Pappa Hardy's Musings on Life.

I had a special experience last Wednesday January 4. The Conditional Use Permit for the Payson River Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints came before the Payson City Council for formal approval. It is not often in one’s life that one can be involved in such a historic event for Payson.

The whole project was presented to us. There appeared to be no dissent of any material kind. I was privileged to make the motion for the approval of the Site Plan. Additionally, I also made the motion for the approval of a Deferral Agreement. The vote was unanimous on all four motions made by the council. I am so excited to see this edifice built in our city. It will be a great addition to the church and to the city of Payson.

My mind has turned to the eternities much recently. Yesterday I had the opportunity to attend the groundbreaking for the Payson Utah Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Today, I am sitting in a room at the Utah Valley Specialty Hospital with my father at the bedside of my mother. She is dying of Stage 2 Uterine Cancer and I can see the end coming.

I can’t say enough good things about my mom. She raised me, she instructed me in doing the right things and in how to be a good person. She is my role model. She is a Saint. Her illness has lead me to thinking a lot more about eternity and what we need to do to be ready to be there with our Lord and his Son.

I can think of nothing that would be better than living with my family forever in God’s Kingdom.

Today was a beautiful day. You would have never guessed it based on the weather. You would never have guessed it by whether the sun was shining or not. It was beautiful in a much different way.

Today was the groundbreaking service for the Payson Utah Temple. It rained all day Thursday, and even more and harder on Friday. One could hope that the heavens would have dried out after two days of soaking rain, but when I got up on Saturday morning the streets were wet and the skies were not blue. We had clouds, and rain, and not very nice weather for a groundbreaking ceremony that was to take place on a former wheat field.

We arrived at the site of the ground breaking and the rain kept on coming. In fact, I would swear that the rain was increasing rather than decreasing. The weather didn’t dampen our spirits however and we all waited patiently for the service to begin, knowing that in at least 26 Stake Centers in the central part of the state the majority of the members of the church had the opportunity to watch the service in dryness.

During the prayer, the supplicant pleaded with the Lord to temper the elements, and at that time, the rain stopped and only consisted of an occasional drizzle. It was a miracle. The service itself warmed the hearts of us all. The thought of a temple of the Lord being erected on this site was hear warming in the extreme.

Elder Oaks of the Twelve delivered an excellent talk and then used his Priesthood to dedicate and consecrate the ground to the building of a temple to the Lord. It was a spiritual feast for all of us that were in attendance. After his prayer, then the meeting ended and the breaking of the ground started to occur. First, the 4 general authorities in attendance turned over shovels of earth. That was followed by 26 Stake Presidents in attendance. My dear friend and associate President Wayne Pullan, whom I served with as a counselor when he was Bishop of the Page Ward that participated.

A personal experience of delight came when Elder Oaks invited the city officials, one of which I am, to come up and turn shovels of dirt and participate in the ground breaking. It was a neat experience to be able to participate in such a sacred ceremony, and do it as an official of Payson City. This will be a highlight of my service on the Payson City Council and as a member of the church. I look forward to the time, in 2.5 years, when the temple is finished and dedicated and I can walk its hallowed halls and participate in ordinances for the dead.

Finally, deacons were asked to come up and we also had many others, including my daughter Julie, who took the opportunity to get up and turn a shovel full of earth. It was a day to remember. It was a beautiful day.

This last week was exciting. On Monday, while sitting at work making calls, I heard a ringtone on my phone that indicated a new message was there. I quickly looked, and to my surprise, an announcement from my church that they are building a brand new temple in Payson, only 1.8 miles from my house. Hallelujah. Things like that are always exciting. It will make a big difference for Payson. Well, the rest of the week has been taken up by work, meetings with City Officials and the council, and visiting family. A very busy week.

One thing that sets apart The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is our building of Temples, and Temple Worship. I had the opportunity tonight to be a part of the dedication of the Draper Temple. It was a wonderful experience. The sacredness of this structure and what happens there is peculiar to our religion, but I believe is beautiful.

Contrast that to a recent episode of Big Love, which portrayed for the whole world something which we consider to be sacred. That portrayal in my opinion was unnecessary to and added nothing to the story that show was trying to tell. It was included because the “Mormons” are considered a peculiar people. I was offended by the insensitivity of the producers of that show. What incredible differences there were from the dedication which was a high light, and a crass portrayal on network TV.