Lights

Had a fun little outing with family tonight. As the title denotes, we went to the Layton Park to see the official lighting ceremony, and there was a little concert while we were there. 

We met up with Christine and Joel and their kids, and we strolled around the park together. Josh got lost for a bit but luckily we found him safe and sound, and I kept a gentle grip on Spencer’s hand the whole time. I also held Lucas’s hand to keep him from wandering off. Those little tykes can be very fast and stealthy when they want to be. 

We stopped by Chick-fil-A on the way home, because it was getting late, Mom was tired, and groceries were a bit low. Besides, we love Chick-fil-A; it's delicious, not too expensive, and luckily for Mom, it's diabetic-friendly. The Spicy Chicken Deluxe is my personal favorite.

My First Layton Temple Trip

Today marked the day I got to go inside the Layton Temple for the very first time...since its dedication, that is. 

Mom wanted to go with me and Christine for our first time, and because I've had so much free time from work (hours have been unfortunately cut) and the temple will soon be closed for a few weeks for cleaning, today was as good a day as any. 

It got me out of the house, I could escape from the world for a couple of hours, I wouldn't have to worry about rushing anywhere else, and I could do a bit of service for someone on the other side of the veil. My patriarchal blessing did mention the importance of returning to the temple often, and now there's one practically next door to me.

It was a marvelous experience. Quiet and simple, nothing fancy, but wonderful. We got there in good time, everything went smoothly, we learned the story of Father Adam and Mother Eve (the full story) all over again, and I've no doubt my dad and other family members were right there with us. It was almost a disappointment to leave, so this just means we'll have to make arrangements for another trip as soon as possible, and then another. Of course, you can't go to the House of the Lord at just any old time, but you should be worthy enough (and willing enough) to be able to go on a whim. 

For those who might worry about not being worthy, let me assure you I've had the same problem for years and I learned there's a fine difference between worthiness and flawlessness. You don't have to be perfect, and for the record, I ask Heavenly Father to help me be "worthy enough" to set foot through those doors on that particular day.

I don't remember where I heard it exactly, but I remember one of the Twelve Apostles (I'm 99% sure it was Elder David A. Bednar) saying something about how we can know if we truly qualify for the Celestial Kingdom. He said if we qualify for the temple, then that means we qualify for the Celestial Kingdom, too. I personally like to think of the temple as a sort of "taste test" of heaven. I don't see how it would be much different, if at all.

I can tell this trip meant a lot to my mom and sister, too. We got sodas from McDonald's afterward, and maybe it was just me, but somehow that soda tasted a little extra good.

Temple Trip

Today, I enjoyed a very nice trip to the Bountiful Temple with my mom and my older sister.

 

(All images property of their respective owners.)

 

It's always so sweet and quiet, and I often have to turn my head a little to see if my dad, grandma, and grandpa are sitting right there beside us.

 

I know they're there. I don't see why they wouldn't be.

 

You gain a greater appreciation for Father Adam and Mother Eve here. I feel they're very badly misunderstood; they deserve to be venerated rather than vilified. I also found Satan's influence on the world rather frightening, even as I felt reassurance in the Savior at the same time.

 

 

Leaving is both a relief and a disappointment. You're glad to go home but you feel like the session ended way too soon. Guess that's a good thing because that means you have the right attitude.

 

As we were walking out the main doors, I saw some ominous storm clouds in the distance, and I couldn't help noting the spiritual symbolism. Outside the gospel, the world can be a dark, turbulent, and scary place. But where the temple was, it was bright, sunny, and calm. Just like how when the Savior calmed the raging sea, the sea was still raging on all other sides; He only created a sort of eye, like the eye of a hurricane.

 

And when I go home, I feel as refreshed as if I'd just come out of a nice, hot shower. I feel ready to return to the world and try again, so to speak.

 

So, it's all a matter of when I come back to the House of the Lord, not if. I really look forward to the dedication of the Layton Temple, because that one's practically down the street. With so many temples in our vicinity, we really should make a greater effort to go more often. Loads of people have worked and saved for several years just to be able to go once.

 

Of course, that doesn't mean we can go just any old time. We need to make sure our recommend is current, among other things. But it'd be worth our while to go every couple of months or so, at the very least. I always try to go when I have the day off from work, so I don't have to worry about watching the clock and there's nothing else to occupy my mind.

 

As the Primary song goes, I love to see the temple. But I love going inside even more.

 

Josh Groban Concert (Number Two)

I'm a HUGE fan of Josh Groban, as is the rest of my family. Even Dad liked him a great deal. 

So, when he came to Salt Lake City this year on his Harmony tour, Christine and I decided to take Corie out to see him. 

This was Corie's first concert with him, and the second for Christine and me. Our previous concert was sometime in 2004 or 2005; I can't remember the exact year anymore but it was definitely around the time of his "Awake" album. 

It's a good thing we've been saving our money, because I can assure you those tickets were NOT cheap and we bought good seats months ahead of time. I made sure to give my work plenty of notice, too. 

Since we had to have dinner either very, very early or very, very late, we opted for "early" and we had our dinner at Chick-fil-A at Farmington Station, with Mom and our brothers tagging along. I usually get Spicy Chicken Deluxe (my favorite) in a large combo with a Cherry Coke, and given how hot-as-blazes it is these days, I also got a peach smoothie. I was tempted to get chocolate but I like peach, too. It's got a bit more nutritional value anyway. 

Then we girls went on our merry way to the UTA Frontrunner. I've taken the Frontrunner a couple of times but most of my experience with UTA has involved the bus, when I was a college student at Weber State University. So, this is where we had to have Christine navigate for us. 

We hit a couple of snags with the UTA Trax when we got to the city, but fortunately we started out with enough time (my idea) to get to the Vivint Arena with roughly 20 minutes to spare. I learned from my college days to allow myself lots of time, so I can relax more and stress less. 

When the concert itself began, the opening act dragged on forever. The first act, Eleri Ward, was quite nice; I liked her enough to want to save her name and look her up on social media later. But then a jazz band (Preservation Hall Jazz Band) came on and while they weren't bad per se, they dragged on for almost an hour and jazz isn't my most favorite music. 

There was one song where literally all they sang was, "Keep your head up high," at least 30 times in a row. I half-joked to Christine, "Man, if I had a dollar for every time I heard that lyric." 

We were starting to wonder if we were gonna hear Josh Groban at all that evening. It was at least 8:10 by the time the jazz band finally stopped, and then we had to wait another ten minutes or so. 

But when Josh Groban himself finally arrived on stage, everything was on the right track. 

My phone doesn't take the best pictures, especially in the dark, and I didn't want to annoy anyone else in the crowd with my "flash." So, I kept my phone to myself throughout the show...though I couldn't resist pulling it out and turning on the flashlight to participate in the "candle wave" that people made with their phones during "You Raise Me Up." 

Josh Groban has the voice of an angel, and last night, his singing was absolute dynamite. Of course, I had to sing along (to the English words I actually knew) and I cheered loudly enough to make myself a little hoarse. (Imagine how much fun I had at work today, being a cashier, and we were positively packed.) 

He's very funny, too, quite sarcastic, and his looks sure don't hurt. I'm not used to seeing him with a full beard but I thought it looked pretty good on him.

His show ended much too soon, even though it was well past 10:00 by then, and it was both a relief and a disappointment to get up from my seat for good. 

Naturally, we had to see if there were any souvenirs. We were lucky to nab a couple of goodies before they were completely cleaned out. As irony would have it, I got a T-shirt with the logo of that jazz band I didn't like so much; it was the only shirt left in my size. But I did manage to get my hands on a copy of the new Harmony album; I told the sales clerk when Corie asked for a CD, "Make that two CDs, please." 

Then Mom was nice enough to drive us home so we wouldn't have to take the train again or wander about the city in the dark. I remember Dad saying Salt Lake City could get pretty "shady" at nighttime. 

On a scale of 1 to 10, I rate this outing 9 and a half. Time and money very, VERY well-spent. 

Thanks so much, Josh Groban! Keep singing!

 

New Year's Eve Stroll

We decided to take advantage of our city's Christmas lights while they were still up. The lights are definitely pretty enough, but geez, the cold was BITING. It didn't take long for my hands to go numb while snapping pictures with my phone.

And Mom took an accidental spill on the way back to the car, and there wasn't even anything to slip on or trip over! Mom still can't think about it or talk about it without laughing herself into a fit. At least she didn't break anything...though I imagine she's gonna be mighty sore later.