Jet Mariano

Tag: Utah Temples

  • Marked in Time — “Focus on the Temple”

    Deseret Peak Utah Temple at sunset—sunbeams radiating behind the spire; foreground includes a ONE WAY sign and sweeping curve leading to the grounds.

    Excerpt

    There’s one way that never fails: return to the temple. Time there refines the soul and tunes it to Christ.

    Intro

    The sun dropped behind the Oquirrhs and the rays split the sky while I stood by a road sign that simply read ONE WAY—its arrow bending toward the House of the Lord. That felt exactly right. My weeks are fuller and messier than I can say, yet the path that steadies me is singular: one way to the Celestial Room. I need that room every week. Every temple where I’ve lingered long in that quiet has offered a different whisper—no adjectives in English quite fit, only awe and a desire to stay.

    Notes from President Nelson

    • The Savior appeared to the Nephites at the temple—His house is filled with His power.
    • The Lord is accelerating temple building and access across the earth.
    • Increased time in the temple blesses life in ways nothing else can.
    • The temple helps gather Israel and spiritually refine disciples.
    • A living prophet invites us to focus on the temple in ways we never have before.

    Perspective — direct quotes

    “I promise that increased time in the temple will bless your life in ways nothing else can.”
    “It is significant that the Savior chose to appear to the people at the temple.”

    Practice — today, not someday

    1. Weekly Celestial Room: plan one session each week and leave time to linger.
    2. Temple-first calendar: schedule temple time before the week fills with everything else.
    3. Gathering habit: bring a name or help someone get to the temple each month.

    Final Reflection

    The sign says One Way. President Nelson’s promise makes the direction clear: choose the temple, and the Lord will shape the heart in ways nothing else can. Windows glowed, rays fanned the sky, and I felt the familiar nudge—be here often, let Christ refine you.

    Pocket I’m Keeping

    “One way to peace and power this week: go to the temple.”

    What I Hear Now — direct quotes

    “Focus on the temple.”
    “He is making His temples more accessible.”

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  • MIT8 – “The Temple and Your Spiritual Foundation”

    Deseret Peak Utah Temple — blue hour after a 4:30 PM proxy endowment. Foundation steady, heart steady.

    Excerpt

    When life shakes, covenants hold. The temple is where Jesus Christ strengthens my foundation so I can stand steady through any upheaval.

    Intro

    I drove west to Tooele Valley for a late-afternoon proxy endowment at the new Deseret Peak Temple. It became a 5‑hour sacred errand—2 hours round‑trip, 2 hours in ordinance and 30 quiet minutes in the Celestial Room, and 1 hour making photographs at last light. President Nelson’s words about foundations felt tailor‑made for this day.

    Notes from President Nelson

    • The Salt Lake Temple’s seismic retrofit is a living parable: strengthen the foundation to withstand future shaking.
    • Our safest spiritual place is inside our temple covenants.
    • The temple centers us on Jesus Christ—His doctrine, ordinances, and power.
    • The Restoration continues; methods adjust by revelation while doctrine remains.
    • If distance or health limits attendance, rehearse your covenants and let Him teach you.
    • Go more often, not less; the temple becomes safety, solace, and revelation.
    • Build now—before the spiritual earthquakes come.

    Perspective — direct quotes

    “Whenever any kind of upheaval occurs in your life, the safest place to be spiritually is living inside your temple covenants.”
    “How firm is your foundation?”
    “Everything taught in the temple increases our understanding of Jesus Christ.”

    Practice — today, not someday

    1. Foundation checks: After each temple visit, write one way I’ll anchor to Christ this week.
    2. Covenant rehearsal: Set a weekly 10‑minute block to review the promises I’ve made and the power He offers.
    3. Regular appointments: Put the next proxy session on the calendar before leaving the parking lot.

    Final Reflection

    Looking through the arch toward a glowing House of the Lord, I felt why foundations matter. The drive, the ordinance, the quiet—each pressed me deeper into the covenant path. Cameras can’t capture the weight of peace, but they can remind me where it’s found. President Nelson’s plea is mercifully simple: strengthen the foundation now. The shaking will come; Christ holds.

    Pocket I’m Keeping

    “Safest place to be—inside my temple covenants.”

    What I Hear Now — direct quotes

    “If ye are prepared ye shall not fear.”
    “How firm a foundation.”

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    For usage terms, please see the Legal Disclaimer.

  • Marked in Time — Be Still, and Know That I Am God

    Night photo of the Salt Lake Temple mirrored perfectly in a still reflection pool, symbolizing inner spiritual stillness and a life founded on Christ.

    Excerpt
    Be still—and know.

    Intro
    A journalist walked from a celestial room and whispered, “I didn’t know stillness like that existed.” Elder Bednar invites us past outer quiet into inner spiritual stillness—the kind that fixes our hearts on the Father and the Son, even as life stays loud.

    Notes from the Message

    • “Be still” is more than not moving; it’s remembering and relying on Jesus Christ in all times, things, and places.
    • Build on the Rock: Christ isn’t merely beneath us; we fasten our foundation to Him. Covenants and ordinances are the anchor pins and steel rods that tie our souls to bedrock.
    • Sacred time & holy places—Sabbath, temple, and home—train the soul in stillness and covenant focus.
    • As covenants deepen, virtue garnishes thought, confidence before God grows, the Holy Ghost becomes a constant companion—we become grounded, rooted, established, settled.

    Perspective (direct lines & scriptures)
    “Be still, and know that I am God.”
    “Remember, remember… build your foundation upon the rock of our Redeemer.” (Helaman 5:12)
    “Hope… maketh an anchor to the souls of men.” (Ether 12:4)

    Practice (today, not someday)

    • Give God sacred time: one unhurried Sabbath moment, one honest sacrament prayer, one temple appointment on the calendar.
    • Make home a holy place tonight: turn down the noise, turn up gratitude, read one covenant promise.
    • Re-anchor: Grounded • Rooted • Established • Settled.

    Final Reflection
    Foundations don’t hold by accident; they hold because they’re tied to the Rock. In a whirlwind world, covenant connection creates interior calm—the stillness where we know and remember: God is our Father; we are His children; Jesus is our Savior. From that stillness, we can do and overcome hard things.

    Pocket I’m Keeping
    Covenants are my anchor pins; Christ is my bedrock.

    What I Hear Now
    Be still—build on Him—do not fall.

    Link of the talk: Elder David A. Bednar — “Be Still, and Know That I Am God” (April 2024 General Conference)

    © 2012–2025 Jet Mariano. All rights reserved.
    For usage terms, please see the Legal Disclaimer.

  • Marked in Time Sep 9, 2025 – Repent of Our Selfishness

    Waning gibbous, waiting: I timed the moon to rest behind the Angel Moroni atop the Oquirrh Mountain Temple—quiet light on a higher call.

    Excerpt
    Selfishness is not just a flaw—it’s self-destruction in slow motion. Elder Neal A. Maxwell teaches that meekness is the real cure, for it doesn’t just mask selfishness but dissolves it.

    Intro
    Joseph Smith urged that selfishness be “not only buried, but annihilated.” Elder Maxwell builds on that: selfishness shrinks the soul, corrodes society, and detonates commandments. Like Copernicus reminding the world it wasn’t the center of the universe, we too must learn—we are not the center. Meekness and unselfish discipleship are the only antidotes.

    Straight line (what he’s saying)
    • Selfishness = self-destruction in slow motion. It narrows life until others no longer matter.
    • Appetite and ego can never fill emptiness; zero multiplied by anything is still zero.
    • Selfishness masks itself as swagger but is as provincial as goldfish in a bowl.
    • Joseph Smith: selfish feelings must be annihilated, not moderated.
    • Common forms: puffing credit, resenting others’ success, withholding kindness, rudeness, and abuse.
    • Cultural consequence: when selfishness spreads, societies decline—without mercy, without love, past feeling.
    • Selfishness detonates the Ten Commandments: it fuels envy, adultery, dishonesty, even murder.
    • Cain’s “I am free” after slaying Abel = ultimate selfish blindness.
    • Today: people strain at gnats (small issues) while swallowing camels (grave sins like abortion).
    • Followers share accountability with leaders in cultural decline; excuses won’t save.
    • True freedom comes from unselfishness—serving, forgiving, and lifting others.
    • Christ Himself is the supreme contrast: He did not look out for “number one.”

    Final reflection
    Selfishness corrodes both heart and culture. The cure is meekness—choosing to notice, to yield, to bless. When I dissolve selfish wants, space opens for Christlike love. The world says “look out for number one”; Jesus says, “lose yourself and you’ll find life.”

    Pocket I’m keeping
    • Before big actions: quietly ask, “Whose needs am I meeting?”
    • Practice daily meekness: count to 10 before speaking, let the Spirit filter words.
    • Replace envy with gratitude; bless the success of others.
    • Sow unselfishness in family life—ordinary duties cultivate extraordinary love.
    • Remember: selfishness shrinks, meekness expands.

    What I hear now
    Unselfishness frees me under a “freer sky,” as Chesterton said. Meekness is not weakness—it’s strength without selfishness. When I choose it, selfishness dissolves and discipleship deepens.

    Link to the talk
    “Repent of [Our] Selfishness” — Elder Neal A. Maxwell

    © 2012–2025 Jet Mariano. All rights reserved.
    For usage terms, please see the Legal Disclaimer.

  • Marked in Time — Learn to Love the Storm (Provo City Center Temple)

    Provo City Center Temple under lightning—shot from the walkway with leading lights. A reminder I first learned in 2018 after that T-bone crash: storms can shake you, but they don’t decide the ending.

    Excerpt
    Learn to love the storm.

    Intro
    Storms touch every life—loss, illness, missed chances, worry. In IT they hit at 2 a.m., at airports, on freeways, even overseas. Like weather carves a canyon, adversity shapes a soul. Preparation helps—docs, reps, calm breath—until we learn not just to endure but to embrace the rhythm.

    Backstory
    Second week of January 2018, on my way to photograph Provo City Center Temple, a driver T-boned my car. He was arrested on the spot. I blacked out for a few seconds—came back, shaken but okay—and still made it to the temple. That night taught me: storms hit hard, but they don’t have to end the story. Funny enough, as I write this, American Pie wanders through a verse about endings. I’m grateful mine wasn’t.

    Notes from the Journey
    Urgency doesn’t wait; readiness is mercy. Pressure reveals what practice built. Quiet faith plus steady habits turns chaos into clarity.

    Practice (today, not someday)
    Prep what future-you will need (one checklist, one page of notes). When the alert hits: breathe, bless, begin. Re-anchor: Grounded • Rooted • Established • Settled.

    Final Reflection
    Loving the storm doesn’t mean pretending it doesn’t hurt. Some trials mark the body and the heart. Yet the covenant echo remains: “Thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment… and shall be for thy good.” (D&C 121:7; 122:7) In tech and in life, Murphy visits often; I’ll meet him ready, resilient, and willing—trusting that beyond the thunder, I keep moving.

    Pocket I’m Keeping
    Prepared, prayerful, unafraid of weather.

    What I Hear Now
    Hold fast. Keep going between flashes.

    © 2012–2025 Jet Mariano. All rights reserved.
    For usage terms, please see the Legal Disclaimer.

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