Life. Is. Good.

Hola mi familia y mis amigos,

Life is good. That just about sums up everything right now. I love this Gospel. I love Jesus Christ. I love life.

This past week was a great (and interesting one):

Right now we're teaching the Guasin family (well...really only the father so far) and they are an interesting bunch. The father, Hector, has met with missionaries off and on for many years, but something has clicked recently and he is now reading and praying about the Book of Mormon. He basically wants to know if it is true because he realizes that if it is, then everything will change for him. His wife (who we've only met once and whose name I can't remember) has two sisters who were baptized as teenagers and are sealed in the temple to RM's (which is mormon slang for "returned missionary," or someone who served a mission).

Something has recently touched Hector's heart and he really wants all of this to be true. He and his wife have both asked us about what being married in a temple means. He is going to pray for a way to go to church (he has worked every Sunday for years). If ya'll could pray for him to have a way to go to church then it would be most appreciated.

This past week also brought another interesting event:

I saw my whole family (minus my slacker little brother who wasn't allowed to leave West Point to come). My older brother was married in the Salt Lake Temple on Friday, so I was able to meet up with all my family for a few hours and join them. Mama Colton didn't even cry when she saw me. Talk about disappointments ;)

It was the first time I had ever been to a temple wedding. And it made me realize that I should explain something:

A lot of people who aren't members of our church know this about weddings in "Mormon" temples: that they can't go. Sometimes there will be a ring ceremony or something of the sort at a local chapel, but the actual ceremony that takes place in the temple is only open for active members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. More than likely there were friends and family of Jared and Eden who weren't able to be there. I recognize that there will be friends and family of mine that won't be able to be at my own wedding. Many couples in which the boyfriend or girlfriend is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ break up because the one who is a member says something to the effect of "I want to be married in the Temple." That makes a lot of people angry, and I don't blame them one bit. But I want to explain a little bit about that.

Temples are sacred places. They are places where the Spirit of God is felt powerfully, as anyone who has ever been to an open house just prior to the dedication of a temple can tell you. Going to the temple isn't a hobby or just another "thing we do." We go to temples to worship God, learn of His ways, and promise Him that we will follow the commandments that He has given us.

Just as when we are baptized we promise that we take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ and promise to follow Him, in the temple we make similar promises. And just as no-one would step into a filled baptismal font in one of our local chapels "just to see what its like", no-one goes into our temples "just to see what its like." Until people are ready to be baptized, you won't find them in a baptismal fonts. And until people are ready to make more promises with God, you won't find them in a temple.

I hope that helps clear up a few concerns. I personally know for myself that temples are a place where we can bring ourselves closer to God. I know that on Friday, Jared and Eden started a family that will be eternal as long as they continue following in Christ's path. I hope everyone I know and love can have that same opportunity one day.

Love ya'll,

-Elder Colton