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Transcript

What a blessing it is to be inside the temple. Today I was able to go to the Provo Temple and do baptisms for the dead. The Spirit has really led me and taught me and comforted me a lot in these last few months. People have come up and asked me so many times, "Why are you so happy?" There's so many wonderful things that happen in life. That's what I've learned through my trials and also through knowledge of the gospel is to enjoy the small things. My mom taught me about the gospel of Jesus Christ and about the plan of salvation and how we can be together forever. She taught me to live worthy of the temple, to make that my goal. She taught me that family is most important. On Christmas Eve, my family was coming home from a party and we stopped at the store to get some last-minute Christmas shopping done. We ended up going home a different way. We got to 7th West and the light turned red, so we were stopped at the light. And I remember looking around the car, and it was one of those things where I reflected, and I just feel so grateful. I looked around at all my children, and you could see they were just--they'd all nodded off. And I thought of how they were thinking about Christmas and dreaming of what would be happening the next day or so. I remember feeling really confused and lost and scared, didn't know what happened. I wondered where my family was.

He sat down and he told me what had happened. I had no idea. He said, "We've been in a really bad accident." And I said, "What about Mom?" And I just looked at him and I said, "She didn't make it." There was just silence. He just sat there in thought.

And I said, "What about Ian and Julie?" After a long pause, I said, "Neither did Ian and neither did Julie." And he smiled as one tear ran down his cheek, and he said, "It's OK, Dad, we're still a family." And that's the way Caleb was, from then till today. He understood what it was all about. The spirit that was there with me in that hospital room was incredible, and it told me through just an overwhelming sense of peace that I was going to see them again. It's not just about the here and now. It's about eternity. A knowledge of the plan of salvation has really taught me a lot of things. I've been able to grow closer to the Savior. He can stretch our hearts and give us a greater capacity to love. The key to anything is to keep an eternal perspective. That's how I'm getting through life now and how I'll get through it in the future.

What does it mean to have eternal perspective? It means to remember there are more important things than just the here and now. It means to remember that life continues after death, that the way you act and respond to things in your everyday life have eternal consequences. It also means to have your eye single to the glory of God, so you can see the big picture, to see why you had to experience that certain trial, to see that all things will always be for your good, something you can learn from and be strengthened by.

Plan of Salvation - We’re Still a Family

Description
A young man shares how the plan of salvation has helped him to see the blessings that can come through trials.
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