Temple Trip

Yesterday we had a Primary temple trip activity. It was our Stake Temple day so we decided to encourage entire families to attend the temple. The youth were doing baptisms, the adults were doing their work in the temple, and the Primary provided an activity for the children which included a tour of the temple grounds by one of the temple workers, pictures outside, and a snack to take home.

It was raining all day long and as Dallin and I were driving to the temple it kept coming down harder and harder and then as we drove into the parking lot it started HAILING!! It wasn't looking good for our activity! I asked Dallin if he thought Heavenly Father could stop the rain so we could have our activity. He said, YES! So, we said a little prayer right in our car that the rain could stop so that the children could have a good activity and feel the spirit of the temple today. Sure enough just as we finished our prayer the rain STOPPED! Dallin opened his eyes big and wide and smiled so big and said, IT WORKED!! How often does Heavenly Father answers prayers THAT fast?? It was truly a miracle with the help of a little boy's faith. What an awesome learning experience for Dallin, and for me for that matter.

We were able to enjoy our time at the temple, rain free. Our tour guide was great and taught us a lot about the temple and told us some stories of when the temple was dedicated and during the construction. I didn't know this, but apparently behind the cornerstone of every temple is a metal box containing 30 different items including newspaper clippings about the temple, New Era/Friend/Ensign issues for the month of it's dedication, pictures of the workers, a set of scriptures, etc. How cool, it's like a little time capsule. I also learned that Angel Moroni is made of fiberglass and then coated in gold leaflet so he really only weighs 85 lbs. I always thought he was solid metal and weighed like 1,000 lbs. or something! One more interesting fact about the Denver Temple, there is a beautiful bride's courtyard behind the temple that they have added to the temple in the last few years. It's a nice curved pergola with benches and flowers, perfect for pictures. Apparently all the money that was used to build this little courtyard was raised by Primary children from all over Colorado, New Mexico, Kansas, and Wyoming! I think she said it cost somewhere around $35,000.

I know I felt the spirit of the temple yesterday, even though I didn't go inside the spirit was still present. It just goes to show how powerful those dedicatory prayers are, for they not only dedicate the temple itself but the entire grounds around the temple. I believe that when God visits his temples, he takes time to enjoy the beauty of the gardens as well :-)