Philadelphia Temple Groundbreaking

This past Saturday, I had the privilege of being a part of the most amazing event for the city of Philadelphia and it's surrounding areas. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will be building a Temple near Logan Square and Saturday was the Groundbreaking Ceremonies. President Henry B. Eyring, First Counselor in the First Presidency for the church, presided over the meeting and gave the dedicatory prayer. Mayor Nutter as well as other local leaders were in attendance as we celebrated the blessing of having a temple close by.

It is hard for me to put into words the feelings I have for the temple. For within it's walls, families can be sealed for eternity and feel of the peace and love that our Father in Heaven has for us. It truly is a House of God.

I find that this blog, which is dedicated to my family history research, was the perfect place to share with you a short video about the event. For the work I do in searching out my ancestors, is not only to help me link the past to the present and understand those whose footsteps I am now following, but to bind my ancestors to me so that I can have a family forever. In these sacred walls that will soon be built, we are able to make it possible so that our family ties in this life will continue throughout the eternities.

I'm blessed to work with the children at my church. In commemorating the building of the temple, we initiated a challenge called "A Page A Day, Helps the Spirit Stay!" We are reading the scriptures in our home as a family for 100 Days. We will finish on December 25th, the day we celebrate the birth of the Savior. As we “feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do” (2 Nephi 32:3) as a family, that it will prepare our hearts and homes for the blessings of the temple.

Reflections from the Past

As we reflect upon this day 10 years ago and how it has effected all of our lives, I am grateful for those that I hold dear to my heart. My family and the memories I build with them truly bring the greatest joy. When I went to Hawaii last year to visit some relatives and work on some family history, I was sad to realize that there was nothing written of my grandmother's life. She died when I was just a baby so I have no memories of her. How I wish I had even just a letter of her thoughts that I could treasure and share with my children. It is so important for us to not only find our ties to the past, but to preserve the history of our own lives for the future. Here is a great article from ancestry that I found today. May we each take a moment to reflect on what truly matters most and write down our feelings this day. We never know what tomorrow will bring.

From the article, "This morning I took my breakfast out to the back porch to enjoy a crystal blue sky and a beautiful early September morning. With the September 11th anniversary upon us, I couldn’t help but remember that on the morning of 9/11 the air had a very similar feel to it. Crisp, clear, and with no hint of what was to come. My daughter was in Kindergarten and I remember running to school to pick her up, wondering how to explain to her what had happened. The other day I asked her about it, because I wondered what the memories would be like from her perspective. It was interesting to hear the things she remembered and what stood out to her... (read full article here)