Draper Temple Open House

A little over two years ago we moved from Draper, Utah (20 miles south of Salt Lake City) to St. George, Utah located at the very bottom of the state.
One of my biggest struggles in the move was leaving behind two of my five children who were living in Salt Lake. Our oldest son recently moved to New York, but daughter #3 is still in Salt Lake attending the University of Utah. Elizabeth is currently in her senior year double majoring in International Studies (with an emphasis in Japanese) and Linguistics.
As a mom I worry about her being alone in "the big city" while we live far away. Elizabeth is very independent and doing great. But I miss her like crazy, so we make the trip to Salt Lake often so I can hug her, kiss her cheek and make sure she has enough food to survive.
We arrived home this evening after spending two days with Elizabeth. We left sunny St.George and drove into a very cold and snowy Salt Lake City.
The meter box on Elizabeth's apartment building was completely frozen over and covered in a layer of ice.

Not only was it freezing, but the area was covered in a temperature inversion. The valley was socked in with gray, yukky air. The sun did not penetrate through the haze the entire day.
Even the trees looked a little sad.

One bright spot was having the opportunity to attend an open house for a new temple that our church has built in Draper Utah. This beautiful building is just a five minute drive from our old house.
The picture below is what the temple looks like on a sunny day. It's built on South Mountain with a spectacular view of the Salt Lake valley. The Draper temple will be the 129th operating temple we have in the world.

The open house will run for several weeks and they expect over a million people to participate on the tours. In order to accommodate the large crowds, we were asked to meet first at one of 11 local church buildings. After watching a short video on temples, we boarded a bus that drove us up the mountain to the temple site.

The volunteer staff was very helpful and informative, guiding us through every step of the way.

Mr. Cactus and Elizabeth

Once we got off the bus we walked through long covered tunnels that led to the inside of the temple. I appreciated the covered corridors that were heated and free of ice and snow.

We weren't allowed to take pictures on the inside of the temple. I can only tell you that it is one of the most beautifully decorated buildings I have ever seen. Words cannot describe the intricate detail work in construction and furnishings. I didn't want to leave.

Temples for us represent a place where we can worship the Savior and communicate with our Heavenly Father. The feeling and spirit inside calms my soul as no other place can.

At the end of the tour we went into a building where there were refreshments and beautiful artwork depicting the life of Jesus Christ.

Me with my daughter Elizabeth.

I was able to snap a few pictures of the outside of the temple before we were ushered quickly back on the bus for our trip down the mountain.

The angel Moroni is placed at the top of many of our temples.

Here are some great photos including pictures of the interior of the temple:

http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/news-releases-stories/draper-utah-temple-opens-its-doors-to-the-public