I Love To See The Temple!
For Family Home Evening, we decided to go check out the progress on the construction of the new Gilbert Temple.
Sometimes being so close to something you take it for granted. This Temple is only 6 miles from our home. The ground breaking ceremony was held on November 13, 2010, and today was the first time we have been out there. But let’s look at the bright side…we went and it was AMAZING!
This Temple is a design Temple. Meaning they don’t have to stick 100% to the original design. They still have to get permission to change things but it’s much easier to do so if needed. Where you see wood now will be beautiful glass windows and the landscaping and water features are promised to be gorgeous!
The Gilbert Temple will be different than the Mesa Temple in that it won’t have a cafeteria or a laundry. So if you are hungry you better eat before you go, and don’t forget your Temple Clothes or you will have to run back home! There will also not be a visitor’s center. This part makes me the most sad. I really feel anytime you can allow the public access to information about the Temple is the way to go. But who am I to argue with the Prophet! LOL!
The kids were super excited to see the Temple! It sits at the crossroads of Greenfield Rd. and Pecos Rd. Most of the Temples sit back away from traffic but this Temples is smack dab right on the corner. As you approach it it almost doesn’t look real. It’s an enormous, fairy tale , picture book structure, sitting as if it were a convenience store at the edge of the road. It is quite a sight to behold!!! We were told that was sort of the point however, to be visible to every one who passes by, that they may be curious and want to find out more about this beautiful building.
Right now they do have a portable building at the site, visitors can come to and learn more about the Temple. Everything from the design features to the square footage. It is definitely worth the time to head in for a visit. The kids learned so much and it was their first real experience as well as ours learning what goes into the construction of one of Heavenly Father’s Holy Houses.
On our way out, the guide told us that as one of the walls was being shipped from Texas it broke. So they had gotten the idea to break it up into smaller pieces to hand out to anyone who wanted to take a piece home. I think this was one of them most poignant moments of our visit. Coming to look at the construction and to sit and listen about it all is one thing…but to actually be able to take home a piece of the Temple is just unbelievable!
We each took turns choosing our prized piece and then the kids began to chatter on about where they were going to put them in their rooms and how they wanted to display them. They each wanted to make sure to put it in a place they could see it each day as a reminder to them that they want to go inside the Temple one day.
My heart absolutely melted…..
I know these pieces don’t look like much, but when you see the Temple in person you can see the quartz (taken all the way from Georgia) sparkle and shine in the sunlight. And to us..they are the most beautiful rocks we’ve ever seen!!!! 😀
We can’t wait until the Temple is complete!
