Temple Dedication

Today regular Sunday meetings throughout the Salt Lake Valley were canceled so that we could all view (via satellite at our meeting houses) the dedication of the newly built Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple. It lasted two hours and included talks given by general authorities of the church, a virtual tour of the temple, hymns and a dedicatory prayer. It was a very special opportunity for me.

After the meeting I took my children to see the temple grounds and watch the sunset. (It only took us 15 minutes to get there, as opposed to the 3 1/2 hours it used to take us to get to a temple!) We snapped this photo of the beautiful new temple. Interestingly, I learned today that there are now 130 temples operating throughout the world.

A couple of weeks ago, I also took my children to the temple open house. They were able to go inside and see the beautiful rooms. This is a rare opportunity as well, since after the temple dedication today only adults (issued a special temple recommend from their bishop) can enter this holy place. I hope their little brains can remember some of what they saw, and hold on to that memory until they are of age to worship there themselves.

I feel very fortunate to live so close to a temple now. I am very grateful for the blessings the temple has provided me and my family. I know our family is eternal. And since my husband and I have been apart, I have thought about how heaven truly wouldn't be heaven without him by my side. I am grateful for our eternal marriage, and grateful to have a husband who loves and serves his family. I miss you, babe. I'm sending you love from me and the kids...We hope you can come home soon.