Temples

My Body is a Temple

We are taught from our youth that the physical bodies we now inhabit are a gift from above;  We are taught that our bodies are sacred , they are temples to house the Spirit of the Lord;  We are taught that these bodies have been given to us from God and as such we should care for them as sacred temples.

Much discussion has gone forth about the standards we are taught, and should uphold, and why we should follow them.  In a world of ever-changing ideas, values and standards there are guiderails available for our protection… there is safety if following the counsel given.  The apostle Paul taught:

(1 Cor. 3: 16-17)

16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

17   If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy which temple ye are.

We are taught to avoid alcohol, tobacco, coffee, tea and harmful drugs.  We are taught not to pierce our bodies with piercing…  women are counseled to have only ear-piercing for one set of earrings.  We are taught to not “decorate”  our bodies with tattoos.  We are taught not to put ourselves in extreme situations where we could suffer bodily harm.  We are taught to dress modestly and to cover our bodies so as not to draw attention to them in any improper fashion.  Alcohol, tobacco, coffee, tea, harmful drugs, body piercing, tattoos, extreme activities and immodest clothes are all popular items of the day with those who follow the fashions and trends of the world… some pick and choose those items they use or do by rationalizing their actions with mistaken justification.

Adam has from his youth kept the standards set forth by our leaders.  He has endeavored to keep his body free from the impurities of the world… he has avoided the intake of harmful substances, he has not pierced or tattooed his body, never has he sought to be immodest… always keeping his hair and clothing in the guidelines given by the Brethren.

Why do some who seek to keep their God-given temple in order, who never defile its foundation, walls and spires end up with a temple which is less than perfect?  Why are some given such beautiful edifices full of talents and grandeur yet they spoil them with poisons, graffiti and worldly wantonness?

Adam was given a less than a perfect body;  He was given a disorder called Tuberous Sclerosis, a disorder which affects all the major organs of the body.  His temple was genetically marred while yet in the womb; discovered when he was seven.  Why does this have to be?  The scales of fairness are not balanced… As I look around there are so many with so much who don’t realize the wealth in which they possess.

Life was never meant to be fair… and it isn’t.  It is through our experiences, through our challenges and through our choices that we will be weighed and judged on eternal scales; The Atonement of our Savior will adjust and recalculate the balance to ensure all is done in mercy for our benefit…. yet mercy cannot rob justice.

A healthy child with a “normal” body is taken for granted;  all is right in their world; Parents of a healthy child might worry about what team their child will play on; What groups they will join;  What car you will buy them when they turn sixteen and what college they will be accepted to.  Difficulties come when they don’t make the varsity team or first chair in band… or when they didn’t get invited to the prom with the person they “really” wanted to go with or they got  accepted into their second or third choice of universities.  These are all things to be concerned with as we all love are children, we seek their happiness and to do the best we can for each of them.

A parent of a child with a temple that is less than perfect wonders what the day will bring.. They don’t take anything for granted, accept that there will be unknowns…so many unknowns with their child… They ponder the thoughts; …will he or she be sick today, will there be another trip to the doctor’s office or to the hospital or a 911 call.  Will your child be able to make it to school today or even make it through the school year.. will you need to hold them back for another year. You don’t worry about what team they will make, only if they will get picked to play; picked from the line up as they stand with others along the wall of shame in hopes of not being the last one picked.  You are not worried about who will ask them out on a date or to the prom, only if the other kids will include them in their conversations so they don’t feel so alone… you hope that someone might call or visit them without asking, off to the side, for the favor.  You don’t worry about colleges… you are concerned if they will ever be able to support themselves and be independent someday.

Why are some temples perfect and others less so?… I don’t know.

I do know that I have learned many lessons that I never would have been taught had it not been for Adam and his less than perfect temple.  Lessons that can only be taught by the Master Teacher for the benefit of those who receive them… those who will accept the lessons for what they are.  To those parents who have a child with a “less than” perfect temple you know what I mean and understand my feelings.

Adam’s temple was in need of repair… not by any earthly choice of his own.

On July 18th and again on July 25th Adam had brain surgery.  On Wednesday the 25th Adam had to have sections of his brain removed to improve his condition.  He had a Left Temporal Lobectomy and a resection of his Left Frontal lobe in hopes of being seizure free.  In hopes of living as others do… a life where he can drive a car, serve a mission, be independent and attend a college or university.. in hopes that he will have a family someday.  We were taking his temple which had suffered damage from a genetic earthquake and tried to reinforce its foundation and walls through surgery.  This type of surgery was not available a decade or two ago… It is relatively new.  The surgical knowledge had been given and we had hopes of using this knowledge to improve Adam’s body and his mind.

“Temporal lobectomy is the removal of a portion of the temporal lobe of the brain. It is the most common type of epilepsy surgery and is also the most successful type: After surgery, 60% to 70% of patients are free of seizures that impair consciousness or cause abnormal movements. Some of these patients still experience auras, sensations (odors, for instance) without an outside source.

20% to 25% of patients still have some complex partial or tonic-clonic seizures but the number of seizures is reduced by more than 85%.

10% to 15% of patients have no worthwhile improvement.”… These numbers are for a non-TS patients so the percentages are not the same for Adam… His percentages are a lower than the numbers given here.

Adam has had most of his left temporal lobe removed, the majority being the anterior portion.  Anterior temporal lobectomy is the complete removal of the anterior portion of the temporal lobe of the brain.  Along with this a portion of his Left Frontal Lobe were removed on this fateful Wednesday.

The doctors took 9 1/2 hours to perform the surgery.

Here are two MRI images of Adam’s Left Temporal Lobe and his Left Frontal Lobe.  These images are reversed… so the left side appears on the right as you are looking at it.  The areas which are hollow or white on the his left side (right as you are looking at it) are the resected areas.  The first image shows his left temporal lobe…. if you were looking at it from the side the entire area would be gone, this image is looking down so you see the brain tissue that is below the temporal lobe area… it is difficult to see the depth.

The second image is showing the left frontal lobe area.  In both pictures you can compare the symmetry or lack of symmetry from the right side of the brain which was not operated on.

Left Temporal Lobe

Left Frontal Lobe

The human body is a wonderful gift and creation… It is a wonderful gift from our Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ.

Elder Russel M. Nelson, a world-class surgeon, described our body at the last General Conference as follows:

Physical Gifts

“Our Heavenly Father loves His children. He has blessed each with physical and spiritual gifts. Let me speak of each type. When you sing “I Am a Child of God,” think of His gift to you of your own physical body. The many amazing attributes of your body attest to your own “divine nature.”

“Each organ of your body is a wondrous gift from God. Each eye has an autofocusing lens. Nerves and muscles control two eyes to make a single three-dimensional image. The eyes are connected to the brain, which records the sights seen.

“Your heart is an incredible pump. It has four delicate valves that control the direction of blood flow. These valves open and close more than 100,000 times a day—36 million times a year. Yet, unless altered by disease, they are able to withstand such stress almost indefinitely.

“Think of the body’s defense system. To protect it from harm, it perceives pain. In response to infection, it generates antibodies. The skin provides protection. It warns against injury that excessive heat or cold might cause.

“The body renews its own outdated cells and regulates the levels of its own vital ingredients. The body heals its cuts, bruises, and broken bones. Its capacity for reproduction is another sacred gift from God.

“Be we reminded that a perfect body is not required to achieve one’s divine destiny. In fact, some of the sweetest spirits are housed in frail or imperfect bodies. Great spiritual strength is often developed by people with physical challenges, precisely because they are so challenged.

“Anyone who studies the workings of the human body has surely “seen God moving in his majesty and power.” Because the body is governed by divine law, any healing comes by obedience to the law upon which that blessing is predicated.

“Yet some people erroneously think that these marvelous physical attributes happened by chance or resulted from a big bang somewhere. Ask yourself, “Could an explosion in a printing shop produce a dictionary?” The likelihood is most remote. But if so, it could never heal its own torn pages or reproduce its own newer editions!”

For those with perfect or less than perfect bodies, know that God loves you and that you are one of His creations.  All things have a purpose if we endure them well.

“No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude and humility. All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure it patiently, builds up our characters, purifies our hearts, expands our souls, and makes us more tender and charitable, more worthy to be called the children of God… and it is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain the education that we come here to acquire and which will make us more like our Father and Mother in heaven.”  Orson F. Whitney

Know that your body is a temple of God and keeping clean, unspotted from worldly marks is very important.

Alma 7:21

“And he doth not dwell in unholy temples; neither can filthiness or anything which is unclean be received into the kingdom of God;…:

1 Cor. 3: 16                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

16  “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?”