Movies I watched last weekend.

Last weekend I watched a couple of World War 2 movies. Valkyrie and Defiance. Both of these were based on true stories. Valkyrie is about an assasination attempt on Hitler by German military officers. If you passed 7th grade you should know up front how it turns out but
it was still fairly suspenseful to watch. Defiance is about two Russian Jewish brothers who led a group of Jewish refugees in the forest while the Nazis occupied that part of Russia. It was both heart wrenching and inspirational. These men risked their lives but did something amazing that has blessed the lives of millions.
Fast forward a generation and we sit around eating cupcakes while playing Mafia Wars on facebook. When I hear of stories like these I feel like fiction is such a waste of time. Why do we have to invent super heroes and fantasy characters when there are so many true stories of regular people accomplishing amazing feats that improve humankind. They deserve to bed immortalized in history. Every culture and country has stories like these, it would be nice to see more of them published.

Nuan's talk in Stake Conference.

Nuan was asked to speak in the Adult session of Stake Conference.  Here is the talk she gave:

Hello, my name is Nuan Thomas.  I am originally from Thailand.  I have lived here in Utah for about 13 years.  A few weeks ago I was asked by President Hicken if I would share my testimony about the temple.

I was born in the northeast part of Thailand.  My Aunt and Uncle lived next door and they had 6 sons and no daughters.  My Cousins acted as my guardian angels and saved me from trouble from time to time and considered me to be their little sister. 

I met the missionaries when they came to teach my cousins the gospel.  The Elders invited me to join in the lesson.  I was a little rebellious and refused.  My cousins being the angels that they are, forced me to sit quietly and listen.  

The spirit spoke to me and I wanted to learn more, so the Elders arranged for the Sister missionaries to teach me.  When the lessons were completed I wanted to be baptized.  I was 14 years old at the time.  A few years later my mother was diagnosed with cancer and she died a short time later.

My extended family became angry with me after her death because I refused to serve as a nun at the Buddhist temple in her honor, which was a tradition there.

When I was first baptized all I knew about the temple was that it was the house of God.  I never had a plan to go to the temple because the closest one to Thailand at that time was the Manilla temple in the Philippines and it would cost a lot of money to go there.  With only a small income I had no way to go but I wanted to go there one day.  

The missionaries showed me pictures of some of the temples around the world.  Some of the missionaries told me their house was only a few blocks away from a temple and I was a little envious, because they could go to the temple all of the time.  Some of the church members in Thailand went to the temple in Manila and they shared their testimony about the temple.  

They sounded very happy and I wanted to go so bad.  I prayed for Heavenly Father to show me the way that I would be able to go to the temple.  When I was 21 years old, I entered the Thailand mission as a full time missionary.  

I still had hope that I would one day get to go to the temple but I did not know how it would ever happen.  One day I got a call from the mission office asking me if I had a passport.  If I didn't have one, I needed to go get one, because they were sending me to the Manilla temple.  

Heavenly Father had answered my prayer and found a way for me to go to the temple.  I went to the Manilla temple and got my endowment there.  I felt so blessed.  I felt like God was smiling and was so happy for me.  He was happy that I chose to serve him by going on a mission, and now I get to go to the temple.  

As I served my mission I met the man I would later marry.  I thought I would never get married in my life, but because I chose to serve the Lord he has given me everything.  Not only did I get married, I was able to marry someone who loved the same Lord and get married in the temple.  He has given me so many blessings in my life.

When I am here in the United States, especially here in Utah there are so many temples.  Less than a 15 minute drive and you can get to a temple.  Somehow I managed to not think about going to the temple, but thinking of things of the world and working or doing other things.  It is strange how those things can become more important than going to the temple.  The temple is so close and yet I can make it so far away that I can never manage to get there.

Until so many things have come into our lives, my husband and I decided we were going to go back to the temple.  Because only in the temple I can feel happiness and escape worry.

When I go to the temple my family is happier.  The children seem to be more obedient and there is more love in the home.  I also want to be a good example to my children because it is important for them to know the Temple is the house of the lord.

He has provided the convenience for us to go see him, and we should take the opportunity at least once a month.  To help others and to help our testimony grow.  I know this church is the true church.  I know the Temple is the house of the Lord, and I know Thomas S. Monson is the true prophet if God.  I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.