Last night I attended a high school Ladies Lacrosse meeting with my foreign exchange daughter. The team has a new and enthusiastic coach this year who will do everything in his power to have a successful team. He wants to raise the team to a higher level, to be more competitive, to play harder and be more committed. He said this isn't just two hours a day for our daughters to get exercise and have a little fun. Playing Lacrosse for him is a serious commitment. He wants the team to practice more, to show up for every practice, to devote time outside of practice to be together, and to win.  If the parents and girls work harder and expect more, then they will have the success he aspires to. If they don't, they will have fun and exercise, but not be the kind of team the coach envisions. I wondered if the girls and parents would have changed their minds about joining the team if he had given this speech on the first day of practice not after a month into the season.

This coach and his requirements and expectations are similar to what happens in the temple. God has a vision for what we can have in this life and in the life to come. If we commit and follow His plan, we will be successful. If we don't, we won't have the blessings God has in store for us. The temple is for people who want that deeper commitment.

In the temple, we participate in ordinances. One of those is baptism for the dead or being baptized for those who have died. We act in the place of our deceased ancestors and others to allow them to receive the ordinance of baptism. Our hope is that in the next life--the spirit world--they are being taught the gospel and have accepted it. We also participate in the ordinance of the endowment. We do this the first time for ourselves and then later for those who have died. In the endowment, we receive instruction about what happened before we came to earth, Adam and Eve's experiences in the Garden of Eden, and their choice. Then we make covenants or promises between ourselves and God that show our commitment to him. These covenants are the higher level like the coach expected. They involve promising to be chaste and devoting our time and means to the gospel. The sealing ordinance is performed to bind husband and wife together and children to parents. A marriage that is sealed in the temple is not until death but forever. That's why we say, "Families are forever."

I have no desire to devote the next few months to the Lacrosse team at the level of commitment the coach wants. I will support our foreign exchange daughter as much as I can. I do desire to devote my time and means to my family and the gospel. I want to keep my covenants I've made in the temple so that I can be with my family in the eternities and so that I can be blessed now with the peace and success that come from following the law of chastity, serving others and God, and keeping the commandments.

Some think that Mormons are a cult or exclusive group that will not allow others into our temples.  You are welcome to visit our church buildings and attend our meetings. And then if you desire to be on the team that requires a whole-hearted commitment to the gospel of Jesus Christ, become a member of our church, prepare to attend the temple, and join us there. The rewards you gain in covenanting with the Lord in His Holy Temple are greater than a state championship Lacrosse team. They are immediate and eternal.

When I was a child I loved to tell my friends that The Book of Mormon told the history of the people who lived in America or the Indians. I felt like I knew something they didn't and that everyone should be excited to read it. That excitement has been tempered by the realities of life and the difficulties in convincing others that The Book of Mormon is the word of God. But I don't have to convince anyone. If you read The Book of Mormon for yourself and pray sincerely to ask if it is true, the Holy Ghost will testify to you.

The Book of Mormon is a record of a people that lived during the time of Zedekiah in Jerusalem, about 600 years before Christ was born. Lehi, the father, was told by God to leave Jerusalem because it would be destroyed. Lehi and his family were guided to America. Because some of Lehi's children chose to follow God's commandments and others did not, the people separated themselves into two groups--the Nephites and the Lamanites. The books in The Book of Mormon contain the history of these people and the teachings of prophets. After Christ died and was resurrected, he visited the people in America and taught his gospel.

Last week the missionaries practiced a discussion with our family. Our foreign exchange student is not Mormon. After the discussion, one of the missionaries asked her what she thought and how they did. I had shared my experience that every time I finish reading The Book of Mormon, I kneel and pray and ask again if it is true. I always receive a warm, tingly feeling and a comfortable burning in my chest and am filled with happiness. This tells me that The Book of Mormon is true. Our foreign exchange student said that while she did not feel uncomfortable while the missionaries were teaching us, she had never felt the feelings I've felt. Does that mean that The Book of Mormon is not true for her? I think it means that she hasn't read it to know if it's true and specifically prayed and asked God.

I love that the truths that are in the Bible are also in The Book of Mormon. I love that we have a second testimony of God's teachings to his people. The Book of Mormon does not replace the Bible. And you can know too that The Book of Mormon is true by reading, studying, and sincerely asking God in prayer.

A few years ago, my husband created these tracking sheets to train us on portion control and what our bodies need each day. I've been asked by a few people to share this. We created them from choosemyplate.gov, the Super Tracker program. Create a profile and put in your information and it will calculate how many servings you need of each food group. There is details about serving sizes and a method for tracking on-line.