The BYU-Idaho devotional speakers on Jun. 15 were Elder and Sister Jaggi. Elder Jaggi is a general authority seventy for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Together, they both spoke about their time in nature, specifically on mountains. Elder Jaggi shared his thoughts on the relationship between mountains and trials.
“With its many stones, unpaved trails, foliage, and potential obstacles—not to mention the taxing nature of the incline on our bodies—mountains represent challenges we all experience in life. No one is immune to the vicissitudes of life. A line in my patriarchal blessing reads, ‘Jeremy, difficulties do come to all people,’” Elder Jaggi said.
They also shared how the temple is our modern-day mountain. Sister Jaggi spoke about her experience going to the temple with her mother, and how it can be a place of healing.
“We cannot refute the healing that resulted by degrees, week after week for both of us in mind, body, and spirit as we spent cherished time in the temple participating in the initiatory, endowment and sealing ordinances in proxy for our ancestors,” Sister Jaggi said. “The Spirit prompted me each week to ‘take a temple selfie with mom along the way… this will be cherished one day.’ I had no idea that several months later at end of March 2020, temples would temporarily close due to the worldwide pandemic,”
In an interview with BYU-Idaho Radio before the devotional with Elder and Sister Jaggi, she shared how the mountains remind her of scripture references.
“I think for me, when I go to the mountains and I feel that, I often think of how many times referenced in scripture the prophets and the Savior, they went to the mount for refuge to commune with God. So, to me, it calls us, it implores us to go,” Sister Jaggi said.