That Holy Place

This week has been a beautiful week filled with visits to the Holiest of Holy places that I know of. Melodee was eager and excited to be able to go to Cardston this week and later in the week everyone got to go to Calgary for the open house there.

 It was a little bit chilly outside as we came out of the temple. You can tell because Melodee's smile is a little frozen on the outside, but let me tell you it was as bright as day on the inside! What a special privilege it is to be able to enter the House of the Lord.

 The lovely autumn colors surrounding the Cardston, Alberta temple

The temple in Calgary was beautiful! We felt privileged as a family to be able to visit and tour it. The peace that exists here even when it is open to the general public is amazing! I love the temple!!!

 There we are - in front of some of the beautiful windows. This is just before we went on our tour of the temple.

 The inscription above the door.

 Looking up from the lower area we were able to see the heads of our children just poking up over the wall.

 Pictures of the outside of the temple at dusk really emphasize the lovely colors in the windows.

 The windows feature a wheat motif which is throughout the interior of the temple. What a wonderful reminder that wheat is the bread of life but the Savior is also known as the 'Bread of Life". This temple will forever stand as a reminder of the Savior, Jesus Christ.

Moroni stands attop the temple facing east, ready to welcome the Savior back on his return when he will come to rule and reign on the earth.

Of course we aren't permitted to take cameras or other photo taking devices into the temple on the tour but I found a bunch of photos of the interior of the Calgary temple online and have included them below. They are from the LDS newsroom.

The sealing room

This is another sealing room from a different
temple. It shows somewhat the effect of looking
off into eternity through the mirrors
which decorate every sealing room in
every temple.

This is a photo of the baptistry.

This is one of the instruction rooms. This was one
of my favorite rooms as the mural on the
walls is so well painted. I could sit and look at
it for hours before I would feel like I had seen it all.

This is a portion of the brides room.

Some of the detailing on the ceilings. Each room is
uniquely detailed. I love the designs they used!

Every light in the temple (except the chandeliers) features
wheat. They are lovely lights and add to the theme in
a lovely and tasteful way.

The recommend desk. Every person who enters the temple
after it is dedicated must prove his or her worthiness to
enter a house dedicated to the Lord. This is done by
showing a recommend to the attendants at the desk.
Temple recommends are obtained after interviews with
at least 2 ecclesiastical leaders where individuals are
given the opportunity to qualify themselves for temple blessings.

President Ezra Taft Benson eloquently describes why I love the temple so much:

"In the peace of these lovely temples, sometimes we find solutions to the serious problems of life. Under the influence of the Spirit, sometimes pure knowledge flows to us there. Temples are places of personal revelation. When I have been weighed down by a problem or a difficulty, I have gone to the House of the Lord with a prayer in my heart for answers. These answers have come in clear and unmistakable ways." -- Ezra Taft Benson

There are no words in the English language that I know of that can grasp the depth of the joy that is felt when one enters the temple with all their family members present. The Calgary temple open house gave us the opportunity to bring our children to the temple, it let them see the beauty there that is dedicated to the Lord. It conveyed to them things about the temple that I cannot express in words but every one of us felt the desire to return to partake of the blessings of service offered there. The temple is a joy in my life and a strength and a beacon. I love the temple - it is so filled with goodness and light - we are so blessed to have so many around us in this day and time.