Gratitude for The House of The Lord

Last night on Facebook I came across these photos of the soon to be dedicated temple for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Barranquilla, Colombia.  I lived in the city of Barranquilla for about six months many years ago when I was serving as a missionary for the Church, and I fell in love with this beautiful city and many of the people who lived there.  I'm so very happy and excited to have this temple so near to being completed for the people of this wonderful area.  The temple is scheduled to be dedicated on Sunday, December 9, 2018.

"Holiness to the Lord"

"The House of the Lord"

I love this painting of the Savior located just inside the entrance to the temple.  

It just seems perfect for the area.

One beautiful piece of stained glass art.

 A sealing room inside of the temple where couples can be married and families can be sealed together forever through the power of God's priesthood.

The Celestial Room.  

A beautiful, calm and peaceful place where individuals can spend a few minutes  to meditate, pray and feel the love of the Lord after their temple worship.  

The Celestial Room is one of my favorite places on earth!

Such a beautiful and wonderful new building for a beautiful city!!

Photo Source

To find out more about temples, check out this website:

Why do we build temples?

Happy Day

Photo Source

Today is a very happy day for me.  The LDS Jordan River Temple has been re-dedicated and will be opening for regular temple service this coming Tuesday, May 22nd at 5:00 am.  DH and DD1 and I were able to attend one of the three dedicatory services this morning.  The service was wonderful, and I came away with a renewed commitment to make regular temple attendance a priority, hopefully THE priority of my life.  Throughout the history of the world, the Lord has provided sacred temples for his people to visit, draw closer to him, learn more of him, and make essential, eternal covenants: The Tabernacle of Ancient Israel, Solomon's Temple, and Herod's temple in Jerusalem where  Jesus Christ visited many times during his life.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is know as a temple building church.  Latter Day Saint Temples  are different from the meeting houses where we hold our weekly meetings.   Marriages are performed there, but other sealing ordinances are performed by proxy by worthy members in behalf of deceased family members who may not have had the opportunity to receive these ordinances for themselves.  Members of our church have often made great personal sacrifices in order to contribute to, build and to attend the Temple.   There are currently 159 functioning LDS Temples all over the world, with more under construction or announced.   I have not had the opportunity to visit each of these temples, but there are several temples that I have visited often and that hold a special place in my heart. 

Photo Source

The Salt Lake Temple is the temple that my parents made it a priority to regularly attend at least twice a month during the years that I was growing up.  The temple was a 40 mile drive from our home, but their planned dates of attendance were marked on the kitchen calendar every single month, and almost nothing would prevent them from making these visits.   This is the temple that I first attended back in 1981, and is the place where DH and I were married nearly 35 years ago.  

photo source

The Washington DC temple was the temple that DH and I attended during the years that we lived in New Jersey.   It was a 3 to 4 hour drive from our home (depending on traffic and who was driving), so we usually would visit only once or twice a year.   Often we would drive down on a Friday evening, spent the night, and then spent several hours in the temple before returning home.  Sometimes we would leave the children with friends, and other times we would travel with friends and take turns watching the children and attending the temple.   DH was able to attend more often than I was since many times during those years I had a nursing baby, and he was also able to serve as an ordinance worker there.   It has been several decades since we visited Washington DC, but I would love to go back again some day.

Once we moved back west and bought our home here, the Jordan River Temple has become "our" temple.  I remember visiting the original open house for the Jordan River Temple back in 1981, but I was attending the Missionary Training Center when it was dedicated on November 16th of that year, so had not attended the temple here until we moved.   We have not always been able to schedule a regular time to attend together with young children and a family business, but after the children were all in school and I was only working part time.  I would many times drive over in the morning and attend a session before going in to work.  Since working full time I still try to attend at least one evening or Saturday during the month.   I can't help but think of all of the individuals who have lived on this earth without having the opportunity to learn of Jesus Christ and his gospel and atonement.  Attending the temple as proxy for these sisters of mine, also daughters of our loving Heavenly Father, is one of the greatest priorities of my life.  

Photo Source  Artist's rendering of the Barranquilla, Colombia Temple which will be dedicated  December 9, 2018

Another temple that is very close to my heart is the Barranquilla, Colombia Temple, which is currently under construction, very close to being completed.   This temple is being built very near the neighborhoods where I lived and worked as a missionary for six months during my year and a half mission to the country of Colombia and met many wonderful people!   I don't know that I will ever have the chance to return to the beautiful city of Barranquilla or the country of Colombia, but I am so very grateful that the blessings of the temple are being made available to these beautiful people.

There are many other special temples all over this country that I have visited at different times, and I hope to be able to visit many more during the coming years.  But the blessing of this happy day is that beginning this coming week, I will once again be able to make the short fifteen minute drive to the Jordan River Temple!


Read more about LDS Temples here.

Temples

Almost thirty five years ago, my DH and I formed our family unit as we were married and sealed together through the power of God's priesthood, not just for all time, but for all of eternity, in one of God's Holy Temples.  Because of this sealing ordinance, each of our six children are also sealed to us, and we are an eternal family unit.   Even though we may be separated by great distances at times during this life, and eventually separated by death, we will once again be reunited as a family unit in the heavens.   Because of this, temples are very important to us as a family.

We make it a practice to attend Sabbath Day meetings at our local meeting house every Sunday, where we remember our Savior's atonement, sacrifice, death, and resurrection by partaking of the bread and water of the Sacrament ordinance, promising to keep His commandments and to always remember Him.  We also meet together with others who believe as we do, teaching and learning from the scriptures and from each other.

Latter Day Saint Temples  are different from the meeting houses where we hold our weekly meetings.   Marriages are performed there, but other sealing ordinances are performed by proxy by worthy members in behalf of deceased family members who may not have had the opportunity to receive these ordinances for themselves.  DH and I have tried to return to the temple as often as possible to participate in these ordinances, and also to be in a place where we can feel closer to the presence of God and draw personal inspiration from the spirit that is found in The House of the Lord.
We have also taken our children with us as often as possible, even though children are not allowed to enter for temple worship until they reach the age of twelve, unless they are participating in a sealing ordinance to their own parents and family.   It is our hope that our children will each have the desire to visit the temple often, to feel the closeness to heaven and the spirit that can be found there, and to participate in the learning and in the service to their ancestors that can happen in Holy Temples of God.  When the oldest children were young, the closest temple to us was in Washington DC:

"From the very beginning, there have been sacred places upon the earth where God has communed with His children.  They were designated by God and hallowed by His presence as places where He would tech and bless His children.  Many of these places are recorded in the scriptures.  The Garden of Eden was surely a sacred place where Adam and Eve dwelt in the presence of the Father and the Son and were able to converse with Them directly.  After the Fall and their subsequent expulsion from the garden, Adam built an alter to worship God and offer sacrifices as they were commanded.   Their prayers were heard and their lives blessed.
As Moses approached the burning brush on Mount Sinai, the Lord instructed him to "put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground"--sacred ground where the Lord would instruct Him and offer covenants for His people.
Centuries later, the Savior would lead Peter, James, and John up the Mount of Transfiguration where they would experience marvelous manifestations and receive the keys of the kingdom of heaven.   There they were visited by Moses and Elijah and heard the voice of the Father bearing witness that Jesus is His beloved Son."

Source:  Why Latter-Day Saints Build Temples

In the words of our living, latter-day prophet:

"We invite all of God's Children . . .  to come unto the Savior and enjoy the blessings and benefits of their temple and have everlasting life [and] joy."

President Russell M. Nelson

President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints