Dear Moroni, Val's Back

Dear Brother Angel Moroni, Kansas City:

It has been a long time friend.

You were a sight for sore eyes when I stopped to see you a couple of days ago.  There you were...standing strong and shiny as always.  Like some things have not changed.
But I noticed some things, of course, have.  But I will get to that in a minute.

You know I am true-blue to you, but I will admit, I did see another Brother Angel Moroni when I traveled this last month.

His name was Brother Angel Moroni, Anchorage, Alaska.

He looked like your brother.  The resemblance was uncanny.  :)

Brother Angel Moroni, Anchorage was atop one of the first mini-temples built for the Church.  The second one to be exact.  I took his picture for you.

He looks thinner and he is holding a scroll in his hand.  I liked that.

The Anchorage Temple announcement was such a wonderful day for us Alaskans.

We were living in Salt Lake City at the time of the announcement in 1997 and I remembered I cried.  I don't have to live in Alaska to still feel like an Alaskan.

When the temple building was dedicated, it was so important to our family that we returned home that school break in January 1999 for the event.

Yep, I was there.

President Hinckley performed the dedication.  I remember that he said "good people come from Soldotna" (our hometown of about 3,500 people).  I will never forget thinking, "maybe the Prophet is talking about me."  It was a proud moment for the Soldotna congregation.

The other thing I will never forget as long as I live on this earth was the singing.

I know there is recorded throughout LDS Church history, occasions where members of the Church will swear they heard angels singing when there was something spiritually special going on.

I am one of those members.

There was the special temple dedication choir that sang in the temple, and we as dedication session attendees sang along with them.  But there was such a power in the sound.  An unseen force that physically caused the hair on your arms to stand on end.

People looked around at each other while we sang.  "Do you hear it?", our eyes were asking each other. "You hear it too?", our eyes would answer each other.

It was truly divine.

As divine as that moment at the dedication at the temple was, the big picture is that it isn't really about the dedication or construction of the temple at all.

It is about family.  Eternal family.

This last month, while we visited the temple in Anchorage, it was the first time that my husband, his mother and our children have all worshipped in the temple together.  Three generations.  It was such a nice moment for us. It was the first time she (Grandma) had ever been to the temple with any of her biological grandchildren.  It was tender.

The grounds are so different from the Kansas City grounds.  Still lovely and sweet.  Lots of trees.

It was peaceful and actually soothing for me as we heal our saddened hearts at the loss of our friend, Tom, who passed away in June.  I think you remember him...he came to see you many times before he died.

While I feel as though I have been a part of the Anchorage Temple and it's history, I still could not help but feeling that my temple heart belongs to you here in Kansas City.

Speaking of Kansas City, your construction friends have been busy while I was gone.

Imagine my surprise when I drove up to see you, and there is a house being built right across the street!

Rumor is that it is a Distribution Center.  Other rumor is that it is a house for the Temple President.  

I don't know the answers, but what I do know is that you are getting some company!  And a fence.

Hang in there, Brother Moroni.  Don't let the hottest day in 25 years in Kansas City yesterday (107º plus heat index) dissuade you from doing your work. :)

As the scriptures say, "This (heat) too shall pass."

Love,

Sister Val

Run Chasers Run!

The Kansas City Temple Run was held yesterday, April 30th.  Valerie Anderson was there to catch the runners and the spirit of the day in action.

She shares her experience in a letter to Moroni:

It seems as though you are pretty busy sounding your trump (although a primary boy in my ward says he thinks you are shooting a big gun...) and educating folks on how to pronounce your name - "No, it is Mo-ron-i...not Macaroni" - that you might no have gotten the information about the big 1st Annual Kansas city Temple Run that was held this morning. It is hard to get info since you don't have time or skills to surf the Internet, so I figured you would like a little back history.

As you know, LDS folks are a happy bunch. They like to have just as much fun as the next fella, and one way is to throw a party. So, you can consider the temple run a sort of "Welcome to Missouri" party for you and the temple. It is a fun way that folks could come out to the temple. See friends. Take some pictures. Sweat a little.

Since you were facing East (we understand you were not trying to be rude with your back to us the whole time) while we were all there and the action was west of you on the closed-off streets, I thought I could give you a recount of the event.

We got up to some mostly perfect weather this morning.  It has been raining for days and days (why am I telling you?  You live outside) so I am sure there is more than one member of some planning committee from the Liberty Stake that prayed for a little break in the weather this week.  The spotty clouds made a nice picture or two of the temple.  There fortunately were plenty of folks there with cameras so between all of us, there will be some great pics floating around now.

Since I am not on the planning committee (or even a member of that stake), I don't have all the details.  Hopefully someone can fill in the blanks here.  From rumor, I hear that the registrations had to be closed a while ago at 1,500 participants.  That there were 149 volunteers - at least - to help out.  And that about a billion oranges were cut up for snacks after the race for the runners.

There were dark blue shirts everywhere!  Everyone looked great in that shade of blue.

I arrived at 8:30 am, an hour before the racing lining up began and there were already a ton of folks there.  From an event stand point, it was extremely well-organized and well-run.  I was highly impressed.  The Liberty Stake President welcomed everyone and I think I heard the stake president from Independence gave the opening prayer.

Being the humanitarian that you are, we knew that you would appreciate that a service project went along with the run today.  People donated household goods to the "In As Much Ministries."  It won't be very often I am guessing that you see folks walking around the temple with packs of toilet paper in their arms (are you allowed to use toilet paper and temple in the same sentence?).

The thing that stuck out to me the most was all the families.  Did you see them too?  Grandmas.  Dads.  Little girls.  Babies.  It was fun to see all these various shapes, sizes, ages, and colors mingling together.  Some brought everyone in the family and some came alone.  Many ran in the race, and many watched for fun and to cheer along.  It made me think that the heavens were happy to see so many gathered in.  Just having fun.

I don't know who won the race (...man, he was speedy!).  But here is his picture...

And there were missionaries.  Lots of missionaries.

There were missionaries in church dress directing parking.  Singing hymns while they did it.

There were missionaries "giving five" to the racers for encouragement.

There were missionaries who gave out bottled water for the thirsty...much like the spiritual "water" they give to those who spiritually "thirst".  I liked how they were waiting for the finishers.

There is something that you missed from your perch that I caught while I stood at the finish line taking some pictures.  It would be a great analogy for some sacrament talk some time, so if you ever want to use it, feel free.

As the runners came towards the finish line, one of two things generally happened.  Runners would either 1) push harder, finish faster, or pick up their sprint or 2) they were giving everything they had left to just finish.

Do you know what I learned from those finishers (drum roll please...or trump sounding as it were)?

They finished.

There are some who had others waiting for them at the end, cheering them on.  There were some who ran with someone to help them both finish.  There were some who came across the line alone.  There were some who skipped, some who leapt, some who held their arms up in delight, and there was even one who cart-wheeled through the finish line.

But it all comes back to the fundamental idea that they finished.

As I drove home, I was thinking about the temple and its purpose.  It really does in some ways boil down to the finish.  As we carry on through this life, it is very much like that race.  Some of us have runner bodies...some of us don't.  But with the temple, we all have equal opportunity to finish the race right.  Some will be sweatier than others.  Some will have someone running with them to encourage them. Some will not.  But at the end of each of our own personal race, there will be The One who will be waiting for us with His Living Water to refresh us.  He will quench our thirst.  He will sustain us.  He will be there when we finish, regardless of how worn out we look when we cross the line.

He will be there to love us and tell us, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant."  Brother Moroni, it was a great day.  If you ever find yourself with some free time and some internet waaaaay up there on top of the temple, you can see all the pictures from our outing at this location:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/fbx/?set=a.10150233700020042.361209.532120041&l=dd21d3769a

Yours,
Sister Val

As I was typing this post from Sister Val, the song, "Lord Accept Our True Devotion", from the LDS Hymnal on page 107, kept going through my head.

"Lord, accept our true devotion.
Let thy Spirit whisper peace.
Swell our hearts with fond emotion,
And our joy in thee increase.

Never leave us, never leave us,
Help us Lord, to win the race.
Never leave us, never leave us,
Help us Lord, to win the race!"


Keep running to the Temple Chasers!

Eternal Families Under Construction

This post brought to you today by the New Mark Ward, Platte City Stake, Family History Consultants:

"Every foundation stone that is laid for a Temple lessens the power of Satan on the earth, and increases the power of God and Godliness."
President George Q. Cannon

Temple construction is progressing well...Are we keeping the pace?

Building Your Eternal Home
Getting Started:


1.  Envision your dream home.  In (our) Father's house are many mansions prepared for all the ancestors and descendants waiting to be party of your eternal family.

2.  Hire the right architect.  Elijah was sent to seal the hearts of the children to their fathers, and the hearts of the fathers to the children. Let him change your heart.

3.  Get financing.  It takes much sacrifice to build an eternal family.  Begin by paying a full tithe, and invest your time in something of such eternal significance.

4.  Acquire a building permit.  Qualify for, secure, and use a current temple recommend.

5.  Get the right builder.  Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it...Psalms 127:1

6.  Gather your materials.  Gather the names of your ancestors and prepare them for temple ordinances.

7.  Lay a firm foundation.  "Decide to do something that will have eternal consequences.  Perhaps you have been prompted to look for ancestors but feel that you are not a genealogist.  Can you see that you don't have to be anymore?  It all begins with love and a sincere desire to help those who can't help themselves. ~ Elder Richard G. Scott

Get ready Temple Chasers....it's coming...

From our Prophet...

Words from our dear Prophet from General Conference last weekend to accompany stunning new photos just sent to me from Val Anderson, taken this evening....


"I express my undying gratitude to my Heavenly Father for the temple now being built in Rome and for all of our temples, wherever they are.  Each one stands as a beacon to the world, an expression of our testimony that God, our Eternal Father, lives, that He desires to bless us and, indeed, to bless His sons and daughters of all generations.  Each of our temples is an expression of our testimony that life beyond the grave is as real and as certain as is our life here on earth."

President Thomas S. Monson

Address stone...

I was inspired by the message given by the Prophet of our Church.  I am motivated and my desire to attend the temple as often as possible has increased.  I do hope and pray that my fervor and zeal toward the Kansas City Temple translates to better temple attendance in general. 


After all, as with our hearts and intents, what happens on the inside is more important.  I am grateful for this beacon to the world, for the message that it testifies of.  


Find a temple near you...and go...be a Chaser.  

Happy Organization Day!

A glorious sunrise on the morning of the organization birthday of the restored Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

"Meeting in the Peter Whitmer home on 6 April 1830, a small group of believers formally organized the Church that had begun to grow based on the truths revealed to a young prophet."
Elder John K. Carmack

And look where we are today.....
A temple in Kansas City....

President Monson's-The Holy Temple; A Beacon To The World

"Each of our temples is an expression of our testimony that life beyond the grave is as real and as certain as our life here."

President Thomas S. Monson

The perfect address for this Easter Season.

Temple Chaser at the House!

It was a joy to be here today.

I am completely overcome with the beauty of this, the Lord's House.

I am grateful to those who were able to join us this morning.  What a glorious experience to share with fellow Temple Chasers.

More pictures to come soon...I promise!  We had photographers packing serious heat and I look forward to the photos from them to share.

Don't forget, get your submissions in to me.  I asked the question, "What does having a temple in Kansas City, mean to me?"

I LOVE to see the TEMPLE!