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We did it!  We made it to the open house of the Gilbert Temple.  

The process for going through the tour was down to a science and they did a great job of moving everyone through.  We weren't outside inline for more than 20 minutes before we got to see a 14 minute video presentation before proceeding into the temple.

 After all we went through to get there I couldn't control my emotions.  It started when that darn video started playing in the stake center.  It was a presentation about temples and eternal families.  We had a very small group.  Just the 7 of us and a mother daughter behind us.  I was sitting in the front row and having a hard time hiding my face from the sister missionaries.  I don't like getting all blubbery in front of people. 

It got worse when we actual stepped foot inside the temple and I was trying to point out things and tell the kids -as best I could considering the pace we were moving- about what they were seeing.  I was worried about being too emotional and having the kids think I was trying too hard to force some spiritual experience on them and I didn't want them to get emotional because I was crying and not be able to trust their own emotions….does that make sense?  So I was trying the best I could to keep the tears to a minimum.  My husband thought it was adorable and reminded me that it wasn't even a dedicated building yet.  It was already dedicated in my heart.

Aside from all the structural stunning features and the fact that it is the 6th largest temple, I was experiencing something other than esthetics.  The best way to describe it would be to say, it feels like home.  It feels like a fullness of ones potential realized.  The individual purpose and plan for me is realized and is glorious. The profound truth that families are eternal is found within.  I think of all my ancestors and what they have done for me and what I am doing for my posterity.  I marvel that love is eternal.  God is my real father in heaven.  I belong to him and understand what that means.  There were also new feelings brought on by being there with my entire family.  The one my husband and I created here.  It was kinda like my own vision of the tree of life and sharing it with my children.  

Time is short.  There is much to be done.  Let's do it!

Hopefully my children will write of their own experience going through the open house.  We had a great conversation after.  It was fun to talk about the different things we noticed and felt.   I am hoping this will turn into one of those experiences that they can hold onto for the rest of their lives when storms of fear and doubt descend upon them, they can look back on this day and remember what they felt and knew.  Like in Elder Holland's talk 'Lord I Believe'- "hold fast to what you already know"

ps, I asked Jared why he always looks like he is ready to kill someone in all our pictures.  He said, "because I am."  Nice! lol

One last thing.  We got home just in time to go to our stake youth fireside about the Mutual theme for 2014.  It goes along with this post perfectly.  It is Moroni 10:32 

"Yea, ^acome unto Christ, and be ^bperfected in him, and ^cdenyyourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and ^dlove God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be ^eperfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God."