My Temple

This past week temples have really been on my mind. It's been six months since I have been able to attend the temple (right now my closest temple is 300 miles away) and I sorely miss it. I know that a temple is a temple, they all have the same purpose, but there are some that I seem drawn to more than others.

When I was in highschool my favorite temple was the San Diego temple; in Young Women's we made tiled pictures of our favorite temples and every time I was sad, depressed, or needing a lift up I would look at that picture and know that every thing would be okay. It was the temple that I wanted to be sealed for time and all eternity to my future husband. When I moved to Utah, I packed my picture in my carry on to ensure that nothing happened to my picture. I always have it in room so that I can be reminded the importance of a temple marriage.




San Diego Temple

 When I was visiting in Arizona I had the privilege of being able to do Baptisms for the Dead at the Mesa, Arizona temple. Let me preface this, before going there I had only been in four other temples. They were all beautiful, however I had never claimed them as MY temple. That place was still held by the San Diego temple, even though I had never actually seen it in person. However that all changed the second I stepped into the baptistry at the Mesa temple. Never before have I felt such a sense of peace and homecoming as I did when I stepped in that room; it was truly humbling! I immediately knew that THIS was my temple and always would be.

Mesa, Arizona temple

When I was a little girl, my parents were sealed in the Portland, Oregon temple. At the time, that was the closest temple. I was 3 years old when they were married in a civil ceremony; to this day, I remember nothing of the ceremony at all and I was their flower girl (my mother is a convert to the church). However, when they were sealed in the temple when I was 5 I remember everything, looking into the mirrors of eternity, and really being a family. It still brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it.

Portland, Oregon temple

Growing up I remembered that feeling of happiness and new that I would only be married in temple, at the right time, in the right place, by the right authority, and to the many of MY choosing! In the past six months I have had 6 friends that have been married in the temple; unfortunately because I am not endowed I was not able to be there for the actual ceremony (for 5 of these marriages I wasn't even in the state). They are all so happy, I'm not saying that their lives are going to be easy just because they were sealed in the temple, however they know that they will be sealed to their families for time and all eternity. I cannot wait for when it is my turn to experience that, and I will be lucky enough to have my family and friends with me.