I love a good peach...I also love a good
temple. Soon I can have both in my own back yard! If you are here from "
Nester's" site...I linked my find wrong! It's one post below! Opps!!
Photo
Brigham City Temple
- Jerry Earl Johnston - Mormon Times
In Brigham City, the walls of the new temple are on the rise. And to keep the spirits of the Saints rising with them, the ward held a fireside last Sunday. Brother and Sister Peck, missionaries assigned to oversee the temple construction and bolster local goodwill, filled us in on the latest news. Sister Peck invited us to take lessons from watching the construction. In the firm footing we should see a foundation we should set for ourselves in life. In the sturdy floors we find a symbol for strong support and a reminder to hold solid under pressure. She invited everyone at the fireside to glean lessons of their own from the temple site. So, today, let me try.
To begin, we learned that the artistic theme for the building would be "peach bloosoms" (Brigham City being the Peach City and all). Living peach trees would grace the grounds. Images of peach blossoms would be carved into the facade, etched into windows and be in the stained glass and other artwork.
As I listened, I thought of a poem I wrote years ago about the death of a young friend. I compared his passing to a peach blossom withered in an early frost. But the temple peach blossoms aren't about untimely death. They are about
hope. For there may be an occupation that demands more faith than growing peaches, but I can't think of one. Unlike hardy apples, peaches must beat the odds to survive. Frost, hail, wind, bugs, disease, vandals--not to mention too many birds and not enough bees--can all kill a peach crop. Peach trees need constant care and keeping.
Smudge pots can warm the blossoms and insecticides can curb the pests, but it takes work. Planting peach trees may be an act of faith, but hard work is what keeps that faith alive. And sometimes, even faith and works aren't enough. But even when a crop is lost, hope burns on. The following year, Box Elder growers will try again. And the year after. And after that. The growers aren't always successful. But they keep the faith. And its never a blind faith. They know how things work. They know if there's not a frost after May 5th, they have a good chance. They know they can't plan peach trees too far north of the city. They study all the facts. They work hard. I'm sure they pray. And, miraculously, they often come out ahead.
In the Bible, Jesus compared faith to a mustard seed. But we don't grow mustard plants in Brigham City. We grow peaches. And now, thanks to the durable decor around and in our new temple, peach blossoms will be blooming in Brigham for decades to come.
