My little family made it to the open house last night. It was fun to get to go on a little short trip and show them something so meaningful. As we were driving there, I could tell my kids were excited. As we made our exit off of the freeway, the temple spires were in the distance and we pointed it out to the kids. It was a beautiful sight at this time of year to see those white spires against the brown mountains behind it.
When we got there, we had to be shuttled in to the temple grounds because of all the people. I had underestimated the amount of visitors that they would have. Since we had a reservation, I assumed that the numbers would be smaller. We were rushed before hand to even make it there because my husband was stuck at work. I felt like every obstacle was standing in our way. But, I said a little prayer that we would make it in time and my children would get to experience seeing the inside of a temple first-hand which usually does not happen until a child is 12 years old.
The tour was very organized. We watched a short video before entering about temples and about the Brigham City temple specifically. Then, we were given white booties to cover our shoes with. We were instructed that it was a silent tour to maintain reverence. As we filed through the rooms, I was amazed at how quiet my children were. They were very attentive. As we entered the area where they have the baptismal font, my son got very excited, but as I told him to be quiet, he immediately obeyed, and was quiet and reverent the rest of the tour. It is probably the longest period of time I have ever seen him be quiet before.
I’m not sure what impact the whole experience had on our kids. It is hard to say. My husband and I were tired, and very very hungry by the time it was all over because we weren’t able to eat dinner before the tour. But, as we ate dinner after around 8pm, he turned to me and said, “I think we will be glad we did this”. I knew exactly what he meant.
I, for one, have never been to a temple open house, so I was grateful for a new experience and to see another Holy House of the Lord.