Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple

This summer on our vacation we were able to stop by the Oquirrh Mtn. Temple Open House in Utah. Helen, Mary, me and our friends Dianna, Jade and Parker went. It was such a beautiful building and I am so grateful the girls got to go inside a temple and see the rooms which provided a fantastic opportunity for us to discuss the sacred ordinances which take place inside the temple. It helps them to understand why Brad and I make the effort to go to the temple once a month, leaving them with a babysitter for 5-6 hours and how important it is for them to be following Heavenly Fathers commandments so they can do baptism's when they turn 12 and be married and sealed to their husbands in a temple when they are 30. (No, that's not the age you have to be but that's the age we tell the girls they have to be before they can get married!)

The temple was so beautiful and even though it was an open house, the spirit was strong there and you could tell you were walking on sacred ground. After leaving the temple they had tents set up as a reception center with these fabulous pictures of Christ and cookies for a treat. I really loved this picture which was at least 8 feet tall.

Mary gave a talk in church a couple of Sunday's ago and she used this experience in her talk so I thought I'd share it with you. She did a great job and was excited to talk about how she felt at the temple.

Mary's Talk in Primary:

Temple Blessings Unite Families

This summer I was able to go through a temple open house in Utah. The new Ohiqurr (Oaker) Mountain Temple is very beautiful inside. When we first got there we watched a little video about temples and what happens inside of them. Different people talked about going inside the temple and how they felt when they went to the temple. I remember Elder Holland said for him there would be no heaven without his wife and his children. The next day I got to shake his hand and I was so happy to meet an Apostle.

After the movie we were able to enter the temple. The first room we saw when we went inside was the baptismal font which has 12 oxen statues holding it up. These oxen represent the 12 tribes of Israel. When I am 12 I will be able to be baptized for people who died before they learned about the Gospel.

Next we walked through the endowment rooms which lead to the Celestial Room which was so beautiful and I felt happy that one day I could go in there when I came to the temple.

The last room we went to was the Sealing Room. This is where families are sealed to each other forever. They have an alter in the center of the room where you kneel down with your family to become an eternal family. There are 2 big mirrors with a large chandelier in the middle and the reflection goes on forever. When my mom was sealed to her parents they asked her and her brother if they could see the end of the mirrors. They said no and then the man who sealed her family told them that was how long their family could be together if they kept the commandments.

I am very grateful that Heavenly Father gave us temples so we could be sealed as a family forever. I want to go to the temple when I am 12 to do baptisms for other people and I will be married in a temple someday so my family will be forever.

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen