I Love To See The Temple.......I'll Go Inside Someday...

We got to go through The Gila Valley Temple on April 17th because the company was one of the contractors that provided materials for it. We were so excited to get an early tour of the temple. We had a fun FHE that week all about the temple to help the kids understand a bit about it's importance. They had a lot of good questions and it was fun to see their excitement to finally be able to go inside a temple. Kiersten and Hunter did go through the Nauvoo temple during it's open house but they were so young they don't really remember the experience.

It is ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS!

We invited my parents to join us, my sister-in-law Gloria and Avry and our good friends the Moore's. We were going to all go with Justin's family.........parents, siblings, grand kids, etc. That would have been cool but it didn't workout. It was a great experience regardless of who was or wasn't in our group.

As I entered the Celestial room and looked around I started to get emotional. My mom and dad in the Celestial room together.......with me.... is something I have yet to experience until that day. I know my mom prays for that to happen again someday. Don't get me wrong my dad is wonderful and I wouldn't trade him for any active LDS dad..........I can remember thinking that growing up as I watched the way other dads in the church treated their kids. Even as a teenager I remember thinking I was grateful to have the parents I did even if they were "mean" or "strict".

Also I have dreamt of the day I would have all my kids together in the walls of the Celestial room of the temple. As I looked at each of them and realized..Here We Are............together! It was a great experience to be with them years earlier then I had imagined and gave me a renewed desire to help us all get back there again. As we stood in the Celestial room, Justin leaned over to me and whispered, "I can't wait to come back here with you once it's been dedicated." Neither can I.

The workmanship of the temple is amazing! All the gold leafing details........hand done........is remarkable. It is worth making the effort to go see even if you're not LDS. It is by far the most beautiful building standing in the Gila Valley! One thing that I love about living out here in Pima is that I get to drive by the temple almost daily. It is and will continue to be a reminder of the covenants I have made with my Father in Heaven.

So some reason I imagined moving out here to Pima and living "happily ever after.." It was almost the complete opposite. Shortly after moving to Pima my life seemed to fall apart and some of my worst nightmares came true. I will never be grateful for those nightmares.............but an amazing thing happened because of them.

I came to know my Savior. I have a testimony of him. I have witnessed him carry me through days when I could not have done it alone. I have felt his presence in my home many times but especially during those trials when I needed him so much. When Justin was gone to treatment I received such strength through the power of the atonement. I know that the atonement is real. I know that through the atonement change is possible. It can heal a wounded heart and strengthen the weary. The Savior stands ready to help, All who humble themselves and Ask. One thing I learned about the atonement is that is makes up the difference for us...........Now, everyday. I always thought it meant that once we die and were judged the atonement could makeup the difference. That's not the case, The Atonement of Jesus Christ can make up for our imperfections everyday. If we but try our best and humbly ask Him to make up the difference. We should be using the Atonement everyday to help us become the person our Heavenly Father sent us here to become. We can not do it without the Savior's help and Atonement. I am so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who knows me and knows my needs. I will be forever grateful for my mother who instilled in me a knowledge of Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father's Plan. I am thankful to have the temple here. I have received many life changing answers in the walls of the temple and I am eternally grateful for those answers. There is such peace and comfort found in the temple for which I am thankful for. I am thankful to be married to a wonderful man and to have four beautiful children. The gospel of Jesus Christ is true and I am so grateful to be a member of this church. I want my children to always know that their mother has a testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

This is the Moore's. They are a great family and we are enjoying being their friends! While on the tour of the temple Hunter, Kendall, Logan and Brinner were together at the front of every room.........standing right in front of the tour guide. Normally Logan and Brinner can't stand by each other for 30 seconds without laughing. But through the entire tour of the temple they were silent. Twice during the tour, our tour guide stopped and said, "I don't know who these four young men belong to, but on all my tours I have not witness such reverent behavior from children this young! They are great examples and will make great missionaries one day!" They really were amazing during the tour especially considering they were standing together away from any of us parents. It was nice to see their reverence for the temple. We had them dress in Sunday attire to help show respect for the temple and to help them be reverent. Kiersten was so cute as she was getting ready, she came to me and asked if she could wear her white baptism dress to the temple. She said "the next time I'll get to wear a pretty white dress to the temple will be when I get married there." I hope she will always have that as her goal especially when life throws challenges her way. She was most impressed with the gorgeous chandeliers in the temple. All of my kids favorite room in the temple was the Celestial room. Kiersten also liked the brides room......she said, "I can't wait to come here for real!" From this picture you can see what a miracle it was that these four young boys on the left could be absolutely reverent for a 45 minute tour...............but they were. They all are such characters! Then there is Kiersten the only girl in that mess of boys. I remind her come teenage years she'll be excited, it will be me who's going to be worrying. It was like they used up every ounce of reverence they possessed because as soon as we were outside the temple walls they were back to being their normal active little selves.

After we saw the temple we had a lunchon at Justin's parents. We got to see lots of cousins, aunts, uncles and friends. It was a fun time! Justin and I didn't get to stay long because we had a photo shoot scheduled, but it was good to see everyone! If you haven't yet had a chance to tour the Gila Valley Temple...............Do! I Am Grateful For The Temple!