My Latest Temple Road Trip

I went in search of the sun last week. It took me to southern Utah, where I found temperatures in the 80s, blue skies and plentiful spiritual blessings. I stopped for endowment sessions in the Manti Temple, St. George Temple and Red Cliffs Temple.

Manti was an added bonus as I headed south. I veered off at Spanish Fork, realizing I could not make that trip complete without a side trip to Sanpete County. I was rewarded with a deep appreciation for the sacrifice of our pioneer ancestors' workmanship on that magnificent edifice. It is one of the few remaining temples that teaches us our mortal quest is always an upward climb by using staircases between each ascending room. It's a feature we don't often get anymore in the modern temples. The original murals remain, and they are totally unique.

Years ago, as Patsy and I attended a session there, those in attendance who were familiar with the veil ceremony were asked to please come forward and assist at the veil. They must have been short of veil workers that day. It was the first time I had done that, and gave me my first glimpse of stepping into the shoes of Elohim. I helped a trembling young bride who was going through the temple for the first time on her wedding day. She was obviously overwhelmed with the experience, and nowadays we suggest going through a few days before the wedding to avoid what can otherwise be too much emotion all packed in to one momentous day.

I loved being there last week, especially as we moved into the Terrestrial Room and waited for our turns to go through the veil and then into the Celestial Room. Once again, we climbed a few steps upward to access the veil. As I entered the Celestial Room, I was overcome with the LIGHT in the room pouring through the windows. I sat for a few minutes, prayed, and pondered. I had been asked to speak in my home ward's sacrament meeting yesterday, which I did, and my topic was to describe my path in discipleship. 

I realized in that moment in the Manti Temple that I was nearing the end of my path in mortality. It's an increasing awareness I have these days. My discipleship has culminated in my love for the temple covenants and the enhanced changes President Russell M. Nelson has made in the plainness and superb teachings around the covenants we now receive. 

My next stop that afternoon was in St. George. I chose a hotel near the St. George Temple, and attended an endowment session the following morning. I have such fond memories of attending the St. George Temple in the days when I served as a national vice-president to President Tom Pike in Sigma Gamma Chi, the college men's Church fraternity. We were serving concurrently with the national officers of Lamda Delta Sigma, including Barbara Winder and Joanne Doxey, who would later serve in the General Presidency of the Relief Society. Whenever we made a trip to the campuses in southern Utah, we always included an endowment session with our spouses who were able to accompany us. Those were treasured memories.

The St. George Temple has been restored to its pioneer heritage. Every detail is outstanding, and the color scheme of deep blue hues breathtaking. The baptistry's ironwork is impressive and totally unique. Once again, I was deeply impressed with the evidence of the hard work that had gone into building the temple originally. President Brigham Young and President Wilford W. Woodruff were instrumental in fleshing out the design of the endowment presentation that was first introduced in St. George, improving upon the basic outline that had been revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith. 

Here's the order of completion and dedication of the Utah temples: 

1 St. George Utah Temple 6–8 April 1877         Daniel H. Wells

2 Logan Utah Temple 17–19 May 1884         John Taylor

3 Manti Utah Temple 17 May 1888                 Wilford Woodruff

4 Salt Lake Temple 6–24 April 1893         Wilford Woodruff

Someday in the next couple of years, we will all participate in the rededication the Salt Lake Temple. I await that day with eager anticipation.

The final day of my recent temple trip concluded with an endowment session in the new Red Cliffs Temple with my sister Jane Reiser who now lives in St. George. I have been so accustomed this past year of not participating in the prayer circle since Patsy's passing that I was surprised when Jane tapped me on the shoulder and invited me to join her. Laurence, her husband, had also passed away this last year, so we were mutually blessed in our time together in this new temple. The interior design in Red Cliffs complements the desert landscape in that part of the world beautifully.

As I stood later in the locker room beside another brother while we waited for our locker to clear, I asked him where he was from. His response was that he lived in Nauvoo. He had worked as a contracted painter on the gold leafing in the Nauvoo Temple, and they liked it so much that he and his wife bought a home there. Then he was called as a full-time worker missionary to paint other temples. After that assignment, he was hired as a full-time employee of the engineering company that had contracted with the Church to paint many other temples. He explained he was on vacation at the moment, doing what he loved doing best - attending temples because he loves temples so much.

I reflected on our brief visit for these days since. We are blessed beyond measure for our devotion to the ordinances of the temple. That's where the real power resides, not in the beautiful architecture as impressive as it is. Here was a man, typical I suspect of many, many saints in the Church today, who are becoming the very temple-loving people President Nelson is hoping we will be. 

And, yes, I did return to a chapel full of ward members and visitors yesterday in the Woodland Ward to give a brief account of my path in discipleship. I suspect I am not unusual when I say that from the first day I received my first temple recommend until now, I have always had a current recommend, and my circumstances make it possible for me to attend the temples of my choice A LOT. How blessed I am!