Draper Temple

People around here have been pretty excited (and busy) with the opening of the Draper Temple. Let's start at the beginning:

When we moved here last March, it took us a week or so to notice that there was a temple being built on the hill south of our house. One day, we were on the freeway, and I looked up and said, "What is that huge thing being built on the mountain? That's pretty large to be a catholic church!" So we went home and looked on the internet and learned that it was actually a temple! (The Draper Temple had been announced in 2004, but I guess I wasn't paying attention.) Next we were pleased to discover that we have the perfect view of the temple from our living room window!

March 2008

One year later, the Draper Temple is complete. Nathan and I took the kids to the Temple Open House the last week of February. The temple is very beautiful. The temple designers choose dark woods and modern furniture - which I appreciated. Afterwards, we walked over to the reception in the Stake Center next door. Since it was the middle of winter, there was a heated tunnel built to connect the temple to the Stake Center. That might of been Henry's favorite part! At the reception, we were served cookies and we looked at all of the artwork that was set up around the cultural hall. Then we hopped on the shuttle bus and headed back down the mountain.

One week before the dedication, Nathan and I had the opportunity to work at the Open House for a few hours. We were both assigned to work in the reception area. Nathan's job was bringing in cases of water bottles and getting them ready to serve to open house guests. My first job was to place cookies on platters. I did that for about two hours and then I got a broom and dustpan and headed to the cultural hall and spent two more hours collecting all the crumbs that fell from all those cookies I served. Our jobs weren't exactly glamorous, but I enjoyed serving and having a part in the Open House.

We attended the Draper Temple Dedication on March 22nd. It was the first dedication for Samantha and Gillian. They liked it, but both of them mentioned that they felt a little silly when they were waving their white handerkerchiefs during the Hosanna Shout. I think its cool!

My favorite part of having a new temple so close is the neat opportunities I have for temple service. Last Thursday, I had the unique experience of going to the temple after it closed for the night. I was part of the temple cleaning crew, along with about twenty other members of my stake. We all put white jumpsuits on over our clothes and worked until after midnight washing windows, dusting, vacuuming, and yes, cleaning toilets. I actually felt lucky to be cleaning toilets in the temple, especially when one of them was in the Temple President's private bathroom. I also felt priviledged to be the one to make all the glass on the front door of the temple sparkle. Next time, I'll request to be assigned upstairs. I would love to vacuum and dust the Celestial Room and the sealing rooms! Being involved in the maintainance of the temple made me feel close to the Lord because I had literally cleaned His house. I really feel blessed to have so many temples right in my reach. I feel it when I see the Draper Temple nestled in the foothills of South Mountain every morning when I open the front blinds. I feel it when I drive west towards WalMart every friday and I can see both the Jordan River Temple and the nearly completed Oquirrh Mountain Temple through my windshield. And I feel it when we travel around the valleys in Utah and pass by multiple temples as we go. When we drive on the freeway and I know a temple will come into view, I search for it to make sure I get a glimpse before we pass. There is no where else in this planet where a person can stand in one spot and see three - sometimes four - temples just be merely turning their head. I do not take the bounty of temples here in Utah for granted.

Samantha also has the opportunity to feel connected to the new temple. She gets to be a part of a 25-stake temple celebration with the 19,000 youth in the Draper and Oquirrh Mountain Temple Districts. She will perform in front of the Prophet at the Conference Center on May 29-30. She's really excited and it proves to be a once in a lifetime experience for her.