I didn't realize until we were about half-way through the temple tour that Zachary was enjoying the artwork so much. He was counting how many pictures he saw in the temple, and he counted 39 pieces of artwork. Many of these paintings depicted various stories of the Savior, and I'm glad Zachary noticed them -- and that he mentioned them to me so I made sure to notice them more myself. My nephew Nick had his brochure open to a picture of a sealing room (where marriages are performed), and he couldn't wait to see that room. Tyler and Zachary loved to see the baptistry. All the children, including Shayla, truly enjoyed the beauty of the Celestial room, which is symbolic of the peace and joy we can experience in the afterlife with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. In fact, as we were walking out of the room Shayla turned around and "shhhh"ed the person behind her, even though they weren't talking. Even at age 2 she knew this was a special, holy place. Zachary said the temple made him feel good, and Tyler said he was happy to go into the temple for the first time ever.
It was interesting to note that from the Draper Temple we could easily see two other temples nearby -- the Jordan River Temple and the yet unfinished Oquirrh Mountain Temple are within minutes of each other. It made me hope for another temple near us since I hear that Provo is the busiest temple in the world. I'm not complaining at all, though! I remember back to my days as a missionary in Georgia where people traveled for hours to get to a temple, and I am SO GRATEFUL to have a temple nearby -- even if it is busy. :)
I am so grateful that I have been blessed with a holy part to my life. I am grateful for parents who reared me to love my Savior and who serve others more than anyone I have ever met. I hope I can give my children the desire to find a holy part of their lives as well. We are taught that the holiness of the temple is the most sacred place on earth and the only place that can ever compare is the home. I realize that my home has a long way to go in attaining that possibility, but at least I think we're moving in the right direction. In the meantime I hope my children always feel that our home is a sanctuary from the evils and pressures of this world -- a place they always feel welcome and loved no matter what, and a place they're comfortable bringing their friends for the same reasons.
As I looked through these pictures, I couldn't help but notice how old my kids are getting!
2 comments:
What an amazing experience to share with your children! Isn't it great to have little ones around to point out the simple things in life that we don't notice as adults?! :)
How wonderful for all the kids to get to go inside the temple and look at all the rooms. The first time I got to look around a temple was in college at the Albuquerque temples open house. When I did baptisms for the dead they always had me leave my glasses in my locker, and I am pretty much blind with out them. The Mesa temple has beautiful murals in the baptistery, and I never really saw them till I was an adult. Hopefully all the kids but Shayla are old enough to remember this special event.
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