To my posterity

Aunt Gail suggested I share my testimony/thoughts about this experience in Nauvoo.

It is true that we are learning and our testimonies are growing. We participate as proxies or assisting other to be proxies five days a week in the saving ordinances of the temple. That is an amazing experience. I was impressed by President Eyring's comment in the last conference that we should "gain and keep a sure witness that the keys of the priesthood are with us." He said to pray for that every day. Even though that was in the Priesthood session, it applies to all of us. I know that the sealing keys have been restored and because of that we can be an eternal family unit. That makes a big difference in how I feel towards each member of my family. I know that I will be reunited with my parents, grandparents, and sisters and that ancestors further back will be introduced to me. I know that I will be reunited with all my descendants and that I will have continued cheering on their lives after I've passed onward.

Photo by Sister Seeley

As we come out of the temple each evening after serving, I realize that the pioneers didn't see the manicured lawns, beautiful flower beds, and magnificent sculptures of Joseph and Hyrum. But they DID see the Mississippi River in all its grandeur. They had sacrificed time and means to build that beautiful structure because they knew the ordinances they could receive there were important. As they left Nauvoo that beautiful river (then frozen over) became the first obstacle of many to cross on their way west. They would have looked back at their beloved temple on the hill with sorrow in their hearts. I don't see how they could have left it without the faith that they were doing the Lord's will.

I'm not sure we meet the challenges of our time with as much hope and faith and trust in the Lord as they did. Did they know they were doing it for our sakes? And what am I doing for my descendants' sakes? I want them to know the Gospel is worth sacrificing for and that service in the church brings joy. I want them to know Heavenly Father loves them, warts and all. I want them to know this life is not all there is, that the same sociality that exists here among us will exist in the eternities. Our reunions at Camp Alpine are but a foretaste of heaven!