Draper Temple Open House

Today we went as a family to the Draper Temple open house. What a wonderful experience this was. To begin the tour we were instructed to go to a meetinghouse in Draper to watch a short movie about the temple and the purpose of the temple in our lives. From there we rode a bus to the temple and was able to walk through it and see all the different rooms.

One favorite room was the baptismal room. The font rests on the back of twelve white oxen, which symbolically represents the twelve tribes of Israel. From there we were able to go into other rooms and finally to the celestial room, my most favorite room in the temple. As we walked into this most gorgeous room there was no denying that our Father in Heaven's spirit could be felt. Such a warm and peaceful feeling enveloped my soul and body. It was hard to keep from letting the tears spill as the spirit was so strong. I wish I had the words to describe what I felt at that moment. I truly know my Father was in that room with me at that moment.

From the celestial room we were taken into a sealing room and were able to see the mirrors that simulates eternity and hear testimonies of two staff members. They shared with us of the time they were sealed as a family with their two small children. This brought back memories of when Dick and I were sealed in the Provo Temple after being married for twelve years. Nothing was more precious to me than to see my children dressed in white come into the sealing room. There we knelt at the alter and were sealed for all time and eternity as a family. I love the mirrors and when you look into them they just seem to go forever just like eternity is. The mirrors are on each side of the alter and when you are kneeling there with your loved ones, it is like seeing into eternity with them.

The things that were so impressive today were:

1. Reverence felt inside the temple
2. Feeling the spirit so strong
3. Cherry wood trim
4. Carpet that was hand sculpted
5. Volunteers so eager to help
6. Chandelier so gorgeous with it's 200 tiny lights
7. Soft warm colors
8. Celestial room so warm & inviting
9. Not wanting to leave
10. Peace
11. Being with family and seeing joy in their eyes
12. Knowing I have an eternal family

After the tour we went into the cultural hall at the church and had some refreshments. We talked with Canyon and Evan about the importance of the temple and asked Canyon if he felt Heavenly Father there. He said no. When we asked him if he felt different when we went into the room with the beautiful light and he said yes. We explained to him that he was feeling Heavenly Father's spirit.

This was such a wonderful experience to share with my family and to see the joy on their faces as we toured the temple today. We even took the time to take pictures of our families with the temple in the background.

Thanks, Kelly, for making the arrangements for us to visit the open house today.