The past couple of Saturdays, I have been helping my wife can fruits and vegetables. We go to our local farmers market and buy fresh, Utah-grown produce and then prepare it for canning. We also received some tomatoes from coworkers which we canned. Our canning is small scale since it is only my wife and I, but no matter the quantity the directions for canning remain the same. Allow me to demonstrate canning step by step - and throw some spiritual insights in too.

One can read in books how to can using various methods. But I submit the best way to learn to can is by watching someone, asking them and helping them, thus gaining hands-on experience. My wife watched her mother and grandmother can various things, and when she was old enough she was invited to help. The message here is that books and the Internet are fine for some things, but there are certain things that can be learned much easier by observation and example. Parenting would fall into that category. Dr. Spock might have some ideas, however knowing each child brought into this world has distinct characteristics, this has to be learned as one goes along. Brothers or Sisters may excel in sports, or music - it is their God-given talents that we as parents should seek out and help those talents grow.

We had a very small canner, which would work, however we realized that we could only use the smaller jars, so we went out and bought a regular sized canner. So, the message here is that while we can accomplish things more efficiently, if we have the right tools it will help us. We have all the Heavenly Tools we need to return back to His presence; the scriptures, living prophets and apostles, and the Holy Ghost to help steer us through the tumultuous seas of life.

Before any physical canning is done, the jars have to be prepared. The jars are placed in the canner along with the lids and seals and water. The water is brought up to a temperature of 180 degrees to kill any bacteria. If the jars did not go through this process, there is greater chance for bacteria to get into the food and render it useless for consumption or danger of extreme illness if it is eaten. The message here is that our bodies are like those jars, lids, and seals. We are instructed to "sterilize our bodies" from the world by not allowing anything such as pornography, alcohol, tobacco in. And we want to keep our inner vessel spotless by not partaking in premarital sexual relations. Satan desires greatly to introduce "bacteria" into our systems. A little here, a little there until we are unable to keep the eternal fruit that our Heavenly Father has prepared for us.

The sterilized jars are filled with the fruit or vegetable and a sterilized seal is placed on the jar and secured with the sterilized ring. The jars are placed back into the water and boiled per the instructions or advice given. The message here is that to fully enjoy the fruits of this earth life and to prepare us to live in the presence of our Heavenly Father, we need to be sealed as husband/wife. The sealing powers along with the multitude of blessings pronounced are sealed upon us conditional to our faithfulness. President Boyd K. Packer has said:

The sealing powers, if we are true and faithful can keep evil out of our lives, will enrich our relationship with our spouse, and help us keep eternal perspectives on all things, all trials, and all blessings.

The jars with fruit now cooked are removed from the boiling water and set to cool down. The seals, if if they have been applied properly will "pop", indicating the sealing process is complete and there is a vacuum pressure between the contents and the outside. The message here is that we all experience trials in our lives. These trials can be so great that it can even effect the temple blessings and sealing that we have experienced. Temples are the house of God. Worthy mortals enter into those walls and partake of those blessings. We are counseled to return to the temple where we can "set aside" our earthly trials and fortify the sealing which we have partaken of. We can do this by acting as proxy for those who passed from this earth without any knowledge of the restored gospel. When we are proxy, we are in effect renewing those marriage covenants we entered in, just as when we partake of the Sacrament, we are renewing our baptismal covenants.

The canning process is done. We have a pantry full of vegetables or fruit that we store away. Each item typically has a shelf life before it is not any good. Rotation of stock ensures that we do not let any go to spoil and we can enjoy the contents. The final message here is that The Lord gives us many blessings. Many of those blessings given to us are to be used in a timely manner. The priesthood is a blessing given that in order to use it, we have to give it away. The main purpose of the priesthood is to bless the lives of others. And just like the manna provided for the children of Israel, The Lord will pour out even more blessings as we use those other blessings. Rearing children is a blessing. We have been entrusted with Heavenly Father's spirit children to be their earthly guides. Accepting callings and magnifying those callings will reap us blessings.

We are all special vessels in our Heavenly Father's eyes. We have been prepared for this day to come to the earth; to be parents and to be the mighty youth who proved their complete faithfulness before the world was. We have been given tools to help guide us. We have living prophets and apostles on the earth who will fill us with the good fruit that is highly desirable. We will have the privilege in a few short weeks of listening to the Lord's chosen in General Conference and partake of those words of goodness. We have temples spotted throughout the world to help us further recognize our divine heritage. We can be sealed to our spouse for time and all eternity in these temples and can be as "Saviors on Mount Zion" to those who did not have the privilege of doing so for themselves. And we can enjoy each and every blessing which The Lord stands ready to bless us with. By keeping our vessels clean and pure, we can enjoy the feast which the Lord has prepared for each of us.