Two Temple Trips...

each special in their own way.  When scheduling for the newly dedicated Bentonville Temple became available, I made an appointment for the three of us on Friday, October 27.  About a month later, the mission announced their schedule for the special zone mission sessions and as luck would have it--it was on Wednesday of that same week for our zone.

It made a special week for us....

Wednesday, it was amazing for our first session ever in the Bentonville Temple..to sit in the session with the sweet young missionaries from our zone plus a few of the senior missionaries serving nearby who joined in.  That was the total people there.  For many of these young missionaries, they have not been to the temple since they started their missionaries--many of them are about ready to go home in a few months, so it was a very special experience for them.

typical sight--our temple bags put down
while we take pictures.

Jena with Sister Jenna Halle and Sister Jocelyn Burnside

Jena with all of the sisters in our zone
meaning we added Sister Moesinger
 and Sister Madden

Greenwood Elders--Elders Jensen and Miller

The Elders of the Ft. Smith Zone

These following three photos were taken by Elder Smythe--one of our zone leaders!

The Ft. Smith Zone--October 2023

Friday, we headed up early again--this time for the 9:00 am session.  This time as I sat in the session and looked around at people I did not even know, I started to cry as I realized that these people have probably waited for this temple for so many years.  Especially as I noticed the elderly people there, what a blessing it is for them to have a temple "close" to them.....the temple district still includes people some hours away but still closer than before....I felt their goodness and their dedication as we shared that time together.  It was unexpected but a tender mercy to have that sweet witness of the spirit.

What a blessing to be able to attend the temple as we serve our mission here in Arkansas--both with the missionaries and just the three of us.  It adds a sweet dimension to our work and hopefully we will share some time with the young adults as well there.

So grateful to know that families can be together forever and that through the ordinances of the temple all mankind will have access to eternal life and exaltation through Heavenly Father's Plan because of Jesus Christ's Atonement and Resurrection.