Your Holy Places

As I have pondered {our 2013 Mutual Theme}, I can’t help but wonder, “What are the ‘holy places’ Heavenly Father is referring to?” President Ezra Taft Benson counseled, “Holy places include our temples, our chapels, our homes, and the stakes of Zion, which are … ‘for a defense, and for a refuge.’”

{A place can be} a physical environment or a geographic location… {but} it can also include moments in time—moments when the Holy Ghost testifies to us, moments when we feel Heavenly Father’s love, or moments when we receive an answer to our prayers.

I like that expansion on how we think about “holy places.”

I believe any time you have the courage to stand for what is right, especially in situations where no one else is willing to do so, you are creating a holy place.

A leader shared with me the story of one young woman’s experience. This girl was less active and was a bit skeptical about having a spiritual experience in the woods. After the first day, she reported to the leader, “I’m having a great time, but could we please cut out all of the talk about the Spirit? I’m here to camp, enjoy nature, be with my friends, and have some fun!” However, at the concluding testimony meeting, this same girl tearfully admitted, “I don’t want to go home. How can I have what I am feeling right now, this Spirit, with me all the time?” She had discovered a holy place.

It is interesting to see transformations in people as the fail to recognize when they are feeling the Spirit and yet, whether they can accurately identify it as such or not, they are affected as they feel it.

It is interesting to hear Sister Dibb identify Joseph’s experiences as bullying. She is clearly trying to help the youth relate to his experiences.

You can have sacred, revelatory, profoundly instructive experiences with the Lord in the most miserable experiences of your life while ensuring the most painful injustices, when facing the most insurmountable odds and opposition you have ever faced.

A young adult, Kirsten, shared with me her painful experience. High school had been her Liberty Jail. Fortunately, the band room provided relief. She said: “When I stepped into this room, it was as if I stepped into a safe place. There were no degrading or belittling remarks, no profanity. Instead, we heard words of encouragement and love. We exercised kindness. It was a happy place. The band room was filled with the Spirit as we practiced and performed music. The room was like this in large measure because of the influence of the band instructor. He was a good Christian man. Looking back, high school was a refining place. It was difficult, but I learned resilience. I will forever be grateful for my refuge, my holy place, the band room.”

I like the story of the girl for whom the band room was her holy place within the refining, Liberty jail trial of high school.

Whether they are geographic or moments in time, they are equally sacred and have incredible strengthening power. Here are nine {“sacred places” young women have shared with me}:

1. I was in the hospital, holding my new baby brother.
2. Each time I read my patriarchal blessing, I feel I am known and loved by my Heavenly Father.
3. The day I turned 12, the young women in the ward decorated my door with paper hearts. I felt loved, accepted, and happy!
4. As I was reading my scriptures one day, a phrase ‘popped out.’ I had found an answer to my prayers.
5. I walked into a party where people were drinking and participating in other unacceptable activities. The Spirit told me to turn around and go home. I did, and yes, there were social consequences. However, that moment gave me the confidence I needed to know that I could live the gospel.
6. During the sacrament, I was thinking about the Atonement. I recognized I needed to forgive someone I was angry with. My choosing to forgive was a positive action that would bring the Atonement into my daily life.
7. After attending New Beginnings with my mom, she kissed me on the cheek and told me she loved me. This was the first time I could remember her doing this.
8. With my bishop’s assurance, I knew that the promise the scriptures provided was true: ‘Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.’ I felt hope and knew I could begin my lengthy process of repentance.
9. One evening, I summoned the courage to share my feelings about the gospel and a Book of Mormon with my best friend. Later, it was a privilege to attend her baptism. Now we attend church together.

Once, I was feeling overwhelmed, fearful, and completely alone. Silently, I prayed: “Heavenly Father, I do not know how to do this. Please, please, help me!” Soon, an individual unexpectedly came forward, placed a hand on my shoulder, and offered sincere, encouraging words. In that moment, I felt peace. I felt acknowledged. Everything had changed.

Her story of having someone offer her the loving assurance she needed at that specific time reminds me of my experience with Kristina Beckstrom (now Wilcox) in high school.