The Empty Jar &Temple Sealings

I got this from another blog that was linked on Facebook and just loved the message so much that I decided to share their words on my blog because the whole message that was placed in that jar is so true.  Stuart and I are slowly building our marriage by all the things we do, we are making it Eternal, the marriage we have doesn't automatically make that happen.  I am so excited to build my life together with him, to learn, to grow, and to just love him.  


While I appreciated all of the many gifts, cards and well wishes that Kim and I received at our wedding, there was one gift in particular that stood apart from the rest.

An empty jar.

Attached to it was a letter with a quote from S. Michael Wilcox and a note from some dear friends. I couldn’t finish reading the letter and had to have Kim read the rest of it for me.

“My wife often cans peaches and pears in the fall. A great deal of work is necessary just to prepare the fruit. Then, once it is prepared, she puts it into jars, places the seals on, twists the lids tightly into place, and sets the jars in boiling water. Then she waits for the seals to set.
She has performed this operation dozens of times with hundreds of jars. In all that time I have never seen her seal an empty jar. Unless the jar is loaded with fruit, a seal is not placed. I doubt if anyone, among the thousands who can fruit every year, has ever sealed an empty jar. There must be something to preserve or the seal has no significance. 
The sealing of temple covenants is similar. When we are married at the altars of the temple, the Lord, from one point of view, gives us an empty jar. Then he instructs us to fill it with the wonderful fruits of righteous marriage. We fill it with love and compromise and forgiveness and joy and peace and shared trails; we fill it with all the things of life, all the good fruit. As we keep our covenants, returning often to renew them as we work for the dead, the jar begins to fill. As we grow older and our love deepens, we desire to preserve forever all the good we have stored. 
Our abiding in the covenant allows the Lord to place the seal on our covenant relationship and preserve the fruits of our righteousness for all eternity. This is the same for all temple covenants. Nobody seals an empty jar; neither does the Lord seal empty covenants. First there must be fruit to preserve.”
In the temple, you were given an empty jar as a present. Eternal marriages are not made at the altar. They are made by the things that you will do together and for each other every day thereafter. May you spend your lifetime filling your jar with all of the sweet things of your life together.
With love and best wishes for your marriage,

Here is the link to the blog Seth Adam Smith

Sick Days

I hate the feeling of helplessness that comes over you when you don't know what to do, when you don't know how to help someone to make them feel better.  Stuart is sick today, he's has been running a fever that we've been breaking, but it keeps coming back.  He hasn't eaten much today, and won't really let me get near him because he is afraid that I will catch whatever it is that he has contracted.  I wish I knew what to do to help him, we're on a tylanol and motrim regiment, and he has been sleeping for the last two hours, and has been laying down for the better part of the day, and it's not working!  It is making me so frustrated, every time I see him my heart is just breaking because I don't know how to help him.   You'd think my medical experience would do something, but when your "patient" doesn't want to, you can't force them.

I am so glad that I have an amazing mom, and mom-in-law, two exemplary women that I can call in time of need and get their advice! It helps to know that they've taken kids through this, and probably have felt the same heart wrenching feelings that I have felt. It is so strange to be so close to someone in this way. Whenever family and friends would get sick around me, yeah I would feel bad and do what I could do to help, but never feelings like this. Things change so much when you are married and you care for someone like you've never cared before. I try to put his feelings, wants, and desires first, way before mine, I don't think that is being a subservient wife, Sister Reese, back in 1984 wrote and article about being a wife in the Latter Day Saint center magazine called the, "Ensign," she said, 

"There are voices telling us that the role of wife and mother is a subservient one, that it is demeaning for a woman to live primarily for her home and family. We have become defensive if the career we have chosen is that of homemaking. We tend to become apologetic to those who proclaim that we cannot find self-fulfillment if our first priority is to be a wife and mother. There are truths in this gospel, taught from the scriptures, from the days of Adam and Eve, which assure us that wifehood and motherhood are ordained of God and are of first importance. We know that marriage is a partnership—an equal partnership with a division of duties—where neither male nor female is superior, where domination by either husband or wife is wrong."

I want to do these things to help my husband, he works so hard to provide for us, I feel that I should work equally hard at home.  Then when I get a job, we can divide the chores of the house.  We are in a partnership, we are equally helping, just in different ways, it doesn't mean that one task is more important!  I want a clean house and dinner, and my husband brings home the bacon so the have what I need to accomplish that task!

Anyways I don't know where I was going with that, I just know that many people feared that I would become this subservient wife because I was marrying into the "Mormon" religion, and when I tell them what I do with my days they believe that, but it is not true!  I think to be in "bondage" you need to also feel that way.  In no wise do I feel in such manner.

An official Church statement of July 1976 said: “There is no greater responsibility and opportunity, no task to which woman may put her hand, so broad and inspiring, so filled with interest, so demanding of intelligence and capability, so rewarding, as that of wife, mother and homemaker. But that does not mean all her activities must be confined to that important role."

I am working towards a BA degree, I help my friends and family, I am working to grow my confidence, and I love cooking!  I love being a wife and hopefully one day a mother.  I know how the world views motherhood, something that you need to break a "break" from periodically, but there is no break from it, you are what you were forordained to be.  A woman.  A daughter of our Heavenly Father.  

Valentine's Day!

Yesterday was Valentine's Day, El Dia de San Valentin; and it was amazing!!  I had been plotting for a couple of days, trying to figure out what to do for my husband because it was his first time having someone to share the day with, and I wanted it to be the BEST Valentine's Day ever!

 I started the day early...4am early...the alarm went off and I quickly rolled over and started beating things...groggy and confused about what exactly was going on.  When I finally got the irritating "tick-tock" sound to cease I lay in bed, scared that I had woken my husband, grunts and we were good.  But, during that time that I waited to be sure he was asleep...I reasoned with myself that I didn't need to get up right now and sneak outside to the car and set everything up.  You see, I had hid all my surprises in the trunk of the car, knowing that was a place that he doesn't look often.  I had a couple of things that would take some time that I wanted ready before he woke up...but I knew that it would be cold outside and I was oh so tired at 4 in the morning.  So as I reasoned and procrastinated I feel asleep again. OH NO!  Next thing I knew I was being woke up to the sound of Stuart's alarm!  At 5 in the morning?  He got up and turned it off and then came back and sat on the bed, then, realizing that I was awake, he asked if I would sleep until 6am.  I said okay, curious now and we both went back to sleep

...but I didn't sleep until 6, remembering again that I had much plotting to do...I got out of bed at 550...silly me I should have known that that would not be enough time.  I pretended like I went to the bathroom, leaving the light and fan on as I tried to open the front door quietly...but it was SOOO loud!!  Finally I just jumped out the door and ran down the stairs, I grabbed what I needed from the car, and drat my indecisiveness  I decided to put the gift bag together too while I was out there. That was what my downfall was.  Finished I ran up three flights of stairs, opened the door...and there stood Stuart.  "Where were you?"  he asked as the alarm in our bedroom was going off.  I quickly tried to hide the heart shaped box of chocolates, but I felt all guilty so I handed them to him and he broke out laughing.  Then he made me breakfast, pancakes and eggs!! YUM!  and we went out to dinner that night at Famous Daves.  

He was so surprised when he went out to the car and saw the gift basket.  He sent me poems through text during the day and told me that my list of a 100 reasons why I love him made him tear up.  When he came home from work he was surprised to find our front room floor covered in hersey kisses and rose petals.  Like a boss!!  

I think this turned out to be the best Valentine's Day for both of us!

The first post

I used to be a very avid blogger but I stopped when I met my future husband (since my old blog was a waiting for a missionary blog) .  Anyways, I wanted to start again because I am a horrible journal writer; I want so badly for my kids to have something to read about my younger years.  I'm hoping that this will be something that will help them get through tribulation, and any problems that they will have, they'll be able to read my words and my thoughts and see that their mom went through the same thing and grow from that.  But kids will be kids and they will decide on what they will experience, I just want to help at least in some little part. In 1 Nephi 1:1,3 it says,

 “Having had a great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God, therefore I make a record of my proceedings in my days. …

“And I know that the record which I make is true; and I make it with mine own hand; and I make it according to my knowledge..."

Everything that I write in here is going to be true, (just a little disclaimer).  Names may be changed and such, but I want to tell my life, not the flashy and adorned version that I give to other people, the truth.  It'll probably be hard to do, but anything worth doing isn't easy.  So here goes blogging, if you're reading this, then you are part of that privy group I've allowed to view these proceedings.  I am hoping that all of my writings will be filled with happiness, but you and I both know that that is in no way going to be the case.  Besides, I suppose if it was all happy, it would get pretty boring!  Well here goes my new life as Samantha Jean Davis!