Draper Temple Open House

Yesterday, we had the opportunity to go on a tour through the new LDS temple in Draper, Utah. When a new temple is built, The LDS church opens it up to the public for tours. Any body can walk through and look at it. I remember going through the Jordan River Temple open house when I was about Aiden's age. I thought it would be a good experience for the kids. Grandma Mary, and her twin sister Margie came, as well as (Great) Grandma Cardwell. The temple was absolutely beautiful! My favorite thing was the beatiful murals painted on the walls in the endowment rooms. All four walls were painted with outdoor themes, so it felt like you were in the middle of a mountain meadow. One was done with pine trees and rocks, and the other with quaking aspen and a lake. Both beautiful. Emma's favorite (I believe) was the celestial room, which sybolizes our return to live with our Father in Heaven after this life. It had a high vaulted ceiling with windows all around the top, so light came in from all around streaming down through the most beautiful chanelier. The chandelier was made of strings of small crystals, so the light shining through it made it sparkle. Emma kept asking where Cinderella was. Temples do look somewhat like castles. Aidens favorite thing was the "Forever Mirror" as he calls it. In the sealing room, families are sealed together for time and all eternity. There are two large mirrors facing each other. When you look in the mirrors, it looks as if you go on forever and ever. Symbolic of forever families. One of the greatest blessings of the temple. I held Emma and Bub held Aiden, and we looked in the mirrors together as a family. It was pretty neat to do knowing that we are a forever family.
This is Aiden and Great Grandma Cardwell. They served cookies and water at the church building just outside the temple. I thought this was such a sweet picture with the two of them looking so adoringly at each other.

This is Emma and I (obviously) at the Church as well.

After the open house is through (next month) The prophet or one of his apostles will give a special prayer to dedicate the temple to the Lord. From then on, only members of the church who have been interviewed and found worthy to hold a recommend (kind of a membership card) will be allowed to enter the temple. The work we do there, baptisms for the dead, endowments, and celestial marriages, is not secret, but sacred. If you'd like to attend the open house, click here. (tickets are free, you just have to make a reservation- the temple can only hold so many people at a time!) Or if you have more questions about mormon temples, click here. (you're always welcome to ask me about them too.)