A Spiritual Hug and a Physical One

I haven't been to an LDS Temple Open House since the Bountiful Temple Open House, so I didn't know what to expect. My ward passed around sign-ups a few weeks again for everyone who was interested, and I put my name down. They said the church was doing it differently this time, where people don't get tickets, just group reservations. Since I hadn't been in so long, I very naively assumed that when I got to the temple I'd see my ward members gathered in a big group, and I could just go join them. With that in mind, I didn't call our group coordinator ahead of time.

When I pulled up to the parking lot yesterday, a volunteer asked me if I knew which parking lot my ward was supposed to be in. That was when I found out that information, along with the tent I was supposed to meet my ward in, were in the reservation information, and since I hadn't called my coordinator, I had no idea. The volunteer asked me which ward I was in, and when I told him he said, "Uh-oh, that's one of the new ones." Even he had no idea where I should go. He said to try to get ahold of the coordinator (which I was not able to) and in the meantime sent me to the South parking lot.

I never was able to find my ward's group. Instead, I picked a tent and watched the short video on temples and the history of Oquirrh Mountain with a bunch of young families. I felt really awkward for a few minutes and then thought, "Hey, why do I think I don't belong here? I could very well be a single sister in this family ward." It wasn't like anyone was giving me weird looks. They were more concerned that their kids might bother me, and I didn't mind those cute kids one bit.

It ended up being a really cool experience, going through with the family ward. I took my time wandering around and explored everything I had access to because, really, when am I going to get out to this temple again? I loved that there was a young family in front of me. The mother and father kept pointing out neat paintings and the stars on the windows to their two little boys and I thought, "This is what the church and the temple is all about -- teaching your children about the gospel so that they'll go to the temple, make their own covenants with the Lord, and be sealed to their own sweethearts and children one day." For some reason, that hadn't hit me until then. It made me even more excited to teach my own future children about temples!

When we reached the sealing room, where couples are married, we were instructed to find a place to sit. (But first, I tripped on the carpet and very ungracefully managed not to fall on my face. My three-inch wedge-heel shoes hadn't been a problem until that moment! Everyone in the room was gracious and grateful I wasn't hurt.) A middle-aged couple talked about the significance of the room and what it means to them to be sealed to their family for eternity. They let us sit quietly for a little while, and I took the opportunity to pray quietly. During my mission, I described feeling the spirit as an "intangible hug", and I felt one as I sat in my chair in the sealing room. Heavenly Father was aware of my needs and knew what I needed to feel at that moment. It was wonderfully reassuring.

After finishing the tour, I walked around the grounds outside the temple for a few minutes, then decided to grab my camera from my car and take some photos of the front of the building. It felt so good to be there I didn't want to leave! It would have been nice to be there with my ward, but I'm glad I was able to stay and look around.

The Open House will continue until August 1. Go if you have the chance. You don't have to be a member of the church to go inside during the open house. For more information about the open house, click this link. For more general information about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, click this link.

On my way home from the temple, I realized that I very much needed a real hug. I didn't want to go home just yet. Luckily, I was driving past Stephanie M's house, so I stopped by. She is so nice about me dropping in unannounced! She gave me many hugs, and recommended that I hold her baby. She's right -- holding a baby just makes you feel good. I was stunned that as soon as he saw me, her son Wakko came over and gave me a hug. I don't think he's ever done that before and it was awesome! He and Yakko joined Stephanie and I for a little while and we talked about lightsabers, a subject on which I am somewhat knowledgeable! Thank you so much for making time for me, Stephanie. I can't tell you how much I appreciate you and your family! I'll definitely be bugging you all again... very likely with no warning again.