Tent towards home

For our home church lesson today, we had the kids pitch our tent in the front yard. We handed them our ancient three man tent and told them to set it up. Jeff and I sat on the porch and watched them struggle, chuckling quietly and occasionally calling out hints. Why is it so fun to watch our kids struggle? We had a grand time watching their ten-pitching show. It took Jay the longest time to get the tent out of the bag. He fiercely refused Rose's assistance for that part, so the girls played on the rope swing until Jay finally got the tent out of the bag. Then Jay and Rose wrestled the springy poles into the correct position on the roof while Amber wielded the short rain-fly-pole like Ninja Warrior Wonder Woman in the background.


At last the tent was up. (We left the rain fly off.) The tent door was facing the canal, so I told the kids to turn it to face our house, where Jeff was standing on the porch spouting phrases from King Benjamin's address.

When Jeff was done with his random scripture phrases, I read Mosiah 2:5-6 to the kids while they sat in the tent. Then we sat in the tent and listened to part of Elder Neil Anderson's most recent conference talk, Spiritually Defining Memories. We all agreed we have each been blessed with spiritually defining moments. Amber was getting restless so we ended before getting any farther. It was a simple family time. Jeff and I didn't share any profound gospel lessons. We just read scriptures, quoted scriptures, and listened to two stories from an apostle in a tent. That's how 99% of our family scripture study and gospel lessons go. Simple and straightforward, ending in releasing the wild-children-beasts. The tent today was a departure from our usual simplicity. Sometimes I worry that we aren't doing enough. But it's what works for us, so onward!

Somewhere in the middle of our 20 minute front-yard activity, the spirit taught me about the significance of our tent door facing our house. First I felt the importance of turning towards the Savior. Then I thought more about what that means in our current situation. Our home is our temple--the only temple we can be in right now. We can't go to the church building. We can't go to the Columbia River Temple.

"And they pitched their tents round about the temple, every man having his tent with the door thereof towards the temple" (Mosiah 2:6)

The temple "is the most holy of any place of worship on the earth. Only the home can compare with the temple in sacredness." (Bible Dictionary, Temple) 

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, I understood the importance of having a Christ-centered home intellectually. Teach the gospel to my family. Read scriptures and pray together every day. Hang pictures of Jesus Christ and the temple. Make the gospel part of our everyday life. All of those important good actions give us a Christ-centered home. Now that HOME is the only building wherein we are able to worship, the importance of having a Christ-centered home has taken on a deeper meaning. It was a very brief flash of understanding, but it grew my understanding of the sacredness of the home.

 Jay, struggling with the tent bag while the girls frolic in the background. This picture makes me smile.

 Amber did not feel the need to help with much tent setup.

 Top ten Amber picture right here.

(Amber was still in her big brother hand-me-down pajamas) 

 Amber warrior princess in the background! Jay and Rose working diligently in the foreground! Age and personality differences can make things complicated.

 Troubleshooting. Jeff and I made a few suggestions.

Success! 

 Kids in tent, tent facing home. 

 Listening to Elder Anderson's stories in the tent, home in front.

 Tent selfie! We discovered that the longstanding mildew on this 15+ year old wimpy Walmart tent had grown significantly, so we threw it in the trash when we were done. (Don't take the metaphor that far! Hahaha.)

We let Amber out of the tent early because she was causing a ruckus. Jay and Rose were jealous. We ended our little tent meeting soon after.

 Amber, living her best life. At home.