A Heavenly Day

Thursday night the kids were in the tub. As we splashed and scrubbed I told Lucy, "We need to get good and clean because tomorrow we're going to go somewhere special."

"Where?"
I had her interest.

"Well, we - all of us, Mom, Dad, Lucy, and Spencer - get to go to the temple!" Immediate smiles and squeals of delight were followed by a sudden confused seriousness, "But I don't want to get a very big baby in my tummy!" she said.

After choking on our laughter, Wes and I clarified that we were not taking her to the temple to get married or to start a family (which things usually provide the context of our temple discussions), but that we were taking her to see the inside of a new temple that was just built.

Draper, Utah Temple

Satisfied that she would not end up looking like I did last August, she continued washing and we continued talking in excited voices. At some point in our conversation I said, "...because the temple is Heavenly Father's house."

Lucy looked at me with wide eyes. "Are we going to Heaven?"

I looked at her with tender eyes. "Well, we're going as close to Heaven as we can get."

And it felt a little like Heaven at the temple yesterday.

People we love greeted us and took our hands.

And it looked a little like Heaven, too. From the baseboards and banisters (made from gorgeous African red wood) to the chandeliers (which Lucy could not get enough of) and stained glass, the temple was exquisite.

Mostly, though, the temple was replete with simple, beautiful reminders that our only hope for Heaven is Jesus Christ.

There shall be no other name given nor any other way nor means whereby salvation can come unto the children of men, only in and through the name of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent. Mosiah 3:17

I love temples because they stand today, as anciently, in witness of the Savior's atoning sacrifice - that most central piece of God's plan for his children.

I love temples because they symbolize things sacred, and I wholeheartedly agree with Danny that much of today's society fails to grasp the meaning or importance of that word.

I want my children to know about sacred things.

Special things. Too special for T.V. Too special for tourists. SET APART. SACRED. HOLY. It is my greatest goal to help them know. And I hope that, someday, we four (and maybe a few more?) will be together again in halls and rooms similar to those we walked today.

After a bus ride (which Lucy loved: "We're going on the temple ride! Take us to the temple, bus!") and a cookie (which Spencer wanted but didn't get to hold), we came home from the temple open house. But that wasn't the end of our heavenly day.

After the little ones were in bed, Wes and I went back to the temple. The one up the street. The one whose sacred doors are not open to the public. A "matter of SANCTITY," President Hinckley explained, "not a matter of secrecy."

I was grateful to spend the evening in a place set apart from worldly concerns. A place dedicated to divine pursuits and to things eternally important.

Was there ever a man who truly loved a woman, or a woman who truly loved a man, who did not pray that their relationship might continue beyond the grave? ...The human heart longs for it, and the God of heaven has revealed a way whereby it may be secured. The sacred ordinances of the house of the Lord provide for it. -Gordon B. Hinckley

Like so many of you, I cherish the chances I have to worship in a holy temple - to make covenants and declare commitment to God's commandments - to remember my Savior, whose sacrifice sanctifies and qualifies me for heaven and seals me to those I love. I cherish my chances to visit, very literally, a piece of heaven on earth.