This weekend was wonderful! I had the opportunity to see some of my dear friends from back home in good ol' Idaho. They came to my apartment for General Conference and then early Sunday morning we left for SLC to watch the Sunday Morning Session live at the Conference Center. It was so much fun! I really love General Conference. Every year I generally love to hear from the Quorum of the Twelve and First Presidency more than I do the Seventy, but this year, that was not the case. Although I deeply loved to hear from the top 15, those from the Seventy that spoke addressed all of my needs. I now have a firm testimony that those men are called of God. I know this, and am so grateful that I have finally learned it.
So, here are some pictures of this weekends adventures.
This is Joseph Smith and Emma Hale Smith right in from of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in Temple Square. Like every other Latter-Day Saint, I love these two people dearly. However, I have never had such a great appreciation for them as I have gained over the past two or three years. They truly were a remarkable couple; not only in the Church and Restoration, but their love story is probably my favorite of all time. They endured so much together, but they were always faithful and loving to one another. I hope that someday I will be so fortunate as to have a relationship with my husband like Emma's with Joseph.
Me with Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum. I love these two men.
Last year in seminary we talked about the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum. I had never really considered Hyrum as a super outstanding individual in Church history. I focused on Joseph, which isn't bad, but I was missing out on a lot of very important information. Anyway, my teacher, Brother Lotz, talked about Hyrum and how he was his personal hero. As we talked about Hyrum, my appreciation for him grew immensely. His strength, faith in, and love for his brother astounds me. I hope that I can be as valiant as he was.
Probably my favorite shot of the the Salt Lake temple. I took a lot of pictures of it. It's so beautiful!!!
Me in front of the temple! Hoorah!
Another picture of the temple. Can you believe it took 40 years to build?!
Here it is again! Oh, interesting story. When the temple was first being built, the saints had inspiration to leave open shafts in parts of the building but didn't know why. Today we use those shafts for elevators. :)
Sarah, Victoria, me, Jacob at the Conference Center. Some kind (and rather attractive) boy volunteered to take our picture. I must say he did a rather fine job!
The organ, MOTAB, and General Authorities from our spot in the balcony.
The Conference Center. Why does it have a steeple? I don't quite understand. Any ideas? Anyone? Anyone? Buehler?
We took a stroll around the Logan temple on Saturday night. It is so beautiful!! If I am not so fortunate as to get married in the Nauvoo temple, I would like to get married here. I had the opportunity to be baptized and confirmed for Grandma Dawn here. It was because of this first step, that my mom and dad were sealed by proxy for my Grandma Dawn and Grandpa Welton. Doing this enabled me to have an eternal family. I am always grateful for mine, but today I was especially grateful.
I am homesick again. It's rather unfortunate, and I am trying to get over it, but sometimes it's just super overpowering. Well, as I was in the car coming back from SLC, I received a phone call. I looked and saw it was from my house. I answered expecting to hear my mom's voice, but instead it was the voice of my brother, Ethan. I was so excited to hear his voice, that I started to cry. We talked about Harry Potter Legos and the big battle between Voldemort and the Death Eaters and Harry Potter and Snape. Obviously, I've corrupted, uh, I mean taught, him well. ;) He then told me about his day and I told him a secret and made him cross his heart and swear an oath that he wouldn't tell anyone what it is. He's not very good at keeping secrets, so I expect it will leak out soon, but that's okay. Talking to him about these simple and kind of simple things made me feel so much better. I love my little brother so much. He has a way to make me feel better like no one else can. I go to my dad, mom, and sister for lots of things and they are fantastic at listening and giving advice, but there's something special about his seven year old boy that comforts me more than almost anything. I don't think that he will ever realize how much I depend upon him; his hugs, smile, and genuine concern and love for me.
I am so blessed to have a family that is sealed for time and all eternity. I love them, and can't hardly imagine life without them, especially that little boy.
Cute little Jason by a GINORMOUS moth right outside my dorm building. We thought it was going to eat him up cause it's almost as big as he is. ;)
A better picture of the moth. It was a beast. I was rather frightened for my life when I first saw it. Plus also it's really kind of gross looking in an odd beautiful sort of way...
This is Caleb Smith. He is #5 on my marriage list. He is pretty close to perfect. He plays the piano, sings, is attractive, has blonde hair, blue eyes, is going to be a mechanical engineer (so we'll be rich), is attractive, tall, kind, and has HUGE marshmallows that we roasted over my stove. Yup, we're pretty much a perfect match.
Here we are roasting marshmallows. Mmm mmm good!
A perfect way to end my blog post. Someone put this flower in Emma's hand so it looks as though Joseph gave it to her. Their love was clearly unmatched. Someday I will be this fortunate. Someday.
