Brigham City Temple Open House

Last weekend, with Cory's mom in town, we took the opportunity to drive two hours north to Brigham City to attend the temple open house.  It was a good time.  Temples are sacred places to Latter-Day Saints and only worthy members have the blessing of entering, but seeing as it was just built and has yet to be dedicated, the Church opens it up to the public for all to see.  We made it to Brigham City and lucked out with a parking spot only a block away.

Me, Cory, Buzz, and Anna.  Anna's roommate Emily took the picture for us.

It was a bit sunny out when we first got there, but we headed over and were soon waiting in line in an underground parking garage.  Let's just say, it was HOT down there.  Hot, loud, and stuffy.  We watched a short video about the history of temples and of Brigham City, and then they had us moving on to the actual walk-through of the temple.  

As we were about to enter, they put little slipper things on your shoes to try to minimize the temple getting dirty before the dedication.  You get used to walking in them almost instantly, but it brought back memories of when I was a small child and my parents took my sister and I to the San Diego open house.  I must have been having a hard day because mostly I just remember that I was furious that I had to wear the little slippers over my shoes and threw a fit.  My only other memories of the day are of my dad carrying me through the entire temple because I refused to walk.  I almost demanded that Cory piggy-back me the whole time, but I gained my composure and started the walk-through.

The temple was obviously beautiful.  It was a great experience to walk in and out of all the rooms and enjoy the calm spirit that already existed throughout the building. (Well, almost calm, if you don't count the little family in front of us whose son was not very well behaved.  If there was something he probably shouldn't have touched, he touched it.  He also had an overwhelming need to run around every room he was in and sit in all the chairs and on all the couches along the way, but I digress.)  The artwork was beautiful and a lot of it depicted the terrain surrounding Brigham City.  

I really like the idea of an open house.  I think that people who aren't very familiar with the Church have a fantastic opportunity to learn more about temples and see for themselves what's inside during these events.  Cory and I agreed that even as members who have entered the temple, the experience was a great one just to gain an even greater sense of appreciation for the importance of these sacred places.  At the end of the tour they had some cookies and a cool mosaic thing of the temple made from some tiles local members made.

 

All in all it was a great trip.  It was considerably cooler when we got out, and we started the long drive home.  By the way, Cory bought this little blazer for work, and she has worn it a few times now and always gets compliments on it.  Great purchase!  She looks great!

Everything in this picture is awesome.  The scene was so poetically beautiful that I couldn't help but...(see below)