BYU Graduation

One week ago, Alan and I were able to attend the graduation of Kyle and Emily from Brigham Young University.  Ryan and Eric both graduated from BYU, but they chose not to walk for one reason or another.  Jared and Cheryl graduated from the University of Utah, but neither of them wanted to walk either, so this was our first University graduation to attend.  Elder Oaks spoke at the Convocation on Thursday and then on Friday, Kyle and Emily received their diplomas...or at least a holder for the diploma that will be received through the mail.

Without a good zoom on my iphone, we had to get these photos from the jumbotron at the Marriot Center.  That's why they don't look so clear.

Later that evening, our family and the Crandall family met at the Macaroni Grill for a celebration dinner.  Besides Kyle and Emily, our family consisted of Alan, Ryan, Cheryl, and me.  At the conclusion of the dinner, Kyle stood up and tapped his glass with his fork to get our attention. (I will now try to paraphrase the remarks from he and Emily).  Kyle proceded to thank us for all of our support on getting him through college and thanked Emily's parents for their support as well.  Emily also expressed with her thanks to everyone and then said that they had wanted to give each of us a thank-you gift, but with their limited budget it wasn't a possibility.  Then she said as a little thank-you gift they are making something that would one day fit into this:  then she held up a onesie.

The baby is due in early December and we are all thrilled with the announcement. That was a beautiful way to end the dinner and we all left with smiles on our faces.  We are so happy for Kyle and Emily and know that they will be wonderful parents. 

Reflections

Yesterday at Church, there was much focus in our ward on temples and temple work.  This gave me an opportunity to reflect on my recent trip to the Washington D.C. Temple.  Although our group (Jane, Ken, Gayle, Scott, Cheryl, and I, plus Ben & Ali) could have spent our limited time in Washington D.C. focusing on the many historical sites available to tourists, we made the decision to make the roughly 45 min. drive from Ben and Ali's house in Woodbridge, VA to the temple in Kensington, MD.  After a nice birthday meal for Jane and I at the Cheesecake Factory close to the temple, we headed to the temple and had a wonderful, spiritual experience there.  This was the first time I had been able to go on a session with Cheryl since she received her endowment last June.  I loved being there with her!  I can honestly say that our trip to the temple was the highlight of the trip for me.  Although I am at the temple once a week, I never grow tired of doing the Lord's work there.  Yesterday I started thinking about some contrasts between the Lord's house and the White House where the President of the United States lives.  We were able to see both from the outside, which was nice, but we were unable to enter one of the houses.  Even after following all of the requirements to get inside the White House, including a background check, we were unable to get tickets for the tour.  This was very disappointing for me, but I understood that the chances would not be good on getting tickets to enter.  We qualified, but were denied entry. On the flipside, because I have a current temple recommend, I am able to enter any of the Lord's Temple's throughout the world as many times as I would like to.  Anyone who qualifies is allowed to enter.  In fact, the Lord becons all to come to his house, whereas only a select few are allowed into the White House, kinda the luck of the draw.

The White House of the Lord

The White House of the U.S. President

If I had to choose which house I would like to enter, I would choose the House of the Lord any day!