LJ's preschool is just a couple blocks from the Meridian, Idaho Temple. There is a lot of construction going on and you can see a bit more of the structure now that the foundation is poured. As we drove past today, a lane closure allowed us to stop right next to the temple site and look at all the construction equipment.
I always seem to have the talk "However Long and Hard the Road" by Elder Holland running in the background of my mind. (If you have yet to follow any of my many admonitions to read it, I doubt you will today but the link is there for the linking.) In it, he talks about the many trials faced while building the Salt Lake Temple. I asked LJ today how long he thought it would take to build a temple if you didn't have a single tractor. He said, "For - ev - er!" (Think "The Sandlot" pronunciation.)
I did my best to tie it in to the 4 year-old version of this idea from Elder Holland's talk, "Blood, toil, tears, sweat. The best things are always worth finishing. 'Know ye not that ye are the temple of God?' (1 Cor. 3:16). Most assuredly you are. As long and laborious as the effort may seem, please keep shaping and setting the stones that will make your accomplishment "a grand and imposing spectacle." Take advantage of every opportunity to learn and grow. Dream dreams and see visions. Work toward their realization. Wait patiently when you have no other choice. Lean on your sword and rest awhile, but get up and fight again. Perhaps you will not see the full meaning of your effort in your own lifetime. But your children will, and your children's children will...You are laying the foundation of a great work - your own inestimable future. 'Know ye not that ye are the temple of God?' I pray that you will know and that you will persevere, "however long and hard the road".
My elementary version was, "It takes a lot for us to become the person Heavenly Father knows we can become but he cares so much for us to become that person that he will work as hard as he can to make sure we have the opportunity to become that person. Sometimes though, that means things are difficult and we have to work really hard to make the best of it." Hopefully, the message got through - but if not, at least I wrote it down!
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