Draper Utah Temple

Last Friday we went to the open house for the Draper Utah Temple.
The temple is beautiful! We were in awe of the art work, wood work, windows and chandeliers.

But it was the spirit that we felt that touched us the most.
There was a sweet, peaceful feeling as we walked through the temple.
For me the highlight of the tour was the sealing room.
The spirit was so strong as we sat in the room and
heard the testimony of a tour guide.

This temple has added meaning to our family.
Before you tour the temple you watch a short video.
In the video they tell about temples and the reason
we have them. Also it talked about the area and it's
early settlers. It was a nice surprise to see a picture
of Mick's great, great, great, Grandfather and his wife on the screen.
William Draper Jr. was the leader of the first congregation of the
Church established here in September 1852.
The settlement was named Draperville in Honor of him.

As we walked through the temple we thought about how
these early settlers must be rejoicing now.

We have had opportunities to go to several temple open houses.
We were very involved in the Winter Quarters Temple and Nauvoo Temple open houses. We got to lead tours, push wheelchairs and Mick even did security in Nauvoo. Our older children got to help with the booties at both temples. Carly and Kaylie weren't old enough to do this but they were able to tour the temples as well as attend the dedications. They really enjoyed seeing the Draper Temple and had a lot of good questions.

I have fond memories of touring the Provo Temple with my family when I was in 3rd grade. I still remember walking in the halls of the temple and seeing the celestial room. Mick and I went to the Jordan River Temple open house when we were first married. When we were at the Draper open house we saw a list of temples and the date they were built. The Jordan River Temple was the 29th temple in the world in 1981. Today we have over 129 temples built or in the planning stages.
Mick also had the opportunity to go to the Denver Colorado Temple open house. He remembers being there with his Grandma Smith. This was a great blessing for his family to have a temple built in Denver. When we were living in Idaho we drove to Utah for the Bountiful Temple Open House. We have a picture of the whole family standing outside of the temple. That was a fun experience for all of us.

We are so very thankful and feel blessed to live in a time that so many temples dot the land.