This morning I woke up and felt very anxious for the day I had ahead of me. The first thing I did was try a breathing exercise from a trusty app on my phone, then I proceeded to pray, and lastly I turned on a broadcast that was given last week for the women of my church. Through all these attempts I felt peace here and there, it would come and go like waves.
As I kept getting ready to go to school, I felt very anxious again, then I stopped what I was doing and heard a voice in my head say very clearly: Go to the temple. In that moment I threw a skirt and a sweater on a headed to the temple. To learn more about what temples are, please visit this website: https://www.lds.org/topics/temples?lang=eng&old=true
Today I understood what President Monson meant when he said: "Temples are more than stone and mortar. They are filled with faith and fasting. They are built of trials and testimonies. They are sanctified by sacrifice and service." Today I felt like I was in the house of God. As soon as I stepped into the temple, my entire being was filled with peace, the peace that had come and gone in waves just a few minutes ago. Later on as I sat in the celestial room, a room that symbolizes the celestial kingdom of God, where God and Christ live, I was washed over by even more peace, the very peace my loving Savior promised His apostles when He was leaving them to return to His Father. The promise Christ gave his apostles was fulfilled in my life today, I wasn't afraid anymore, my heart wasn't troubled anymore. I testify that this promise is real! I testify that our Savior did leave us peace when He had to return to His Father. I love Him for saying: "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." Today, the temple was the place where I felt the greatest peace I have felt in my entire life. Today, I gained a rock solid testimony that temples truly are the house of God. This is where we can worship Him, but most importantly, this is where we can come to be close to Him.
As I was feeling this incredible peace, all I could think of was, "please don't leave". Then I plead, "Savior, Abide with me." To Abide is much more than to say "stay with me", to say "Abide with me" means to say "stay with me FOREVER". Then I thought about my plea, how could the Savior not abide with me? How could He forget about me? I am literally engraved in the palms of His hands. He will not fail me nor forsake me, EVER. (Deuteronomy 31:6) I trust in His promises. It is hard for me to remember this when my mind is racing a million miles an hour, however, when I do remember, I can feel peace.
I am very grateful for the way the Spirit communicates with me, it is usually a sure, loving and clear voice in my head. Today, in the temple, the Spirit said: "Trust in the being who Created you." And that is what I will do. I will trust in God, in my loving Father in Heaven. I will trust in the God who I know and who I love. I will trust in His promises and I will trust in His Son, My Redeemer.
I testify with all the strength in my soul, with every fiber of my being that Jesus of Nazareth lives! That He lived and died so that He could save us from sin and from feeling alone in any trial we might face. I testify that temples truly are the house of God, they are sacred, they provide the peace promised by Christ. I love my God and I love my Savior. They live!
I share these things with all of you in the name of my Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.
