I guess I’ll start out by introducing our family. Jaren was born and raised in Wisconsin. He went to the University of Wisconsin in Madison for two years before serving his mission in the Philippines, after which he transferred to BYU. I grew up with a father in the Navy. We spent most of our time here in California, but then he retired and we moved to Georgia right before I started high school. Jaren and I met while we were both working in the MTC—in the Media Department. That’s the department that does all the camera work, audio, teleprompting, etc. for the devotionals and firesides and stuff. Three years after we first met, we got married in the Mount Timpanogos Temple. Jaren graduated with an undergrad in Computer Engineering and a Masters in Electrical Engineering. I got a bachelors in Public Relations.
Bryton, our oldest, was born right before we moved out here when Jaren got a job working for Google. We were in the Eastbluff ward for four years and then finally decided to get out of an apartment—so here we are! Our oldest, Bryton, is turning four this month. Cameron, our feisty little girl, will be three at the end of the summer, and our third is due July 2nd. Our family enjoys camping, swimming, hiking, or anything outdoors. We love playing board games and eating anything chocolate. So that’s us!
The bishopric asked us to speak today about the Temple and about President Silva’s talk, “Being All In.” When I was in primary, I remember learning the words to the first verse of “I Love to See the Temple” (I Love to See the Temple).
I love to see the temple.
I’m going there someday
To feel the holy spirit,
To listen, and to pray.
For the temple is a house of God,
A place of love and beauty.
I’ll prepare myself while I am young;
This is my sacred duty.
This verse teaches young children that the temple is sacred, and it is important to prepare yourself to enter into the Lord’s home. But it isn’t until the second verse, that we learn why it is so important in Heavenly Father’s plan.
I love to see the temple.
I’ll go inside someday.
I’ll covenant with my Father,
I’ll promise to obey.
For the temple is a holy place
Where we are sealed together.
As a child of God I’ve learned this truth:
A family is forever.
The temple is the place where we make the highest covenants with God to “Be All In” and in return, our family can be together forever.
I can think of no better example of people who taught their children the importance of the temple, than my own parents. For years, while we lived in California, my parents packed all eight of their children into the car and went to the LA temple—every Saturday. They couldn’t afford both a babysitter and gas, so they took turns serving in the temple and watching the children. Even now, the LA temple holds a special place in my heart that only exists because of the hours I spent on those temple grounds and the visitor’s center every Saturday.
But the covenants that they made there were only the beginning of how committed they were to being “All In” in the Gospel. Through thick and thin, my family, The Buck Family, had Family Home Evening and Family Council every week. We woke up as a family every morning before seminary to have family scripture study, my parents enforced modesty checks before school every day, and my dad, with my brothers, always had 100% home teaching for the month.
Sometimes, growing up, I would hear the phrase, “Well, that’s because you’re a Buck.” It seemed like an easy way to dismiss the intensity with which my parents taught us to keep the commandments, but in reality, the Gospel of Jesus Christ has always been a Gospel of “Being All In.”
I believe that the reason for this is because it is hard to be successful at something unless you are “All In.” Imagine trying to become a professional basketball player without putting in the required hours of practice.
Have you ever had or were a boyfriend or girlfriend who wasn’t “All In” to the relationship? When Jaren and I were dating, it took us a while to be “All In.” It probably was about 10 months into our dating relationship, after our first fight, that I finally stopped referring to him with my friends as my weekend boyfriend. I actually don’t know if he ever knew that. :) But it was still a few months after that before he became committed. And let me tell you, once he had both feet in, he suddenly became the best boyfriend, fiance and husband that I could have ever asked for.
And what about dieting? I can tell you from experience that that usually doesn’t go so well either unless you are committed 100%. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the same. You can choose, on your own, to live only the easy commandments, but that’s not what’s asked of us. To clarify, I’m not saying that we’ll be able to do everything—and certainly not perfectly—but we are required to put in our time, talents, gifts and blessings, our willingness to serve, to do all that He asks. Be “All In.”
In D&C 4:2, it reads, “see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day.”
Nephi taught, “worship [Christ] with all your might, mind, and strength, and your whole soul; and if ye do this ye shall in nowise be cast out” (2 Nephi 25:29).
The scriptures are full of verses just like these, and there are so many examples of both people who gave everything to God, and those who…did not.
One of my favorite examples of a group of people who were “All In” is that of the Nephites waiting for the fulfillment of the sign prophesied by Samuel the Lamanite. Five years after the time Samuel the Lamanite prophesied of Christ’s birth, the Gadianton robbers and those who did not believe the prophets set apart a specific day where, if the sign did not come, they would kill all those who believed.
If this were to happen in the U.S. right now—some faction rose up and claimed they would kill anybody who still believed that Jesus Christ was going to come again two weeks from today—think about how you and your family would react. What would you do? Would you try to get your family safely to Canada or Mexico? Would you join some armed group and set up a defensive fort? What if the prophet came out and said that we didn’t need to worry about the threat because Jesus would come by then. Would you just take his word for it? What if your teenage sons or daughters declared that they didn’t want to die. Would you force them to stay and “believe” with you, or would you let them, at this crucial moment, decide on their own whether to join their family on this possible day or bloodshed, or publicly denounce their religion to be “safe” in the eyes of the world?
I don’t know what those faithful Nephites did, but I do know, as I’m sure would happen even today, that those Nephites prayed. They prayed with every fiber in their beings. Nephi himself, “bowed himself down upon the earth and cried mightily to his God all that day” (3 Nephi 1:11-12). Now, those people were “All In,” and not just because they were willing to die for their beliefs, but because they lived righteously all the way up to that point. So when they were finally confronted with death, their faith in God was sufficiently strong.
In the April 1997 conference, Elaine L. Jack said, “Brothers and sisters, the time is past when we can merely believe in this gospel; we must be passionate in our belief and in our commitment to Jesus Christ and His plan” (Elaine L. Jack - General Conference April 1997).
And in our passion, it will come naturally to us to do as Moses commands: to teach our children the sacred privilege it is to serve God. Go to the temple. Take the time to teach them about it and even include them in family history work. Elder Nelson taught, “The temple is the object of every activity, every lesson, every progressive step in the Church. All of our efforts in proclaiming the gospel, perfecting the Saints, and redeeming the dead lead to the holy temple. Ordinances of the temple are absolutely crucial. We cannot return to God’s glory without them” (Prepare for the Blessings of the Temple - Russel M. Nelson).
I would like to add my testimony to that. This is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Sometimes it feels like a lot of work, but it is absolutely worth it. The blessings and joys that come with our commitment to God are just amazing! I am thankful to have the temple so close to where I live. I am thankful for the opportunity that I have to be on this earth and be part of my family, a family that I know can be together forever.
I say these things, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.