Gerhard has been preparing a fireside presentation on the topic "Blessings of temple attendance." This has been a good experience as we are halfway through the first year here in Mérida and it is time for a spiritual semester test. As we read many talks from our leaders and collected stories from friends and workers, each time I would think, "What blessings am I preparing myself to receive?"

This quote from the closing address at General Conference 2004 makes a very vivid image for us, as each year we have seen the pecan trees in Dublán flower, watched the nuts grow and waited for the frosts that would allow the nuts to fall so we could gather them. Then the nut cracking could begin.

We had hand crackers, but they were just for when we were sitting around and eating a few nuts. The real business was done by a simple machine using the mechanical advantage of a rubber band pulling back a wooden block and striking the nut. Our children got pretty good at that job. When it was just us at home and the nut harvest was good, we invested in an electric nut cracker and used it one year before being called to Mérida.

There are many elements of that experience that relate to the benefits of temple attendance as Pres.ident Hinckley points out:

"...Refinará sus naturalezas. Descascarará la concha de egoísmo en la cual la mayoría de nosotros vivimos. Traerá literalmente un elemento santificador en nuestras vidas y nos hará mejores hombres y mujeres”.

Now, in English, which lets us feel Pres. Hinckley's love and gives a more rounded idea of temple service than we put in the presentation--
"I would hope that we might go to the house of the Lord a little more frequently....
In this noisy, bustling, competitive world, what a privilege it is to have a sacred house where we may experience the sanctifying influence of the Spirit of the Lord. The element of selfishness crowds in upon us constantly. We need to overcome it, and there is no better way than to go to the house of the Lord and there serve in a vicarious relationship in behalf of those who are beyond the veil of death....
so, my brothers and sisters, I encourage you to take greater advantage of this blessed privilege. It will refine your natures. It will peel off the selfish shell in which most of us live. It will literally bring a sanctifying element into our lives and make us better men and better women. " Gordon B. Hinckley, “Closing Remarks,” Liahona, Nov 2004, 104–5

This is our prayer for each of our family, our friends, and especially ourselves.