Dear Moroni, A Stake Meetinghouse will keep you company

Dear Brother Angel Moroni:

Well, my friend, your days of hanging out alone have come to an end.

No longer will you be seeing just the faces of the workers and me.

Our rarely uninterrupted visits of the last seven months have been terrific.

We have had some good times.  Sunsets, sunshine, sunrises, lightening, rainy storm clouds, tornado clouds, humidity, scorching heat and freezing cold.

I think I have looked at you more than my own children some days.  And for sure, I know that you have been seen by lots of locals and folks passing through.

There have been Temple Chasers, folks who have wondered why there is a Angel “Macaroni” on the big church building, and bystanders who have no idea what you or the building are. 

There are folks who happen to jog by, bike by, drive by on their way to work and come by for curiosity.  There were almost 2,000 who ran by that one Saturday morning in April.

And now, there are the dedicated and loyal Saints who will be coming to the new Liberty Stake Center building every week.  Sundays, Tuesday nights, and Wednesday nights.  For starters.  

There will be Boy Scouts, young ladies, old folks and babies. 

There will be Christmas parties, Halloween trunk or treats, wedding receptions, Pine Wood Derby races, and special evenings with spiritual messages.

There will be music (you will love that…no more just the sound of heavy construction equipment and silence).  Lots and lots of music.

There will be baptisms.  Folks who are living good, often great lives who want to live better.  One of my favorite quotes is from a kindly LDS President, Gordon B. Hinckley:  “The purpose of the gospel of Jesus Christ is to make bad men good and good men better.”  I don’t imagine a lot of “bad men” are baptized, but if they are, even better.

And someday soon, in the not too distant future, there will be weddings, sealings, and people who will come to the temple to make promises to their God to do and be more.

And you, Brother Angel Moroni, will get to see it all.  A front row seat to these cherished family moments and intimate personal eternal decisions.

You are a man of few words, but by your sheer presence alone I have children run around the lot with huge smiles on their faces.  I have had more gospel conversations with people who long to know more than I can remember, and I have even seen a dying man come out of his death bed to see you one more time with his children.

Speaking of that, in one of my own darkest hours of my life, after Tom passed away in June, all I wanted to do was come and be with you. 

You represent the stability of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Strong, consistent, and immovable.

The new church building has been readied and the dedication is going on as I write this.  Time for “game on” my brother.

If you would like to see the pictures of the church building, go here:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150439150880042.412197.532120041&type=1&l=b46913caf4

It has been an honor to welcome you to Kansas City.  Enjoy this new chapter in your life.  

Love, Val