My New Crown

 A couple of weeks ago while chewing on a piece of salt water taffy, the crown on my lower left tooth came off. This crown was very old so it's probably a good thing that it came off. Although inconvenient to go to the dentist to get a new crown, I did it. I called and they got me in that very day to begin the process of procuring a new crown. The prep was made and a temporary crown was placed on my tooth. I was told that my new crown would arrive in two weeks so I scheduled an appointment on a Monday to seat the crown.

On the Thursday before my Monday appointment, my temporary crown came off while I was at Costco. Yes, I was told not to eat anything chewy or sticky, including gum, but I had stuck a piece of gum in my mouth without really thinking about it before going into the store. Oops! I called the dental office after returning home, and again they were able to see me that very afternoon.

When I got to the dental office to get my temporary crown glued back into place, I was told that my permanent crown had been delivered so they were just going to seat that crown instead. I was very happy about that. I didn't like the temporary crown much.

The new crown went in beautifully. Dr. Kersjes did a great job, and I like the looks and feel of it.

As I was thinking about this crown, my thoughts turned to the crown of glory that everyone has a potential of receiving from our Heavenly Father one day. No, it won't be a crown like the royals wear.

 A crown of glory is for those who live the gospel and follow Christ - he who wore a crown of thorns because his accusers wanted to mock him as the King of Kings.

James E. Faust said: By removing the slivers of sin and the thorns of worldly temptation in our lives and by denying ourselves and taking up our own cross to follow the Savior, we can change a crown of thorns to a crown of glory.

By accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, by doing good works, by obeying the principles of the gospel, by keeping the commandments, by enduring to the end, and by making and keeping sacred covenants with the Lord, one can qualify to receive a crown of glory - or eternal life with our Heavenly Father. 

It can only be through the grace of God that anyone can receive a crown of glory because all of us fall short. We live in a fallen world so temptations are great and we all make poor choices. Because of the atonement, we can be forgiven of all of our sins and shortcomings. Jesus Christ has already paid the price for our sins. We must willingly let the atonement work in our lives in order to become clean and receive that crown one day in the far distance.