Category: Temple

Opposition To That Which Is Good

Opposition to that which is good, that I did not see coming, indirectly showed up and rocked my world. 

Oh, WOW!!! It stunk bad as I was going about doing good with a pure heart, following clear and unquestionable divine inspiration from Heavenly Father, opposition to that which is good, that I did not see coming, indirectly showed up and rocked my world. 

I was shocked and taken aback the opposition was even happening, especially in my geographical area, yet, here it was before me, of all places. In my naivety and oblivion, innocence and ignorance, as I began to receive pieces here and there of conversations had behind my back, though heartbreaking, I was open and receptive to the hard, to understand what I didn’t understand. I don’t hide away from conflict. It is absolutely uncomfortable, YES, yet, the knowledge gained is valuable and worth it to me for my personal growth.

Suffice it to say, sparing specific details, upon the surfacing of the opposition to that which is good, as I was about sharing my gifts and talents with others, doing what I love and love what I am doing, the perception and perceived notion of the good I was about doing, for whatever reason, was viewed negatively. I was astounded.

When the opposition came forward, it came on with force, and mentally and emotionally weighed heavily upon me, so much so, that I took my anguish to Heavenly Father. The many tender mercies that followed lifted my spirits. Despite the opposition to that which is good, I regained my footing to continue onward doing what I love and love what I am doing with joy and gratitude, knowing my heart was pure and in the right place. 

Upon the onset of the opposition, my questioning myself if the reference of character that came up and of concern to others of me was true, it was a tender mercy I received a sacred assurance from Heavenly Father that I was not who I was described to be.

Downtrodden for several days, the upcoming Sunday, I struggled to go to church, yet, it was a tender mercy I felt a strength to attend. Throughout Sacrament Meeting, all the while my emotional and mental state was waned, the talks given resonated and coincided with the inspired direction I had received to share my gifts and talents with others, and it was a tender mercy the confirmation and assurance I felt to carry onward doing the good I was inspired to do. Also, all the while my emotional and mental state was waned, I found myself numb as I sang a hymn, mouthing the words without knowing what I was singing. As the chorus began, it was a tender mercy a line of the song clearly stood out and I heard it amidst the sorrow I was feeling and the fog that had encompassed me, “We will heed not what the wicked may say, But the Lord alone we will obey”. Upon hearing these words, I was assured that the divine direction I had received was right despite opposition to the good I was doing. 

Following Sacrament Meeting, I was headed to a specific Sunday School class, when per a tender mercy, I was rerouted to attend a different class, for which again, all of the messages presented were a strong confirmation to me of the divine inspiration I had received from Heavenly Father which buoyed my brokenness. 

And then BOOM, right after church, again, the opposition to that which is good I was doing came on strong with a heaviness that was hard to bear. Desiring to feel a peace, comfort, and solace, I spontaneously headed to a temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In route, I prayed to have someone—an earthly, mortal, safe person I could talk to apart from Heavenly Father. Within confusion to comprehend what was happening and seeking to know what was next for me, it was a tender mercy I heard Heavenly Father say to me, “I’ll help you”[to do the good I have inspired you to do]. Upon my arrival at the temple, it was a remarkable tender mercy my prayer for someone I could talk to was answered. 

The roller coaster ride is not yet over, however, from the strong opposition to that which is good coming my way, experiencing the emotional lows as I fall subject to criticism, there have also been many tender mercies of emotional strength more powerful from Heavenly Father.

When have you received hard opposition to that which is good you were doing, and a greater power and strength from Heavenly Father to not abandon your righteous and divinely inspired direction came by way of continuous confirmations and assurances?

tendermercym❤️ments~jld

“How have you noticed Heavenly Father’s awareness and mindfulness of you today?”

*If you would like to receive an email when new posts are published which includes an audio version of the posts as well, please send your name and email address to tendermercymoments@gmail.com.

Heavenly Help For Guidance And Direction

I was confident as I sat in my car in the parking lot looking up at the temple that I would receive heavenly help for guidance and direction to know what to do in my situation. 

One trying evening as I sat on our family couch uncertain of what lie ahead in my future, I felt impressed to immediately go to the temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Though it was a late hour and the temple was closed, I was confident as I sat in my car in the parking lot looking up at the temple that I would receive heavenly help for guidance and direction to know what to do in my situation. 

While in route, the darkness of the evening, along with the dark sky area I was in gave off an eery feeling and not the peace I thought I would feel per my impression to head to the temple. In addition, along the shortest path to the temple according to GPS, each turn I took, road construction had blocked the passageway. I was faced with detour after detour. 

As I was approximately a block away and could find no way to get closer to the temple, an unsettling feeling that was all encompassing, I decided to head back home. As I drove away, it was a tender mercy I was able to see the upper portion of the temple between a gate that separated the neighborhood I was in and the temple grounds a little way off and what then struck out to me was a long banner spread out across someone’s porch that said, “Let God Prevail”. Though I did not make it all the way to the temple, it was a tender mercy I was led to this banner, an answer from Heavenly Father. 

A separate unrelated occurrence within days of this experience, again heavenly help for guidance and direction came. As a Covid-19 letter from the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was issued, three things that stood out to me in the letter were the words, “urge”, “a very high” and the absence of a mandate/command from God himself. I was conflicted as to up to that time I had received clear direction for me from Heavenly Father what to do and this letter was in opposition of what I had received for me from Him. So, I took my concern directly to Heavenly Father and shared my conflict and how confused I was seeking once again heavenly help for guidance and direction to know what to do for me. 

I prayed that on Sunday our family Bishop would share something that would provide a clear answer for me. Following the talks and prior to the meeting coming to a close, it was a tender mercy the Bishop got up and spoke to the letter and shared the importance of personal revelation for ourselves and our family and asked whatever that may be for each individual, mask or not mask, vaccinate or not vaccinate, to not let our personally inspired direction divide our Ward family, that respect for one another and acceptance be shown one to another. 

Peace entered my soul and confirmation that the answer I had received prior to the letter had not changed. That confirmation was once again confirmed when I read a letter from a former Bishop of a congregation I had attended with a like message.

Again, approximately a week and a half following the above first and second experience, while attending a BYU Convocation, with a tender heart, a lump in my throat, and holding back somewhat near visible tears from flowing down my cheeks, I reminisced my experience over two decades earlier the heavenly help for guidance and direction I had received.

I felt intense emotions of gratitude for the privilege, blessing, and tender mercy it was for me to be able to attend BYU and how my life has been touched and enriched and in turn, my immense desire to bless and enrich the lives of others. “Enter To Learn, Go Forth To Serve” means so much to me and I become emotional each time I think of these words and see them on BYU Campus. 

As I felt the weight that so much depended on the essay portion of the application to be accepted to BYU, due to my struggle with writing, I reached out in prayer to Heavenly Father. Through the heavenly help for guidance and direction I received, it was a tender mercy I was accepted to BYU. I was a transfer student from Ricks College, a two-year school from which I had recently graduated and I applied to BYU prior to my mission to Japan for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in hopes of attending following my mission to which I am ever so grateful I had the blessed opportunity to do so.  

When have you experienced uncertainty, been conflicted, or had a desire of your heart and as you reached out to Heavenly Father, heavenly help for guidance and direction came?

tendermercym❤️ments~jld

“How have you noticed Heavenly Father’s awareness and mindfulness of you today?”

*If you would like to receive an email when new posts are published which includes an audio version of the posts as well, please send your name and email address to tendermercymoments@gmail.com.

Peace From Within Came In Due Time

A peace from within came in due time after a number of consecutive tender mercy moments.

Nearly a year and half ago, I received a distinct impression that a big change would occur for our family. And, it was clear to me the time for the change was not right then. As to when I did not know until a few months back. It was a tender mercy it was then I received a confirmation over and over again that the time had come, however, there was a component associated with the change to which I felt unsettled. With a desire to be fully on board with this component as I was with the overall change itself, I sought to feel peace. A peace from within came in due time after a number of consecutive tender mercy moments. 

The process to my eventual feeling a peace regarding that component started off with a late night prayer before I read my scriptures with a hope that a peace would come by way of something I read. Amidst the words I read and reread as I desired to capture the gist of every verse, a very specific question of concern popped into my mind. I was enlightened to bring it up to my husband the next morning. When I did, he shared that it had not crossed his mind, however, it was a tender mercy he had received information that morning, unrequested by him, in his email inbox that directly corresponded to the question of concern and ruled out that undesirable circumstance I would not want to face. It was a tender mercy I felt of Heavenly Father’s awareness of me to provide an assurance all was well in regards to this critical detail of good to know importance associated with the component that may not have come up on my radar. Unfortunately, though I was grateful, I still did not feel the peace I desired to feel. 

The following evening, I drove to a temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to seek for a peace the rest of my family and members of our extended family already felt regarding the component. While there by myself in the parking lot looking up towards the temple that was closed at the time, it was a tender mercy I was impressed to share immediately with a number of family members before they, who in that very moment were gathered together in the same place, returned to their own residences this statement that came to my mind, “Though I still do not feel the peace I desire to feel and I am continuing to seek it, I am willing to join you all on the journey.”    

And then, it was a tender mercy that back-to-back, I came across this verse in my daily scripture reading, 

2 Nephi 11:3 “And my brother, Jacob, also has seen him as I have seen him; wherefore, I will send their words forth unto my children to prove unto them that my words are true. Wherefore, by the words of three, God hath said, I will establish my word. Nevertheless, God sendeth more witnesses, and he proveth all his words.”

And, right after this scripture, Proverbs 3 verse 5 entered my mind, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.”

Each tender mercy moment was impactful. Even though I still struggled to feel peace after each one, a peace from within came in due time. The tender mercy moment that clinched it for me and the desired peace came was when I had an aha moment of realization that the opportunity to expand and do more with a hobby of mine would be available to me by means of this component. It was this tender mercy that impacted me the most in a very personal way. As I sought for peace, though it did not come immediately, I was grateful peace from within came in due time. 

When have you known that an inspired change in your life was right, but unsettled about a component of the change you desired to feel good about also, and specific to that, peace from within came in due time? 

tendermercym❤️ments~jld

“How have you noticed Heavenly Father’s awareness and mindfulness of you today?”

*If you would like to receive an email when new posts are published which includes an audio version of the posts as well, please send your name and email address to tendermercymoments@gmail.com.

A Sacred And Special Place

Enjoying every moment of my short time on the grounds of this beautiful, sacred and special place.

With the spread of the coronavirus still ongoing, a sacred and special place, the temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints closest to me has been closed and not fully operational in months. During a brief time the gates of the temple property were open for a drive-by viewing to pay respects to an older gentlemen in my ward congregation who had recently passed away, I had the opportune blessing of being able to leisurely walk the grounds around the temple.    

This well-regarded church member was a former Temple President and Sealer in this sacred and special place. In lieu of a public memorial service that could not be held due to coronavirus health measures in place precluding large gatherings, prior to his passing, he requested that his funeral procession travel through the temple parking lot en route to the cemetery where he would be laid to rest.  

Upon receiving the news of his passing and the invitation to attend his drive-by viewing at this sacred and special place, I was unsure I would be able to make it. It was not until the day of, at the very hour I would need to head out to arrive right at the time of the drive-by viewing was I certain it would work for me to go. Being the time had already past for to arrive the recommended fifteen minutes before the viewing, I questioned if it was worth it to go. As I thought about staying home instead to take on a weeding project that was long overdue, it was a tender mercy a General Conference talk by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf entitled “Of Things That Matter Most”, a quoted reference in his message in regards to that which is good, better, best entered my mind and I knew that attending the viewing was best and the weeding could wait. 

I quickly changed into a skirt outfit and off I went. I arrived at the intersection of the temple lot three minutes before the scheduled drive-by viewing, which unfortunately the hearse had already driven through the temple parking lot, however, it was a tender mercy that the light at the intersection was red and from where I was in the line of stopped traffic I was able to see the hearse exit the intersection and travel away from the temple.

Moments later, I pulled into the temple parking lot just as church members and friends were departing. Though I missed the full drive-by viewing, it was a tender mercy I arrived when I did as I had the opportune blessing to park and enjoy a quiet and peaceful walk around the temple. I soaked up and enjoyed every moment of my short time on the grounds of this beautiful, sacred and special place.

When have you had the opportune blessing of being present on the grounds of a sacred and special place during a time it was temporarily open?

tendermercym❤️ments~jld

“How have you noticed Heavenly Father’s awareness and mindfulness of you today?”

*If you would like to receive an email when new posts are published which includes an audio version of the posts as well, please send your name and email address to tendermercymoments@gmail.com.

It Didn’t Make Sense, Nonetheless…

Upon receiving a spontaneous prompting to purchase raspberry lemonade, though it didn’t make sense, nonetheless, the impression to go and do was acted on.

It Didn’t Make Sense, Nonetheless…

As much as I did not want to go to the grocery store this evening, I was grateful for the deliberate focus I had on what all I needed to get and that the menu items for the meals I had planned out for at least the next couple of days all fit in a mini shopping cart. As I was ready to check out, I felt impressed to go all the way to the back of the store in the cold section and get some raspberry lemonade. I did not know the reason for the prompting and though it didn’t make sense, nonetheless I went ahead and followed through with it. 

Typically it is not a food item that I purchase on a regular basis, only on a rare occasion if there’s a coupon or it’s on sale. Remarkably, in conjunction with the impression, it was a tender mercy that the lemonade happened to be on sale. As I purchased two bottles along with our other groceries, brought them home and placed them in our fridge, one of my children noticed and they were pleased. I wondered if maybe it was meant for them, but it didn’t feel like it and so again I still didn’t know the reason for purchasing the raspberry lemonade.

The following night, it seemed fitting to have one of the bottles of raspberry lemonade as just part of our family meal. It tasted delicious and was enjoyed by everyone, however, there was nothing significant that stood out answering the why I felt impressed to specifically purchase the raspberry lemonade and so I was still curious as to the reason. 

Later that evening at the close of the night I received a text message from a friend expressing concern about a mutual friend who was struggling and reaching out for connection. 

Earlier in the week, I felt prompted to message the struggling friend prior to coming to know that they were going through a hard time, but received no response back. As this friend continued to be on my mind for days, I prayed for them and asked Heavenly Father what I could do for them. I was impressed to place their name on a prayer roll inside one of the temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints so that not only myself, but others as well could pray for them too. However, that would have to wait a couple days until the temple was open to be able to do so. 

In the meantime, when I received the text from the friend about our mutual friend, I once again reached out and asked the struggling friend if they would like to get together. Despite their desire for connection, they replied back that per what they were going through, the timing was not good. I then asked what would help them the most right at that time. They quickly responded that they were in much need of prayers to which I replied that I would definitely do that and at the end of the text message I added a hug and a prayer emoji. 

After our correspondence, it became clear to me that the other bottle of raspberry lemonade was for this struggling friend. However, a part of me felt a little uncomfortable giving them the raspberry lemonade as I was concerned that their perception would be that I was sending a message for them to turn their “lemons into lemonade” and to just get over what they were going through rather than the pure compassion and empathy I felt for them. 

That concern was short lived as I knew I was guided to specifically get the raspberry lemonade for reasons I did not know as well as the thought that when food has been brought to me, I have felt comforted and happy that somebody had thought of me and took the time to bring something to me especially at a time when I’ve been hurting.

The following afternoon I stopped by their home and though it appeared they were there as their family cars were in the driveway, I did not expect them to come to the door. After knocking and waiting a short couple of minutes, I placed a grocery bag with the raspberry lemonade inside on their door knob and texted them to let them know I left it. 

Although I didn’t know anything about my friend’s circumstance or situation, only that they were struggling and going through a very hard time, I knew there was a purpose in getting the raspberry lemonade and though initially it didn’t make sense, nonetheless as I acted on the impression, it was a tender mercy I was able to bless them during their time of need. 

I learned later through a thank you text from the struggling friend a couple of primary whys behind the raspberry lemonade in particular, one being that it is a favorite drink for most of the family members in their household.

When have you received a spontaneous prompting to purchase a random item, which at the time it didn’t make sense, nonetheless, you acted on the impression to go and do and later came to know of the inspirational reason why?

tendermercym❤️ments~jld

“How have you noticed Heavenly Father’s awareness and mindfulness of you today?”

*If you would like to receive an email when new posts are published, please send your name and email address to tendermercymoments@gmail.com.

Solo Week

For the first time in almost 23 years of marriage and 21 years of being a mom, I recently had an entire week to myself. Initially, I had no idea at all what I would do with my time alone for this was a new experience for me. I was concerned that I would be twiddling my thumbs, but the blankness of not knowing what I would do did not last long. 

It was a tender mercy that one idea after another began flooding my mind from people I could reach out to, projects I could work on, and places I could visit. My week filled up before it began. The ideas did not remain ideas, they became what I went for and accomplished. It was incredible the flow and line up of when the activities occurred from one day to the next. 

My schedule was well-balanced and organized and I felt productive. I attended an out-of-town festival, prepared for an upcoming baby shower, went to church, enjoyed walks, reached out and visited friends, participated in a personal development group, stepped out of my comfort zone to attend a social gathering with multiple families, took a mini day trip to a tourist destination, attended a parenting class, ran family errands, performed ordinance work in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint temple, prepared a lesson for my primary class at church, and worked on my blog. It was a marvelous week of doing what I love and enjoy and having the courage to go out and explore new things on my own.  

When have you had time all to yourself and just when you had no idea what you would do with your alone time, ideas flooded your mind and as you acted on those ideas you felt accomplished and a greater sense of self?

tendermercym❤️ments~jld

“How have you noticed Heavenly Father’s awareness and mindfulness of you today?”

*If you would like to receive an email when new posts are published, please send your name and email address to tendermercymoments@gmail.com.*

Called To The Work

Recently, throughout the day and into the evening while attending with my children and the youth of our congregation as they participated in ordinances in the temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I was experiencing a pain in my side and emotionally my spirits were low.  

Upon arrival, one of the youth shared with me that they did not have with them the necessary card to enter the temple. As the rest of the group went ahead, I stayed behind to help them. As we waited until they were issued a new temple recommend, they expressed gratitude that I had remained by their side. For me, it was a tender mercy that they had approached me with their concern and I was able to assist as being engaged in their need took my mind somewhat off of the hurt I was feeling. 

In addition, it was a tender mercy when rather than sitting the entire time paying more attention to what was troubling me while also watching each of the youth one-by-one perform proxy baptisms for the dead and confirmations, I was asked by a temple worker if I was willing to be a “baptistry runner” continuously taking a grouping of completed baptism names from a table to the confirmation desk and then to the office for recording. Although I hesitantly said yes, it kept me occupied and active throughout the duration of our time there. Ultimately, the opportunity to serve helped me. My focus and energy was redirected away from my physical discomfort and feeling emotionally down. It was a wonderful blessing! 

When has a form of pain you were experiencing been unnoticed for a time as you accepted an opportunity to serve others?

tendermercym❤️ments~jld

“How have you noticed Heavenly Father’s awareness and mindfulness of you today?”

*If you would like to receive an email when new posts are published, please send your name and email address to tendermercymoments@gmail.com.*