I love to see the temple. I went inside last week.

Early last Saturday, I was able to attend the Draper Utah Temple open house with my roommate Lynne. The last time I attended an open house was for the St. Paul Minnesota Temple in 2000. During the open house I was reminded of the beauty of temples and their importance in my life. You can get reservations to attend the Draper Temple open house here.

We entered the temple on the first floor where the baptistry is located. As the tour progressed, we continued on to higher and higher floors, symbolizing the upward progression that is offered through the ordinances of the temple. Eventually we entered the beautiful Celestial room, the high point of the building.

Being in the temple reminded me of one of my favorite experiences I had in the St. Paul Minnesota Temple when I was in high school. I was waiting for my mom when a temple worker sat next to me and starting talking with me about the temple and some of the symbolism there. There were many other people in the room, but somehow he took a personal interest in me and teaching me about the temple. It was through this experience and many other visits to the temple where members of the temple presidency and others took interest in teaching me about the temple that I started to gain my own personal testimony of the temple. Now, years later, I am looking forward to receiving my endowment (hopefully later this year).

We've been discussing the temple in my Doctrine and Covenants class a lot lately. The discussion has centered on how the Doctrine and Covenants shows us how temples are necessary for exaltation (See D&C 76, 84, 88, 93, 131, 132.

The tour ended in the sealing room where a couple shared their testimony of the sealing power and how it blesses their family. The Draper Temple has the largest sealing room in the world (it seats more than 80 people!) These two pictures are of the sealing room in the Draper Temple. One shows a close-up of the altar where couples are sealed (married) for eternity. The photo above and to the left is of the brides' room.