TEMPLE is to HEAVEN as HOME is to WHERE THE HEART IS

"How far is Heaven?" asks President Thomas S. Monson. "I testify that in the holy Temples it is not far at all - for it is in these sacred places that heaven and earth meet and our Heavenly Father gives His children His greatest blessings."



A certain young woman has been on my mind lately and it just so happens that the October issue of the Ensign is dedicated solely to Temples and all that includes. My Visiting Teacher partner is my Great Aunt Sylvia. I'm so thankful for her example of the righteous duties of visitings these sisters in their homes. Some are grand, some are humble, but each is filled with a wonderful spirit.

Anyway, the young woman on my mind has been my sister-in-law, Ashlei, who passed away with cancer in April of 2009. One of the last Priesthood blessings she received promised her that her son, Jace, would know and love her. What a special message from the Spirit.

When asked where his mama is, he has always responded, "At the Temple." Some have tried to "correct" him and have him say, "In Heaven." Reading this quote from Pres. Monson makes me think that this little four year old boy knows exactly what he's talking about!

The day our family traveled to the Houston Temple, Jace was able to come with us! I was never more thrilled than to see that little boy in his white suit shirt and blue striped tie, walking the grounds surrounding the Temple and to see his sweet reverence walking into the Temple. Even when he could only enter the lobby and sit in the waiting room just inside the doors, he knew to be reverent, quiet and still.

What a blessing Temples are!! What a short distance from Heaven Temples can be!! I hope there are many more to be announced, built and dedicated to our Father in Heaven and to the duties we need to perform for not only ourselves, but for those who have passed away.