I Love To See The Temple

Last night out Elders quorum (basically our building, F. Smith Hall) had a temple trip at 6:00 PM. We met up in the lobby and walked over to the Provo Temple. I would like to point out that this temple trip was a much different experience then doing normal baptisms for the dead in Portland, OR. First of all, we walked to the temple, and that is a blessing unto itself. It was a wondrous sunset when we got there, and I realized that the temple was perfectly placed on the hill leading up to Provo Canyon, rendering it a superb view of the valley and sunset in the distance. Another thing I realized was that even though this temple is quite old (lets be honest), it still possesses a certain aura around it which makes it beautiful from every angle. This is only the second temple I have been inside, and it was much different then Portland. There wasn't that grand waiting room with the atrium and the golden chandelier and couches, which made me realize that we are lucky to have such a beautiful temple in Portland. The doors automatically opened for us, which reminded me of star wars, and we went down this steep staircase where there were lots of people in a line. The next difference I noticed was in the magnitude of people. Although there were less benches for people to sit on, they were PACKED with people, and people were standing on the outsides too waiting for their chance. This is the beauty of the system where you can go in whenever you want and do them. I made a goal to try and go at least once a week to do baptisms. Yet another difference is that we only were confirmed for 5 names max, and only baptized two names. This is probably due to the amount of people they needed to get through. Where there was normally an adult (at least in our youth temple trip)  baptizing everyone, my RA was baptizing which was cool because he is endowed. I can't wait to become endowed before my mission so that I can participate in so many different temple ordinances. Going to the temple was so good for me. I have been stressed out lately so just to get to go and think about Christ and do the work of the lord was perfect. It did make me appreciate the grandeur and stunning beauty of the Portland, OR temple though. It seems bigger and more aesthetically appealing. Even though the Provo temple is old, it is beautiful and is still the house of the lord.

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