Foundation stones and leaky fountains
Sep 23, 2026
I had the amazing opportunity in May to take a tour of the new Salt Lake Temple visitor's center. While some construction projects were still underway on the grounds, it was phenomenal to see the transformation of the past several years.
Can you believe that in a single day over a million tickets were issued so people all over the world can be part of the celebration and tour the newly completed temple starting in the spring of 2027?!?
A million tickets in one day!
As we study the prophecies in Isaiah, there's no doubt that something amazing is happening right before our eyes.
In a general conference address in October 1863, President Brigham Young asserted, “I want to see [the] temple built in a manner that it will endure through the millennium."
That is profound vision to me.
They did not yet have access to the tools and technology to make that desire possible, but they gave their very best (for 40 years!) and the results were amazing.
Generations of pioneers organized their lives and their city around this beautiful edifice. God's work moved forward in this beautiful temple.
I had the opportunity to attend the Salt Lake Temple a few times myself. Those are special memories that, if I'm honest, actually once involved getting lost trying to find the baptistry through a maze of hallways that were the results of updates and changes.
I feel that the same thing happens in life. We survive the best we can. We add on some coping mechanisms here and some adaptive strategies there. We refresh outdated beliefs with extra layers of paint.
The work of our lives is still going forward, but it sure isn't elegant inside. Perhaps the metaphorical vision Brigham Young had of being built to "endure through the millennium" seems way beyond reach for us.
I love the phrase, "When we know better, we do better."
That's exactly what they did with the temple.
Elder Gary Stevenson explained in 2020 that they conducted a thorough review of the temple and current construction technology available and determined a "comprehensive seismic upgrade beginning from the temple foundation on upward" was necessary.
I love that description. New technology and knowledge was available, and they chose to initiate the process to start the upgrade from the "foundation on upward." The very process that will make it stand strong in a way it never could have before.
About that same time, my own "seismic event" showed me that a comprehensive focus on my foundation was essential too.
Elder Stevenson's question inspired me:
“How could this extensive renewal of the Salt Lake Temple inspire us to undergo our own spiritual renewal, reconstruction, rebirth, revitalization, or restoration?”
As we stand on the other side of these many years of reconstruction work, it seems obvious that it was worth it! The same is true for the work in our own souls.
President Russel M. Nelson shared,
"As I have watched workers dig out old tree roots, plumbing, wiring, and a leaky fountain, I have thought about the need for each of us to remove, with the Savior’s help, the old debris in our lives."
When we know better, we do better. And Jesus is there to help us.
Do you have debris? Are you in need of a renovation, a rebirth or a revitalization?
My favorite word to describe what has happened is restoration.
The word restoration reminds me that we are returning to an original form of something and making it a little better. I feel like that's what the Lord has been doing with me. Through neuroscience, developmental science, and the beautiful principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ, He has been taking fragmented and wounded parts and bringing them back into a whole soul--body, spirit, heart, and mind-- and making them one in Christ (Ephesians 1:10).
I've had some leaky fountains of my own removed, and I've needed to replace some foundational beliefs and stories I carried about myself and others and the plan that Heavenly Father has for us. My own project continues to move forward.
And, just like the temple, it has taken more time and more investment and was more extensive than originally planned, but the results are magnificent.
Just like the temple, we can stand strong.
We can withstand the shaking of the world and the storms that will come as we prepare for the Savior to come again.
Claim a moment to be fully present for your soul and experience some revitalization:
Slow down and just breathe. Inhale. Pause. Intentionally relax your shoulders as you exhale. Repeat the cycle and relax your neck. Then your face. Then your arms. Then your torso. Then your legs. Focus on your heart. Just sit in that awareness for a moment. Imagine the Light of Christ shining within your chest. Close your eyes and sense how it feels and looks. Sit in that Light, just breathing.
That is sacred space. A Holy Place.
It feels good to dip into that place, doesn't it?
Perhaps you are ready for a restoration of that Light, too.
Would you like some support in your effort to strengthen, revitalize, or restore your foundation? Is it time for your leaky fountain to be upgraded?!
Our WISE Woman Growth Groups may be just what your soul is needing to facilitate your journey. Explore what that could mean for you here.
You can also check out this new podcast with Stan Bennion about moving from transactional patterns to transformational patterns in our relationship with the Lord and how to be more present in our life while we do so.
Receive the light!
Magnify the light!
Share the light!
And know that you are loved!
