See your body as your temple

A week ago we went to the open house for the Gilbert Arizona LDS temple. It will be dedicated this Sunday and after that only members with a recommend will be able to enter. But before that there is always an open house where anyone can come in and see what it is like.

The temple is gorgeous. I have yet to visit a LDS temple that isn’t beautiful. I love the unique little things about each of them as well. And as a quilter I like looking at the motifs that are repeated in the design work of the stained glass, wood work, tiling, carpets, etc. The Gilbert temple has a stylized agave plant that reflects the surrounding nature.

The temple is a physical building where the Spirit of the Lord can dwell. It is the House of the Lord.

On Sunday we talked about Elder Nelson’s talk “Decisions for Eternity” which had this quote:

Each time you look in the mirror, see your body as your temple. That truth—refreshed gratefully each day—can positively influence your decisions about how you will care for your body and how you will use it. And those decisions will determine your destiny.
– Elder Russell M. Nelson, Decisions for Eternity, October 2013 General Conference

My body is the physical building where my spirit dwells. And until this past weekend, I’ve rarely thought of it as more than just a physical dwelling for my spirit. I had not made the full comparison between the beautiful temple buildings and my body, the temple for my spirit.

But my body is more than just a building, it is a beautiful building. It has its own uniqueness. It’s own patterns that reflect my surroundings and past. I’ve never thought I was ugly, although I’ve definitely figured out my style a lot better over the years. Learning to belly dance gave me a great appreciation for the ways in which my body can move. But I don’t always compare my physical body with the magnificent temples.

My body is magnificent. It grows and develops. It heals and repairs itself. It dances. It runs marathons. It grew a whole other person. Brett is fascinated with the conservation of mass as it relates to living things, being slightly disturbed that green onions can grow in just water. He’s not sure how water molecules are transformed into green onion molecules. Other than a bite or two of peas, carrots, avocado, etc, the molecules that make up our daughter all came from me. My body sees and hears. It feels textures and sound.

The beauty of my body is not just what it looks like, but what it does and what it has been through.

The greatest miracle we see each day is the one we see when we look in the mirror.