We went the last week it was open to take a few pictures. I'm not terribly upset that it's being torn down and rebuilt, but I did get a little sentimental. It's not a beautiful temple on the outside. I never really liked how it looked. But it's got a beautiful symbolism: a cloud by day, and a pillar by night, as the Israelites were led in the wilderness. And the inside had a classic understated beauty that I learned to love as I got older.
This has been my temple my whole life. This is where I first did baptisms for the dead (always, always with a trip to Farr's afterwards for an ice cream cone). When my sister got married here I began the tradition of floating my shoes in the fountain. I was a bored 14-year-old, what do you expect? Except for Brady's wedding, that's something I have done at all our siblings' weddings, including my own.
It's the temple where I wanted to go through for the first time, but it was closed for cleaning. I had to "make do" with Salt Lake. And it's the temple your dad and I have been coming to for the last five years, since we moved from Logan. It's where I knew our first baby was a boy, and it's where I knew it was time to have another baby.
I know the new temple will be beautiful, and I'm excited to watch its progress as it's being built. But I have beautiful memories of the old Ogden Temple, which no wrecking ball or bulldozer can take away. So, kids, remember: It's not the appearance of the building, but the Spirit which resides within, that makes a place holy.
No comments:
Post a Comment