In 2001 I had been teaching early morning seminary in the Austin Ward for about a year. This was quite a challenge for me at that time — I had five little children including a baby, I lived out in the country 20 minutes away from the church and my class was relatively large involving all the high school students of the ward. But I began to realize distinct blessings in my life. I had completely overcome a nervous habit I had been shackled with since my mission. I noticed my marriage had risen to a new level and my relationship with my husband was sweeter. Probably the most striking difference I recognized was my level of daily peace. I was not the stressed-out mother I used to be but lived my life with a profound sense of calm. All of this caused me to marvel and I fully attributed this significant change in my life to seminary–after all I was studying and teaching the word for hours a day. Such was my conclusion until the day I prepared my lesson on section 109 of the Doctrine and Covenants. This section contains the dedicatory prayer of the Kirtland Temple. It had been 2000 years since there had been a House of the Lord on earth when that temple was built. I shall always remember the day I prepared that lesson. The Lord interrupted me with something that burst into my thoughts: “What seminary has done for you is nothing compared to what that St. Paul Temple has done for you.” For the past year since the temple was opened in January 2000, I had gone every single month taking a little old lady in my ward who couldn’t drive herself. The Lord wanted me to know from whence my blessings came. It is in the ordinances that the power of Godliness is manifest in our lives.
