Three spiritual treats

I want to highlight three spiritual times with family this summer.

• Sacrament meeting in the copper top church.
  

I spent the July fast meeting with many members of the family in Matthew-and-Kimberly’s ward in Mapleton. Several family members bore their testimonies: Trenton, Adam, Brianna, and Matthew. All of these testimonies were impressive–personal expressions, no trite phrases. I thought, “We are missing so much not going to church together as a family. When we go to church in our own wards, we hear the testimonies of near strangers, persons with whom our relationships are temporary or even non-existent. What a pleasure to learn that in our own family, testimonies are being developed and expressed.

• Baptisms for the dead and an endowment session in the Draper temple.
  

We had most of our teens together to do family baptisms on July 17th. Wendy and I, Alison, Katrina, Heidi, and Valerie did an endowment session while the kids did baptisms. Is there anything greater than being in the temple with those you love most?

• Sealing session with family in the Provo temple.

On Saturday evening, August 11th, a group of us did family sealings. This carried on a tradition of going to the temple at a time near JoAnn’s birthday. More than anything else she loved being in the temple with her children, and what better way to honor her memory than to gather with family members in the temple to perform work for our kindred dead. Present were Emilie and Scott, Matthew and Kimberly, Alison and Quin, Heidi, Andrew and Britain, along with Wendy and myself. Hurray for the next generation of temple goers.
We had the blessing this time for the officiator to be an elderly Samoan man, brother Salanoa. Although a humble man, he just reeked of patriarchal power and authority.