A couple of weeks in there was a regional conference held for all of the members in Utah County. Several general authorities were scheduled to talk to us. My stake decided to combine stake conference with the regional conference. Saturday night, the adult session of stake conference was held at the Provo Tabernacle.
The Provo Tabernacle was an incredible building. Everything was so old and beautiful. During that session of conference I finally felt like everything, in its own do time, would be okay. I needed to stay where I was and just put trust in the Lord.
On December 17th, a four-alarm fire burned down the tabernacle. This building that I held such a spiritual connection to was gone. I cried. I don't think I realized how much the tabernacle meant to me until it was in ashes. I remember hearing on the news that the tabernacle would be beyond repair. It made my heart sad.
October 1, 2011, Annie, Billy and I were at conference (The night before I went through the Draper temple for the first time to receive my own endowments). President Thomas S. Monson stood and announced the building of several temples--one in Wyoming, a French temple, and one from remains of the Provo Tabernacle.
Since that day, I've thought several times about how amazing that is. My mind is constantly making analogies to relate things back to myself.
I've found myself, at times, in a complete mess. To relate it back to the tabernacle temple, my life was in ashes--nothing could be put back together. If I tried to put it back together, it would become a even bigger disaster. I should just walk away. Just like the temple. Builders, architects, engineers all said that it was beyond repair.
However there is one person, the son of a carpenter, is the only one who can put reassemble my life. When I turn to the Savior, Jesus Christ, he can take all of my mistakes and make me whole again.
The tabernacle stood as a pile of soot and yet through a prophet of God he relayed the worth of that once beautiful building. It would one day become a House of the Lord. He would walk through its hallways and grace it with His spirit.
I'm so grateful that no mater what mistakes I've made and how disastrous my life may become, my Savior always sees what I can become rather than what I am.
2 comments:
Alexis, I love this.. seriously. thank you so much for sharing. want to read a random story? my sister (who we both know isn't a member) would always say when we drove by the tabernacle, that she wanted to get married there someday.. because it was the most beautiful building she had ever laid eyes on. she would even make me slow down while driving by.
when we found out there was a fire, she started crying-though I'm sure she'll never admit it now.. and I knew that she really did mean what she had said..
and then when President Monson announced it would be a temple, I remember having a sense of hope that I had never had before, that she was going to accept the gospel someday.. and even though she hasn't yet, I know she will, 'cause she is gonna get married there someday.
that is so nice. :)
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