Divine Light

For a good year now, Matthew’s goal was to get to the temple for his own endowment as soon as possible after he graduated. He fulfilled that goal today and it was very much as soon as possible since graduation was last night! Our church leaders were a huge support in getting all his interviews done in a timely fashion, and our stake president was fantastic because he was completely fine with ordaining Matthew to the office of elder a few days before he actually graduated from high school so that temple day could happen today. 

Matthew has been a temple hopper ever since he got his driver’s license. He has driven all over the state doing baptisms at as many different temples as he could get to. During all those visits, he has come to list two particular temples as his favorites: the Brigham City temple and the Provo City Center temple. Brigham City is far enough away that it was not incredibly practical in terms of having any of his grandparents in attendance since age related health issues have seriously colored all their lives in the past few months, so Matthew settled on the Provo City Center temple. The only time I have been inside this particular temple was during the open house, so it was neat to be able to be able to spend some time there.

Since it was a weekday and there were family members who had to work or had health issues that prohibited their attendance, our group was fairly small. Besides Kevin and I, Daniel, Tawni, Nathan, Rachael, Esther, Michelle and Corynn were the only ones in the session. My parents were able to join us in the celestial room as attending the whole session was too rough today, and Aliese did baptisms at the same time as our session. Matthew has never been one who really liked being in the spotlight in his day-to-day life though, so a small group was perfect for him. 

While there were some nerves last night due to just doing something he had never done before, Matthew was very ready to take this step. He has been actively preparing for years and with the switch in the church to talking and teaching more openly about what happens in the temple, which we have taken to heart as a family, I think he was probably more prepared than many youth are to take the next step on the covenant path. When we met in the celestial room after the session, his eyes were so full of light. He has always been a person whose light shines brightly, and today he was just beaming. His first joy filled comment to me was, “I made it!” 

I know Matthew will return to the temple often. It is his refuge, his place of peace amongst the storms of life. When he is feeling stressed or anxious or overwhelmed, he retreats to the temple to quiet his mind and regain his perspective. He has already told me that he has so much more to learn, and I know that over time, he will continue to be taught. I suspect that regular temple attendance is one of the things he will miss while serving his mission. But I also know that taking this step, making the covenants he did today, will strengthen him in his missionary service.

Now we just need to let a few more years pass and continue to let Malia learn and grow so that she can join us in all the ordinances of the temple as well. And what a joyful day that will be!