The Majestic Beauty of a Righteous Woman

Yesterday was the Vancouver Temple dedication.  Every room and every possible corner of the temple was filled with worthy, beautiful saints - hundreds more were assembled in stake centres (that's how they spell it in Canada!) throughout the  temple district.  It was a sacred experience - truly enriching, beautiful, humbling, and amazing.  I will share one of the sacred experiences that I had yesterday in this post.

Our choir sang four numbers, each time filing into the room where the dedication was held, singing directly behind the chairs of President Monson, President Uchtdorf, Elder Christofferson, and members of the new temple presidency.  In the front row, facing the choir sat Sister Harriet Uchtdorf next to President Monson's daughter, Ann Dibbs who is a counselor in the general Young Women's presidency.

When we entered to sing, Sister Dibbs smiled at me and for a brief moment as our eyes met, I felt her warmth and goodness.  It seemed to surround her!  Seeing the purity and light shining from her eyes, I knew that this daughter of God was more than just a mere mortal, as CS Lewis states, but a righteous heir in the kingdom of our Lord.  I was touched by her gentle and wonderful spirit - she was true beauty to behold.  I can only hope that someday I could grow to be so beautiful, with "deep beauty" as described by Sister Elaine Dalton.  The remainder of this post is a quote by Sister Dalton that she gave in the Young Women's General Broadcast this spring, describing the kind of beauty that I saw yesterday in the celestial room.

"When I was attending Brigham Young University, I learned what it truly means to be a queen. I was given a unique opportunity, along with a small group of other students, to meet the prophet, President David O. McKay...President McKay had on a white suit, and seated next to him was his wife...he leaned back in his chair and reached for his wife’s hand and said, “Now, young women, I would like you to meet my queen.” There seated next to him was his wife, Emma Ray McKay. Although she did not wear a crown of sparkling diamonds, nor was she seated on a throne, I knew she was a true queen. Her white hair was her crown, and her pure eyes sparkled like jewels...Hers was a beauty that cannot be purchased. It came from years of seeking the best gifts, becoming well educated, seeking knowledge by study and also by faith. It came from years of hard work, of faithfully enduring trials with optimism, trust, strength, and courage. It came from her unwavering devotion and fidelity to her husband, her family, and the Lord.

On that fall day in Huntsville, Utah, I was reminded of my divine identity, and I learned about what I now call “deep beauty”—the kind of beauty that shines from the inside out. It is the kind of beauty that cannot be painted on, surgically created, or purchased. It is the kind of beauty that doesn’t wash off. It is spiritual attractiveness. Deep beauty springs from virtue. It is the beauty of being chaste and morally clean. It is the kind of beauty that you see in the eyes of virtuous women like your mother and grandmother. It is a beauty that is earned through faith, repentance, and honoring covenants."