I am grateful for the temple…The Mount Timpanogos temple in particular (although the Nauvoo temple is also super special to me). We have lived 15 minutes away from this temple for the past almost 6 years and it has been such a blessing to live so close and be able to go so often.
Before COVID caused temples to be closed down, I went really often, usually early in the morning before it was light outside. It was my favorite. I loved spending time in the temple, just me and God.
A few years ago, Jershon and I volunteered to help clean the temple, one late night. We somehow were the lucky ones and received the assignment to clean the Celestial room. Just me and Jershon and God, in the empty Celestial room, cleaning what was already clean. It was such a neat and special experience and one that I will always treasure.
I stopped by the temple yesterday afternoon to walk around outside (since restrictions still limit my ability to go inside) and I cried. I cried thinking about how this would be my last time at this temple before we move. It’s hard to leave a place that has become so sacred, special, and personal to me. Out of all the temples I’ve ever been in, this one is the one I have spent the most time in.
As I sat on a bench outside the temple, I was reminded of the time 6 years ago, when I was sitting outside the Nauvoo temple after attending for the last time before our move from Iowa to Utah. I remember crying on that bench as well, thinking about moving away from this special temple…the temple where I was endowed and married.
Remembering this moment from 6 years ago helped to soften the sadness that I was feeling yesterday. I began to look forward with excitement to the special connection that I will feel with the Kansas City temple a few years from now after I spend time there.
I am grateful for temples and for the covenants that I made there 12 years ago. I am grateful for the peace and comfort that I feel there each time I return. When I go to the temple, I feel like I’ve come home. I am looking forward with great anticipation to being able to go inside again someday.
