Temple Meeting

I had such a fantastic experience at the Kirtland temple. When I went in the day with my family for the tour, we got to see all the rooms, including the elusive third floor. We tried to join one of the youth tour groups, but they couldn’t fit us in. Then there were only a few of us that couldn’t make the first group, so we got our own tour. Since there were so few people, we got to go to the third floor and see those rooms. It was amazing to see how they built it back in the 1800s. Such a tall, brick building. So big it bankrupted the church at the time. Such sacrifice by the early Christian saints to toil and work for so many years to build a temple to God. It was humbling to see it. Later that night I was able to return. Brian kept the kids, took all three swimming and then put them to bed while I was gone. Having time to sit and reflect on the intricate woodwork done by hand, the detail in the podium area, simple beauty of design, grandness of size and the unique windows was amazing. I felt connected to their building and their souls. I appreciated their toil, sweat and tears. Amazed at the sacrifice of the women to crush their irreplaceable fine dishes and nice things to mix into the mortar so that the temple would sparkle in the sunlight and be beautiful to look at and to honor God. I imagine it would have been an interesting time to live, during all the revivals of the 1800s. So much religious excitement, contention and yet many good people found Christ in those times. What a blessing to them and their posterity to have the knowledge of Christ in their daily lives. While sitting that evening in the lower room of the temple, staring at the product of their love of God, I felt the spirit of God so intensely. When the stake president, Pres Erickson, spoke, I listened. He shared so many great feelings and impressions and messages for the youth and for the adults present. He emphasized how important our daily decisions were in obtaining exaltation because the small things really do matter. He shared with us God’s deep love for us as daughters of God and about the huge responsibility placed upon the shoulders of the young men in the group. I realized that I was not listening with my mind and taking in the message to process it. I could feel a tangible, physical warmth and stirring in my chest instead. I was listening with my soul that night. The feelings I had were so real and so difficult to describe. Kirtland is a special place where you can feel the history and God’s love. I hope to go back when the kids are older and can listen, learn and appreciate the sacrifice of the early saints.