Provo City Center Temple Open House

Last week, we had the opportunity to tour the Provo City Center Temple.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints did an amazing job restoring and transforming this old building.

 Back in 2010, this building, which was then a tabernacle (in fact we use to attend Stake Conference there, and I have a funny story about that HERE.), caught fire and was damaged severely.

In the October 2011 General Conference, we were so happy when President Monson announced:

"Late last year the Provo Tabernacle in Utah County was seriously damaged by a terrible fire. This wonderful building, much beloved by generations of Latter-day Saints, was left with only the exterior walls standing. After careful study, we have decided to rebuild it with full preservation and restoration of the exterior, to become the second temple of the Church in the city of Provo."

The inside of this temple truly looks and feels like you've been transported back in time to the days of the pioneers.  The hinges look old, the benches and chairs look antique, there's even handcrafted carpet, similar to what the pioneers would have made, even the exit signs were designed to look old-fashioned. It is truly beautiful.

"In the temple, through the power of the Holy Spirit, knowledge is transformed into virtues.  A person who attends the temple regularly grows more patient, more long-suffering, and charitable.  He becomes more diligent, more committed, and more dedicated.  He develops a greater capacity to love his wife and children and to respect the good qualities and the rights of others.  He develops a greater sense of values, becoming more honorable and upright in his dealings and less critical of others.  In the temple knowledge is transformed into feelings of the heart, resulting in actions that build character.  Thus, the family is strengthened and the community is uplifted to the extent of his influence" 

(Royden G. Derrick, Temple in the Last Days, p. 53)

Family = Happiness

  ". . .The older I get, the more I realize that family is the center of life and is the key to eternal happiness."

-Elder L. Tom Perry

Last weekend we were able to spend some time with Clint's family in the Draper, Utah Temple witnessing Clint's paternal Grandpa Rip be sealed to his parents. 

I am grateful for my family and for the opportunity to be with them forever!

Good Day/Bad Day

THE BAD PART

Yesterday was an all around HARD day!

#6 started 1st Grade.  That means I'm all alone, as in by myself, for 6 hours every day.  I've dreamt about this day for years, imagining all the fun I would have and all the things I would accomplish.  Now that it's here, I hate it!  It's so quiet and lonely.  By 11 am yesterday I was so bored.  I was dying for a mess to clean up or a fight to referee.  (Weird, I know!)

THE GOOD PART

I spent last night here, in the Payson Temple, cleaning.  From 9:30 pm until midnight, a group of volunteers cleans the temple - every day (except for Saturdays and Sundays)!  I swept all the stairs, dusted, washed windows, and vacuumed.  It was awesome, the perfect way to end my day!

Blessings of the Temple

Blessings of the Temple

by President Thomas S. Monson

This talk was short and sweet with a powerful message:

"The Blessings of the Temple are Priceless."

"As we enter through the doors of the temple, we leave behind us the distractions and confusion of the world.  Inside this sacred sanctuary, we find beauty and order.  There is rest for our souls and a respite from the cares of our lives.

"As we attend the temple, there can come to us a dimension of spirituality and a feeling of peace which will transcend any other feeling which could come into the human heart. . . .Such peace can permeate any heart - hearts that are troubled, hearts that are burdened down with grief, hearts that feel confusion, hearts that plead for help."

It's amazing that there are 147 operating temples (144 when this talk was given), 12 under construction, and 14 announced.  That's a total of 173!  My mom recently shared with me a goal her and my dad had when they were first married in 1975.  Their goal was to visit all the temples in the world.  They had a poster illustrating all the temples hanging in their bedroom.  They planned to one day visit them all before they died - all 16 of them!  Needless to say, now that there are closer to 200 temples, their plans have changed.  There are 17 temples just in Utah alone!

President Monson promised us that 

"As we go to the temple, as we remember the covenants we make there, we will be better able to overcome. . .temptations and to bear our trials.  In the temple we can find peace."

I love the following quote from President Gordon B. Hinckley

“I hope that everyone gets to the temple on a regular basis. I hope your children over 12 years of age have the opportunity of going to the temple to be baptized for the dead. If we are a temple-going people, we will be a better people, we will be better fathers and husbands, we will be better wives and mothers. I know your lives are busy. I know that you have much to do. But I make you a promise that if you will go to the house of the Lord, you will be blessed, life will be better for you. Now, please, please, my beloved brethren and sisters, avail yourselves of the great opportunity to go to the Lord’s house and thereby partake of all of the marvelous blessings that are yours to be received there.” 

I know this to be true!  Satan knows how good going to the temple is for us, and for those we serve there.  He will try everything in his power to persuade us and distract us from going to the temple.
We must not let him do this.  A friend of mine, years ago, said she would wake up, put on a dress, and immediately leave for the temple.  If she planned a time, or really put thought into it, something would always come up.  This was her way of outsmarting the devil.  This may not work for everyone.  Some of us live too far away from a temple to do this.

I try to keep a set day and time.  This works best for me.
What do you do to make time for the temple? 

Payson Temple Dedication

On Sunday, June, 2015 the  Payson Utah Temple 

was dedicated by President Henry B. Eyring.

My parents had special permission from their "Mission President" to come down for the Cultural Celebration and also the Temple Dedication.

 The plan was for my kids to go to the 9:00 am dedicatory session with my parents while Clint and I stayed home with #6, who was too young to attend (you have to be eight). Clint and I would then attend the 1:00 session.  

The first group left later than planned and once again, the doors were locked, and everyone had to come back home to wait for the next one.

 The kids were thrilled to get to spend the morning with Grandma and Grandpa.

Grandpa played games while Grandma got a manicure.

I'm happy to report that everyone made it on time to the remaining sessions and we had a beautiful time.

Cultural Celebration - Grand Finale (Part 5)

After the storm that preceded this performance, the ending couldn't have been more appropriate!

Link HERE

The Spirit was present and strong.  I left that night so so proud of my children.  Proud to be a part of my community, proud to be a Mormon.

I also was filled with a deep determination to be better.

The rainbow was so awesome. Let's see it one more time!

You can watch a condensed version of the celebration HERE

Payson Temple Cultural Celebration (Part 4)

In the Cultural Celebration #3 and #4 were Stripling Warriors.

For their staffs, they went hiking to find the perfect stick then came home sawed off all the branches, and then sanded them smooth.  It took them quite a few hours.

Here are my boys.  (Fast forward to minute 8.)

(Video Link)

Watching this again, makes me cry- again. This was an awesome sight to see 2020 strong, righteous, and faithful young men all assembled together.

These boys are modern day Strippling Warriors.  They are not fighting against Lamanite armies.  but they have even tougher army they are up against - drugs, pornography, dishonestly, selfishness, etc

They are our defenders of truth and right.  God is with them and they shall not fall.

I hope as their mother I have taught them that "if they [do] not doubt, God will deliver them" just as he did Helaman's Army.

 My daughter did a hoola hoop dance to I know that My Redeemer Lives. (#2 is in the 3rd row, 4th person from the back.)  I love this song. It always makes me cry.  This night was no different.  To see my beautiful daughter dancing to I know that My Redeemer Lives with a backdrop of the temple behind her just about did me in.  She was beautiful, it was beautiful.

Here is the footage of #2's dance.
Link HERE

 To commemorate this special day, our Stake gave each participant a plague made from remnant wood from the Payson Temple.  

Members of our Stake spent several hours cutting and carving our Stake's logo into these plagues for our youth.

 This experience is something they will remember for ever.

I hope they will keep these plagues forever and display them in their future homes as a reminder to them and a testament to their future children.

Come back tomorrow for the Grand Finale!

Payson Temple Cultural Celebration (Part 3)

Wordless Wednesday:

Payson Temple Celebration (Part 2)

Three of our children participated in the Payson Utah Temple Cultural Celebration.

They sacrificed many hours to practicing, learning songs, dance moves, and even sign language.

Many Saturdays were spent out in the hot sun at practices instead of with friends.

We arrived at the Cultural Celebration a little before 5:30.  The skies were clear and the sun was out.

A little after 6:00 this happened.  Luckily I had gone to use the facilities while it was still sunny.  Once I waited my turn in the long line (why does the women's restroom always have a long line?), and came out, it was pouring.  I stayed underneath hoping that it was just a scattered shower, like the weatherman said, and would soon clear up.  It didn't.  It got worse and started hailing, then lightning and thundering.

 The rest of my family was up on the bleachers hiding under blankets to try to stay dry.

 It rained and rained, and hailed, and lightninged (is that even a word?), finally they announced over the PA system for everyone to wait for the storm to pass underneath the bleachers.

 So the rest of the family joined me under the safe, dry bleachers.

My poor in-laws were still trying to make there way to the stadium through the weather and the crowds.  We called them and told them the celebration had been delayed and that they should just stay in their warm, dry car until things cleared up.

Unfortunately for us, all of our jackets and blankets were soaked, I'm talking wringing wet, and it was cold!  

Luckily, there were a lot of people crammed underneath the bleachers sharing their body heat.

Someone started singing hymns and before long, everyone had joined in.

I also called my kids who were clear on the other side of the stadium about 1000 to make sure they were still warm and okay, which they were. 

Finally, a little before 7:30, the rains stopped and the skies cleared. The Show will go on!!!

A few days later, the following was going around Facebook.  I'm not sure if it's 100% true, but if it is, it's an awesome explanation for the storm and another "temple miracle". 

I just found out why it rained like it did on Saturday. Elaine Hansen, the women who organized the whole Cultural Celebration program was driving to the airport Friday evening to pick up her son who wanted to come and see the program. Elaine was driving the car and had an seizure. Her husband was in the car and managed to pull the car over without crashing. She had a tumor the size of a baseball in her brain. She still came to the program against the doctor’s wishes and sat in the covered booth at the top of the stadium to watch the program. The rain gave them time to get her to the hospital, be tested, and then make it to the program in time for President Eyring to give her a blessing. She had the tumor removed yesterday (Sunday).

Payson Temple Cultural Celebration (Part 1)

 I'm going to take this week to blog about the Payson Temple.

June 6 & 7 were really exciting days for us.

On the 6th we celebrated the completion of the temple with a cultural celebration held at Lavell Edward's Stadium at BYU (more about that later).

It's hard to believe that the temple is finally complete.

We spent 1000's of Sunday afternoons driving by the temple site to check on its progress.

We've watched this temple be built from the ground up, and as we've done so, our testimonies have also been built up.  

 Each Sunday as we drove by the temple site, Clint and I were able to instruct and testify to our children why temples are so important.  Our children could feel the Spirit of this temple long before it was finished.

When the temple was announced, we were promised that many blessings and miracles would happen.

And indeed they have.  My family has been blessed and many others have too.

My favorite miracle story is from a man in our ward's father.  You can READ IT HERE!  It is amazing!

Kevin & Brynn

Last Thursday, June 4, 2015 Clint's younger brother, Kevin, married his sweetheart, Brynn.

They were married for time and for eternity in the Salt Lake City temple. 

The plan was to get all the kids and myself ready, leave our house at 10 so we could pick up Clint who had to go into work that morning.  That would put us at the temple with plenty of time to find a place to park, get our kids settled and still be on time for the ceremony.

 The morning went off without a hitch. We even left to pick up Clint on time.

We arrived at his work, he jumped in the car, and we were off.

No sooner had we pulled out of his work's parking lot that it dawned on me - I had left my temple recommend (a card that allows me entrance into the temple) at home!  Oh GREAT! 

 It would have taken us an half hour to get back home and another hour to get up to Salt Lake.

In other words, if we went back home to retrieve my recommend, we would be late!

We opted to just drive to Salt Lake.  I would just wait outside the temple with my children.

 On the way up, Clint had an ingenious idea (probably with a little help from above) to call our oldest who was still at home (he had to work and wasn't able to come with us) and ask him to take a photo of my temple recommend and text it to me. Which he did. 

When we got to the temple, we explained the situation to the temple worker.  He didn't even bat an eye.  He simply typed in the bar code number of my recommend and voile'!  I was in.

Hallelujah!

As Clint and I sat together in the sealing room, I was so grateful, first of all, to be there with him (if it wasn't for technology I wouldn't have been) and second, I was grateful to be married forever to this man.  I thought back to 21 years ago when in this exact same temple, I knelt across the alter from the man of my dreams and we were sealed together and to our little 9 month old son and our five future children FOREVER!  For all future time and always!

What a blessing!

Winding Down

The school year is winding down, and so are the sports.  

Tennis ended a couple weeks ago, and soccer, last week.

It's a good thing, because in place of games and matches, we have been having practices for the Payson Temple Cultural Celebration.

I am so excited my children have the privilege to participate in this once in a lifetime opportunity!

They have been dancing, singing, and signing (yes I said signing- as in ASL) their hearts out.  My boys even carved a staff.  They are going to be one of Helaman's 2,000 Stripling Warriors. I can't wait to see how it's all going to come together.  It's going to be amazing!

(image source)