Our Great Work

When Elder Jeffrey R. Holland was president of BYU, he compared the building of our lives to the building of the Salt Lake Temple. I love his quote, and think about it often in terms of the family I am striving to build:

“The prestigious Scientific American referred to [the Salt Lake Temple] as a ‘monument to Mormon perseverance.’ And so it was.

Blood, toil, tears, and sweat. The best things are always worth finishing.

‘Know ye not that ye are the temple of God?’ (1 Corinthians 3:16.) Most assuredly we are.

As long and laborious as the effort may seem, we must keep shaping and setting the stones that will make our accomplishments ‘a grand and imposing spectacle.’

We must take advantage of every opportunity to learn and grow, dream dreams and see visions, work toward their realization, wait patiently when we have no other choice, lean on our sword and rest a while, but get up and fight again. …

We are laying the foundation of a great work—our own inestimable future” (However Long and Hard the Road [1985], 127).

Here are some pictures of our greatest works.

Micah - 5 (Micah has a killer smile)

Lydia - 2, making sure her hands are in position

Lydia - pleased with her performance

Harrison - 9, with Jeff (doing the Big Mac Rap together-- Jeff did the "Big Mac" background beat - handsome boys!)

Lydia with Lucy - about a week old (our little girls)

Haven - 11, and Maxwell - 7 (I love that they wanted to play together)

Dallin - 13 (I love to watch him play the trumpet-- he's got soul!)