As you might gather from reading the myriad things I blog about, there’s a lot going through my head. It can get really loud in there. Between over-analyzing almost everything I hear and thinking about far too many things, I find I need to do a clean-out nearly weekly.
I find the best thing for that is to attend an LDS temple. The closest one for me is in Provo Utah, pictured below (link).
My appreciation to Kevin Miller photography for posting this picture. He’s got a great eye.
Anyway, aside from being picturesquely located across the globe (an image search for LDS temples can back me up), temples provide a place where members of the LDS Church can go to worship God, perform saving ordinances for those who have died, and receive revelation.
I want to focus on the last point. Because my mind is so busy, I face two big problems: (1) I have so much vying for thought resources (I’m describing my brain like a computer…) that it’s hard to take time to seek revelation, and (2) revelation comes so quietly that I often don’t recognize it, or I just ignore it.
Knowing this, I’ve tried to be more still mentally, but that hasn’t always worked. At the temple, I choose to focus on only one thing: serving God and those who have passed before me. In doing so, I quiet the other thoughts rampaging through my mind. Peace comes. Other important thoughts surface (think balls that have been underwater coming to the top–sometimes they surface and jump up, sometimes they just come to the surface. Because I am at peace, the thoughts tend to come gently and one-at-a-time. This allows me to handle each one in turn and set my thoughts (and my life) in order.
I leave refreshed and prepared to face another week. I am grateful to live five minutes from one of the beautiful places of worship. My consistent attendance and service therein have immensely blessed my life and have prepared me to face much more than I could have otherwise.
Experiences there and throughout my life have convinced me I have a loving Heavenly Father who cares about every experience I have. And because He is a loving God, He loves each other person on Earth just as much. We all experience different trials, but there are meant to prepare us to live with Him eternally. Temple attendance brings me peace and clears my mind so I can focus on what is eternally important, and not just what my scattered mind tells me is important.