I vaguely remember as a small girl attending the St. George Temple Open House when it was rededicated. In fact I probably remember it more because I've been told I went not because I remember the event. But in the last 13 years we've had the opportunity to attend 4 Temple Open Houses.
To members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
the temple is the "House of the Lord." It is a sacred building, and after its dedication only faithful members of the Church may enter. Inside, members learn more about the purpose of life and make covenants to serve Jesus Christ and their fellow man. In addition, they participate in religious ceremonies that reach beyond mortality, such as baptisms on behalf of deceased ancestors and eternal marriage.
But before a Temple is dedicated they have an Open House so anyone who wants to can see the inside of the Temple.
In 1997 we gathered Mark's family together and all went to the
Mount Timpanogos Open House . This is now the Temple we are assigned to attend. We also got to participate and help with the Open House.
In September of 2000 we got the opportunity to go back to where I served my mission and take my mom, my husband, Jessica (then 3) and Ashley (then 6 months) to the
Boston Massachusetts Temple Open House and Dedication.
This was an amazing two week trip that included a trip to the Sacred Grove. But of course the girls don't remember much of this event.
So we were excited when in January 2008 we were able to take the kids up to Rexburg for the
Rexburg Idaho Temple Open House.
We went up with my Mom and visited with my brother, Brent and his family. Their little girl, Hailey, joined our family for this picture.
When we went to dinner that night a local restaurant had an ice sculpture of the Temple. It was cold enough I'm sure it lasted through the whole month of the Open Houses. This was again a fun trip for me because I spent two years in Rexburg from 1983 - 1985 going to Ricks College. It has changed a lot now that it is a 4 year university.
And now on Jan 30, 2009 we got to take our kids to another Temple Open House for the
Draper Temple .
They are planning on over 1 million people to tour the Temple before it is dedicated. In order to handle this kind of people flow they had to adjust how the open house was handled. Our tickets "assigned" us a church to park at. We watched a video and then loaded buses to drive us up to the Temple.
Our group was Grandma Neva, Grandpa Jim, Ashley, Christine (me), John, Mark, Jessica and Grandma Pat.
We were able to walk through the beautiful Temple. The stain glass windows were made by my friend's husband,
Tom Holdman His work is always inspiring.
After the tour they had a gathering room at the Church building next to the Temple where we could visit and take pictures.
Then we loaded back on the bus heading to the "red" parking where they dropped us back to our cars. We are so grateful our children have been able to see the inside to two temples in one year. They will be able to remember these experiences so much better than I did as a child. And we will have the opportunity to go to one more before the year is done when the
Oquirrah Temple has its open house latter this year.
The Temple is a wonderful blessing in my life. Because of the Temple I was married for time and ALL eternity to my wonderful husband and sealed to my children. So that after this life I know we will be able to be together again as a family unit.
