Draper Temple Open House

We were able to attend the open house for the Draper temple the other night- wow, it’s so beautiful! They said it’s the 129^th temple worldwide and the 12^th temple in Utah. Wow. It’s smaller than other temples I’ve been it, but set in an incredible area, right up in the hills. It’s a pretty striking scene. We took both girls with us, and even though Iris was ready for bed around the time we started, she did really well. Riley, also, was so great. We’d tried to prep her as best we could about the need for reverence and respect, and she did much better than I expected. It blew her mind, though, that she was allowed in, because when I go to the temple, she always asks what I do in there, and I tell her that she can know when she’s an adult. So she was really confused that we were bringing her inside. Every time I see a sealing room, I think of our wedding day, when Eric, Riley and I were sealed together. This was obviously the only other time we’ve all been in one of those rooms together, and it was really special. How blessed we are as members of this church! They showed a quick video clip in a church house before we were shuttled over to the temple, and it had part of an interview with Jeffery Holland. He said, among other things, that heaven just wouldn’t be heaven to him without his wife and family, and how grateful he is for the sealing power we have. I feel just the same way.

On the way home, after being generously praised for her good behavior, Riley was looking for more compliments, and waxing poetic. She talked about how much she loves Heavenly Father and Jesus, how happy she was to go in their house, and she said, “I love them so much that I would give them everything I have! I would give them all my books and toys- I’d be OK without them.” And even though I know she doesn’t know what she’s talking about, my eyes just filled with tears of gratitude for this special daughter—and family—we have.