Just another Jess

“If you don’t yet love the temple, go more often—not less. Let the Lord, through His Spirit, teach and inspire you there. I promise you that over time, the temple will become a place of safety, solace, and revelation." President Russell M. Nelson …Actually, of the 520 weeks in those ten years, I missed five of them. But 515 of 520 is still something to write home about. Over the last decade, I’ve probably spent close to 1,000 hours as a patron in the temple and done proxy work for more than 2,300 people. It’s been a hefty investment. Closing a chapter always feels one of two ways to me. Either exhausted bliss, usually accompanied by a great sense of achievement – like at my academic graduation ceremonies – or longing with a twinge of grief that my life will never be the same – like when I retired my little rescue horse from competition. Today, I feel both.  When I began this journey in January of 2013, I didn’t intend to keep it up this long. It started as a New Year’s Resolut

  “And When Thou Art Converted, Strengthen Thy Brethren.” - Jesus Christ (Luke 22:32) This talk was given on October 23, 2022 in the Highland Glen YSA ward of the Alpine, Utah YSA stake. Stake President Brandon Doman attended, and area seventy Elder Richard N. Holzapfel presided. Introduction In 2014, as an undergraduate student at BYU, I sat in the JKB as Dr. Anthony Sweat taught a religion class about the Doctrine and Covenants. But I wasn’t really listening. I was entirely consumed in my own thoughts about truth . I wasn’t sure how we could possibly know that any of this was true. I’m analytical by nature, and it’s in my personality to question everything. I don’t allow myself to be attached so firmly to any ideology that I’m unwilling to update my beliefs if new evidence enlightens new understanding. But at this point in my faith journey, that was a new experience for me. I had always been confident in my testimony and in my understanding of gospel truths, and I was frigh