Temple

Oh ye place of beauty and wonder.

Your majesty is as vast as the starry sky.
Your towering walls shimmer against the noon day sun and glow in the evening twilight, as a grand vestige, an ever present symbol of light and truth. A glorious union of ancient awe and wonder, coupled with modern and divine revelation, from He that stands at the helm of these great and marveling works of human craftsmanship. Built and assembled to bring back that which once was. Managed and maintained to bring forth all that is to come.

Your peace consumes the very threads and fibers of the soul, awakening and illuminating it as from a deep slumber. The love in which you house cannot be described but through the base and colorless words of humanity. Feelings that pen cannot write nor tongue express with enough eloquence, a feeling in which science cannot reproduce, nor theory calculate. That love which is as pure as the first snow, that love which is as definite as the billowing white clouds which drift across the clear blue sky above. Ever present, but seldom within reach. To be in the temple, is to walk amongst the clouds, leaving the world behind and entering a place of higher learning and grandeur that cannot be experienced anywhere else upon the face of the earth. Elevating the mind and soul to heights unchartered. Opening the floodgates of contemplation and thought, understanding and truth.

All may enter. All may experience. All may see and feel of its beauty and truth. But all must prepare to enter in at its gate, for narrow is its pathway and few there will be that pass underneath its steady doors. Without this preparation one would simply overlook and pass by the simplistic and yet profound truths which are found within the sacred walls of the temple.You first must learn and grow. Gaining knowledge and understanding, Then how those deep and everlasting principals will seep into your soul and cause you to awaken from the sleep of mortality and feel the closeness of Heaven. Then you will be capable of experiencing its divine and connected love. Preparing yourself to meet the God of the Heavens and the Earth, and feeling of that eternal love and bond in which he has for all of his children.

-Brett Smith, April, 2010
Inspired after attending the open house of the LDS Temple in Vancouver BC.

Death

O Death, how aquatinted we have become.

How intertwined we have been.

How many people we find in common. One with another.

My first impression was to find you a most bitter and reviled enemy.

My first memories of you were fear and disgust, hatred and loathing of the deepest and most sincere kind.

Your overwhelming darkness, like a cold thick fog, black as the night sky enveloped my senses, my thoughts, my world.

Sorrow was all I had to give you, tears were all that I could spare.

Our relationship was always one sided.

You would simply steal away the light from my world regardless of age.

Rob me of future memories, taunt me with the unknown and ever-looming possibilities... of what could have been.

Irrespective of my situation or position. Disregarding all rhyme or reason, you would strike down those dear beloved family members and friends, changing my world making me start anew.

Though the older I have gotten, a most peculiar thing has happened.

My thoughts and feelings for you have changed oh so much, I ask myself if I am changing for the worse?

How is it my hate and loathing for you has dampened? Why is my outlook no longer the same?

I have realized you are as lonely and misunderstood as those loved ones that you rob.

You are not a hated enemy nor a threat at all. Simply a grand and noble part of God's plan.

A dear friend called to escort those dearest and most loved people of my life to the immortal worlds beyond.

It was never you who's darkness it was that I felt, or who's taunts I was assured were shot my way.

It was the earthly departing of my dear sweet family and friends.

The absence of their warmth and light. Their impact in my life that was now realized in their absence.

Illuminating the reality that I must now fill in their earthly void with the qualities and love that they had so carefully displayed to me.

O Death, how my love for you has grown.

How my sorrow has turned to thanks.

I only hope when my time is nigh, and it is me that you come calling for... We will embrace one another as old familiar friends.

That you might take me gently and peacefully to that great reunion that awaits me. Through the veil, to my long lost loved ones.

-Brett Smith (4/17/10)

copyright 2010

Love

Love is not infatuation nor lust.

It is not a flash of passion or a night of romance.

It is not the igniting of a flame or butterfly's attacking the insides of ones stomach.

It is not security... nor the desire to feel wanted.

Love can not be thought of as a 'head over heels' state where one considers themselves "Love Sick".

These are merely stages of the human emotion and they will come and go with time.

True love is a bond. A bond that is built slowly and steadily upon the foundations of respect, kindness, patience, gratitude and long suffering. It is a living thing that must always be well maintained and fed. The moment one man or woman becomes Idled or comfortable in their relationship, is the moment when Love can begin to slip away and elude even the most caring and thoughtful of people. Love is a condition of our actions. It is a fragile and sweet thing that must always be cared for and something we must always be mindful of. Never let a thought of kindness go unsaid, or a deed go un-noticed. It is in these times that we can begin to diminish the capacity of our hearts, and the tender sweet feelings that we have for our companion, family and God. 

Always remember to express your feelings. For when we cease to communicate we begin to corrode the slow and steady burnings of love. 

Love is the greatest and most powerful emotion we are able to experience. It transcends happiness, sadness, excitement and depression. Through Love we find meaning, we find greatness and we find ourselves becoming better people in and through its actions and desires. If we remain faithful to it, and always strive to maintain it, realizing its importance... we will find the secrets and happiness of life. We will see beyond ourselves and our own desires and begin to look into the world and see it for its true and utter beauty. We will appreciate the little and important things of this mortal existence. Faith grows though it, wisdom can be found in it, and happiness always abounds where love is. 

Brett Smith (2/18/10)

Inspired by Kristen

copyright 2010

Happiness, Peace and Simplicity

Lost and alone, frightened and scared... All of life's obstacles can in no way be bared.

Empty and dark are the feeling within, lost and afraid I know not where to begin.

I've thought and I've searched, asked questions galore... Oh where are the answers I've been searching for.

I've clicked and I've read and I've sought them all out, yet no one can tell me what I'm going without.

What do I crave and long to achieve? 

Happiness... Peace ... and Simplicity.

But how do I find them these things that are most dear? I've searched all alone... even up to this present year.

But one thing I've forgotten from almost the very start... A humble sincere prayer coming straight from the heart.

As I began telling my souls deepest desires, almost immedietly I felt the warmth of a fire.

Happiness and joy overcame my whole being, I felt as though my body had just begun beaming.

Then a still small voice was carried on the air, so soft and gentle as the strand  of a hair.

"Happiness Love and Peace you've been seeking to know... Just soften your heart, be kind, and the Love that is within you will grow.

Like a seed it will sprout at first small but steady, over-time growing bigger and stronger as you are ready.

My dearest child, I've always been near, never has your cry not penetrated my ear.

I've watched and I've waited and had Angels at your side, For this time where you could listen and with me abide.

I love you my Son (Daughter), these things you must know.... -With true Love and Service your Happiness will grow.

- Give unto others always an increase, in this my child you will always have peace.

- Treat all manor of life with extreme Fragility, and there will you find your Simplicity.

Your Love should be constant and flowing as a creek, and always remember to turn the other cheek.

Endure all things that come in your way... And by my side you shall always stay."

-Brett Smith '09

copyright 2009