The Heavens

I share a deep passion with my father, astronomy. He developed a love for the stars from his father. I hope to pass along my knowledge to my children, for it is a science that is easy to find, explain and understand. While the stars and planets do move across the sky through the night and throughout the seasons, they are unchanging in their course. They are predictable, steady and simply beautiful to behold.

The past two nights I have talked of the sky with my dad on the phone. I told him how on a cold and foggy morning last week while driving the boys to school, there in the west was the large lovely moon full, round and bright. Directly across the sky in the east was the fiery orange sun, shiny boldly through the mist. It made me think of Star Wars when they show planets that have more than one moon. How exquisite that would be. My dad laughed and said, if he were to ever create a planet he would certainly make at least two moons. I agreed.

My dad then inquired if I had been watching Venus move closer to Jupiter. I had seen Jupiter glowing bright always near one of my favorite constellations Sagittarius (south near the horizon, shaped like a teapot) and was eager to witness for myself the next day.Alas, tonight we had an unforeseen snow storm arrive in Lexington putting a halt to my star gazing plans. But as I put the kids to bed the phone rang and it was my dad on the line wondering if I saw the planets. It made me smile and the hundreds of miles between us seemed to disappear knowing I can look out and see the same sky, the same stars, the same planets every single night, just as he can in Utah. It made me feel like I was home. And like I wrote before, there is nothing better than that.VenusJupiter While I love the actual act of star gazing, I also think you can look at astronomy on a much deeper, more personal level.

I love the passage in the Book of Mormon when Alma is speaking to Korihor about signs. Alma Chapter 30:43 reads: "And now Korihor said unto Alma: If thou wilt show me a sign, that I may be convinced that there is a God, yea, show unto me that he hath power, and then will I be convinced of the truth of thy words."

In verse 44 Alma gives his reply. "But Alma said unto him: Thou hast had signs enough; will ye tempt your God? Will ye say, Show unto me a sign, when ye have the testimony of all these thy brethren, and also all the holy prophets? The scriptures are laid before thee, yea, and all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator."

Not only do I love to discuss the heavens with my earthly father, but when I gaze upon the wonders of the universe I, like Alma, know that I have a Heavenly Father as well. I know without a doubt that He is our Supreme Creator. He had the plan and he saw it through. The big bang theory just simply does not add up. Modern space discoveries alone prove there is order in creation and that new planets and stars are constantly being born. Life continues on.

I think of how our own universe, earth and man were created. We can read in Genesis 1:1 "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." Genesis Chapter 2:7 it reads , "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul."

Heavenly Father not only created the world, but he created my spirit and I am his child. We all are his children. I love standing with the young women each week and reciting the theme: "We are daughters of our Heavenly Father, who loves us, and we love Him.”

I am humbled to know that a being so great and powerful knows ME and cares about ME and wants ME to be happy and succeed his this mortal earth life. My testimony is strengthened and I have more resolve to make good choices, to love and cherish my husband and children because I know why I am here, where I came from and what I have to do to get back home. And that truly is the place we all want to be. For eternity.

Since the earliest days of astronomy, since the time of Galileo, astronomers have shared a single goal — to see more, see farther, see deeper. The Hubble Space Telescope's launch in 1990 sped humanity to one of its greatest advances in that journey. Every breathtaking photo in this post was captured by the Hubble Space Telescope. It has beamed hundreds of thousands of images back to Earth, shedding light on many of the great mysteries of astronomy. Its gaze has helped determine the age of the universe, the identity of quasars, and the existence of dark energy. Hubble's discoveries have transformed the way scientists look at the universe. And how I look at it as well. So tonight take a moment to stop and look up and enjoy the heavens above. They truly are a gift from our Heavenly Father.