My temple experience (Plus the whole trip!)

Well, now that I am recovering from the exhaustion of the trip, I thought I'd share a little bit with you guys.

During the trip, Seth took me to see "Wicked" the musical. Best. Show. Ever. Not only was the music absolutely fantastic, the acting was perfect. You could definitely tell that the actresses playing were having a great time on stage, and their improvisation was impeccable. I absolutely have never been to a better musical- what a great night that we had!

We also had a chance to go to Disney with the family- which was SO much fun and awesome. Need I say more?

Onto the temple-

Now, I had never been inside of a temple, so the whole experience was mind-boggling. First of all, when you look at the temple it just looks like a huge castle. If you can believe it, I will tell you that the inside is even more gorgeous!  Without going into too much detail, the entire experience was amazing. I felt like such a princess, preparing to be sealed to my husband for time and all eternity.

To be honest, before going into the temple- I was absolutely convinced that when I got in there I was just going to be overcome with emotion, and have some sort of huge spiritual revelation. However, this did not happen for me- (as it does for some). Instead, my feelings were much more subtle, and they were something that I had to realize I was having, rather than something that I was being overcome by.

I realized that as soon as I entered that temple, I had never (and I do mean never) felt so at peace. I was calm, I was comfortable, and I was so happy. My stress was lessened and it truly felt like I was in the presence of Heavenly Father. In a word, I would describe my feelings as "complete". There were times where I was simply thinking, "why don't I feel nervous?", "why am I so calm?", "why am I not freaking out right now?" And the answer for me, is, when you are truly taking the steps that you are supposed to take, Heavenly Father calms all of these emotions... at least for me.


This trip to the temple truly strengthened my testimony in a way that I never would have imagined. I am so thankful that I got the opportunity to go and be sealed to Seth (yes, I am still getting that goofy little grin at just the thought). I cannot wait to go back to the temple and experience this all over again!. After my experience in the temple, I have been given a calm, still confidence that everything is going to turn out alright.  Of course, I still stress (anyone that knows me knows that I do), but I have become less likely to be completely overcome by my daily worries. More often than my freakouts, I have that same feeling of "it'll all turn out"- which is something that is priceless!

Marriage and the Lost Generation.

So, let me share with you what happened to me this evening.

It was one of my oldest friend's 21st birthday. So, I got together with another friend that doesn't drink and we decided to make a short appearance at the get together. We get there, and we're just minding our own business, keeping to ourselves because we didn't really know many people. Well, about 10 minutes into the party, a guy yells over to us. I looked at him, and then back at my friend. He yells again, "Hey you, cute girl- come here". I look again, still unsure if he's talking to me or my friend, and back at her. Then I hear them going on about how he got rejected. He yells AGAIN. Finally, i lifted my hand and was like "Sorry, married". With the response of "That doesn't matter!"

A moment later, his friend comes over, telling me that he doesn't care that I'm married and that it's no big deal. I said that I cared that I was married. He tells me that his friend will 'treat me right'. I shook my head and told him I was happy with my marriage, and my husband. Finally, he asks to see my ring- probably because he didn't believe I was married. I showed it, and he continues to make fun of the diamond! Saying how small it was, etc. (P.S. My ring is actually pretty decent, so they were just being rude). He keeps pestering, until he finally got the point. He goes back and their whole group- for the next ten minutes is making fun of my marriage, and the fact that I'm not drinking alcohol (I had a gatorade in my hand, and my friend had a water). Needless to say, we left.


Point being, I am SO disgusted with our generation. When did this become okay? Here I am, not causing any trouble for anyone, and the feel the need to insult the most important thing to me. My husband is my number one priority. I am more than content-, blissful even, in my marriage. But for someone to so obviously disrespect my marriage, my ring, and my spouse- this is NOT okay.

Luckily, Seth was not there to witness or deal with this- since my friend and I had decided to make a girl's night out of it. I have no doubt that this person was simply just acting out because he got rejected, or whatever it was. I have definitely learned my lesson. I simply cannot be at these types of parties. They are NO longer my style. It is hard to be surrounded by so many people that do not share your values. I knew this going in, and yet I still went. Why? I was trying to be a good friend to someone I have known for so long.

Furthermore, why is marriage so frowned upon? This is because FAMILY values are no longer a priority. I'm not entirely sure when it became 'normal' to lose all of your family values. Anyone? If families were more valued, then our society would have a lot less problems.

Here I am, 10 days from going to the temple and being sealed to my spouse for all of time and eternity. There is no event on this earth that is more important to me. Why would ANYONE give that up for something meaningless, short lived, and worldly? I don't mean to hate on anyone- we all have our lifestyles. However, I was NOT criticizing anyone for their behavior tonight, I would expect to have my values respected as well.
 

It is times like these when I want to spread a rumor of a pot of gold at the bottom of a very steep cliff. However, I'm pretty sure heavenly father would rather I keep my head up, and continue on the path that I am. I do think tonight was important, though. I definitely have learned my lesson. Prior to being converted- I'd go to these types of parties all the time. I really have changed, and I have the Gospel to thank for that. I remember feeling empty before it, and it is nothing in comparison to the fulfillment and joy I feel now.

*sigh*

These really are the latter days.