We Love to See the Temple!!

Arizona Phoenix Temple

For family home evening tonight we had the opportunity to tour the construction site of the Arizona Phoenix Temple. Who could pass up such an opportunity? Not us!!

We traveled from Mesa to North Phoenix and took 59th Avenue. I was not certain where the Temple was located exactly, so I asked Kaiya to keep an eye out for it. We drove closer and closer to two "mountains" and I began to wonder if I had made a wrong turn as we passed thru them. Suddenly, as we drove down the slightly curved road out of the "mountains" there was the temple. 

Kaelani pointed and got extremely excited in the backseat! She loves to go to the Temple and walk the grounds! It is amazing how,at such a young age, she understands how special and exciting a Temple is and is able to recognize one. We pulled into the adjacent church parking lot and were met by a few friends. 

Soon Elder Holbrook, a service missionary from Utah, exited the construction site mobile offices. He and his wife serve a mission by interacting with the contractors and workers who build the temples! When they finish here in Phoenix they will be headed to another temple construction site. How exciting would that be to watch over the construction of the Lord's house? I would not complain!

We began with a prayer and then he told us a bit about the history of the Temple. An interesting fact, the neighbors apparently did not like the original temple design, it was going to be very much like the Gilbert Temple. So, the Church changed the architecture. The Temple that was approved by the neighbors has more square footage than originally planned. It was also a testament of how wonderfully the church tries to work with the community in which the Temples are built. With this one temple the church has gone thru a process of changing the color of the exterior to not be so starch white, lowering the height of the temple from 40 ft to 30 ft., completely changing the architecture, and will host a special night for just the neighbors to tour the completed temple. Elder Holbrook stated that they did not even announce when the Angel Moroni would be placed as to respect the neighbors want to not draw large crowds. He said a crowd still gathered upon spotting two large cranes on the site. The Church truly tries to be peacemakers and not offend as the Lord's work rolls forth. 

 After he spoke to us, we were able to see a display area set up with pictures of the temple as it progressed thru various stages of construction. The baptismal font as it was laid, pieces of the exterior walls, and many examples of the bolts they used. The have mixed quartz into the finish of the exterior to help the sun catch it and illuminate the temple. Kaiya was amazed at the steel structure beneath the beautiful exterior. Kaelani kept trying to tell Elder Holbrook something. She would bend down, place her hand on the ground, jabber as she stood up, and reached high into the sky. I am sure she was trying to talk about how tall the temple is, if I could make my guess. 

We looked at a map that had push pins placed for all the temples in use, under construction, and announced!  They truly are beginning to dot the entire world! I remember as a youth guide (1994-1996) we were impressed  that the Mesa Temple was one of nearly 50 Temples in use through out the world. Now, with the work progressing as it is, 50 sounds like nothing! Hearing the number of Temples the Lord has built is amazing. However, when you see a pin for each on a map, the visual is so much more impressive. I cannot imagine what it will look like as the girls get older. 

It was a wonderful family night and an amazing opportunity to hear the story of this one temple, and see the progress of the work of The Lord throughout the world.