Ogden Temple Trip!!

I honestly wasn't sure I was going to be able to go on this trip because I just started at my new job, and I wasn't able to ask for that many days off on such short notice. But by the grace of God, I "lucked" out and I was only scheduled on Saturday, the 16th, and on Monday, the 19th. But my sister was willing and able to cover for me on both of those days.

So, we left on Thursday from Bishop Patton's house, and we drove to Las Vegas. There, we stayed at the home of one of the Elders he served with in Sweden. He is the recorder at the Las Vegas temple, so he shared a few spiritual stories/experiences that others have shared with him. My favorite of which involved an elderly couple that is super devout, and goes to the temple every week. One week, they both got the impression that they should go serve a mission. So, they put in the paperwork, and said they were willing to serve anywhere except where it is cold. Sure enough, they got called to Anchorage, Alaska. One day, they had an appointment, but they had 45 minutes to kill; they didn't want to waste any time, so they decided to go tracting in the meantime. The very first door they knocked on, a young man answered. That young man happened to be their estranged son!! They reunited! 

I love stories like that!!

Friday morning, we drove to Las Vegas to St. George. We did temple baptisms there. It was so beautiful!

After that, we stopped to eat at Freddy's! Apparently, there's only two locations in the entire country!! It was pretty good!

Then we drove from wherever the Freddy's was, to Ogden. 

I have no idea what temple this is...

Or what temple this is...

Then, we finally got to the Ogden temple!! 

I tried to take a selfie with Gilbert, and I just looked like a creep. Hahaha!

Sister Kemp met up with us!! :)

The House that the girls stayed in, located in Eden, Utah. It is so huge!

Their neighborhood!

Girls' slumber party!

Us, on Saturday morning!

 Saturday morning, we went through the Ogden temple a second time. We had Farr Better Ice Cream as ward, and then everyone split up to do their own thing. My friend, McKenzie and I went to the Salt Lake Temple to do baptisms. We met up with others for lunch. Then everyone split up again. Gilbert, Mark, and I went to the Deseret Book Store, then we visited the visitors' centers, and then we took a tour at the Conference Center.

The Ogden Temple on Saturday morning!

GilBERT and Ernie!

This was at the South Visitors' Center!

The Salt Lake City Temple

 Sunday morning, we went to Music and the Spoken Word at the Conference Center, followed by Sacrament meeting at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. The whole ward walked around temple square for a bit; we went to the Tabernacle. Then everyone split up to start driving back to St. George, since we would be staying there for the night. Bishop Patton, Sister Patton, EmRod, and I went to Sister Olsen's house to drop off some stuff that she had left at the Pattons' house. Her parents are so sweet!

Music and the Spoken Word at the Conference Center

The ceiling in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building! 

Joseph Smith, in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building

Yay! Selfies!

"Papa" Olsen, one of their grand-kids, Bishop Patton, her brother, me, "Mama" Olsen, and EmRod. :) (I'm horrible with names, and I had forgotten what they were almost immediately. BUT I never forget a face!!) 

The Provo Temple. 

Right next to the house we stayed at in Washington, Utah!

The Musical Road, in Lancaster, CA. 

I had a video, but it won't play the audio. :( It's supposed to be the "William Tell Overture," also known as "The Lone Ranger" Theme Song. 

So, just a little over six months as a member, and eight months since the Elders knocked on my door, I have now been to SEVEN temples now! Gilbert, Los Angeles, Newport Beach, Redlands, St. George, Ogden, and Salt Lake. I can not believe it!! 

My Sister got Baptized!!

Sister Hacker and Sister Naylor broke the news to me on the third, which was Fast Sunday. And my sister had decided to get baptized on her birthday. So, she turned 17 today! Unfortunately, Sister Hacker got transferred yesterday, so she wasn't able to attend Sofia's baptism. But Sister Baxter is super nice!!

My mom and her boyfriend were about 20 minutes late to the baptism (no surprise there), and we had to stall some. My other sister and her boyfriend even went! I was super surprised to see they actually all came. It was amazing! The speakers gave really good talks on the Holy Ghost and Baptism. And the Missionary Moment was done by Elder Hansen (he baptized me a little over six months ago!) and his companion Elder Smith (I think). Sofia gave her testimony.

Sofia and Elder Burgess

Elder Pisa, Sofia, and Elder Burgess

Sister Naylor, Sofia, and Sister Baxter

Then we all went out for pupusas. :)

Fasting + Praying = Powerful Stuff!

It's Fast Sunday! It's my favorite day of the month! I love hearing my fellow brothers and sisters bear their testimonies and I love sharing mine as well. Since I've been baptized (which will have been six months ago this coming Saturday!), I've shared my testimony every month except June because, at the time, I was still working at Six Flags, and they were scheduling me on Sundays. But I think it's pretty good nonetheless. :)

Anyway, today I bore my testimony at the Reseda family ward. I talked a bit about the fact that because I'm a convert, there is a lot of stuff that I don't completely understand or that I can't explain to people when they ask me about the Church. But I have faith in those things because I know that the Church is true. And even though I don't understand those things, I know that they are the right things. I also talked a bit about how I've been praying for rain and cooler weather because we are experiencing a really bad drought and dry spell here in California, and my prayers were answered on Saturday night. After sacrament meeting was over, one of the members came up to me to share how she is a convert, and was baptized over 20 years ago. She said she loved my testimony because she understands exactly how I feel because she felt it then, too. She testified to me that someday I'll come to understand and to know other aspects of the church as she has.

As the chapel was being cleared out, the Reseda sisternaries and my sister Sofia stuck around for a bit.... But I'll come back to this... I left to YSA.

During the YSA ward sacrament meeting, I was listening to the testimonies being shared. And even though I had already bore my testimony at the Reseda ward, I was getting this prompting to share my testimony with this ward as well. I told the ward how much I love Fast Sundays because of the Spirit that is felt on those Sundays and because of the testimonies. I told them that whenever Fast Sundays come around, the first thoughts in my prayers are that my family would open their hearts up to the Church and that they'll become members some day. I then shared why the sisternaries and Sofia stuck around. . . They informed me that Sofia has made the decision to get baptized!! I testified of the power of fasting and prayers. I know Heavenly Father provides an answer to our prayer. It may not be the answer we were hoping for, and it might not even be an immediate answer, but we can always expect an answer.
(P.S. One of the girls, who visits our ward on the regular until she goes back to BYU-Idaho, told me she was grateful I bore my testimony. She told me she enjoys coming to YSA on Fast Sunday because my testimony is always a highlight of her visit. She is so sweet! And I'm glad I followed the prompting of the Spirit!)

Needless to say, I am super excited that my sister has made this decision. The other day I saw this video called, "Pioneers: Followers of Jesus Christ." And it's the condensed version of a talk called, "Modern Pioneers" that was given by Elder Dallin H. Oaks in 1989. I read the talk and I saw the video, and they made me realized that I am a modern-day pioneer. I am the first in my family to accept the Gospel into my life, and I am the first convert. By following the commandments, and by honoring my baptismal covenants, I have been setting an example for my sister, and now she has made the decision to become a member as well. The best part about this, to me, is that I wasn't trying to be an example to her. I was just trying to better at being Christ-like because I promised Him I would try to be; which to me, really just reinforces that idea of being a good person even when you think no one is watching. Someone could be watching and you might be an example to them. It's better to be a good example than a bad one!