LDS Temples

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Gretch and I went to the St. Louis Missouri Temple today. It was only the second time we've been to the Temple since getting married 9 months ago. I used to go much more often (once a month for quite a while, and almost once a week while I was living in Melbourne), but work and school have created so many time conflicts that we just haven't been able to make it there. However, I feel so blessed that we have so many temples near us. When I was born in East Peoria, Illinois, my family was part of the Washington DC temple district. It took members of the church the better part of a day to get to the Temple. Now, still living in central Illinois, we have the Chicago Illinois Temple, the Nauvoo Illinois Temple, the St. Louis Missouri Temple, and the Louisville Kentucky all within about four hours. 

I love the Houses of the Lord. I have seen many of them in my lifetime. On the outside, they are beautiful, magnificent edifices that speak of devotion to the Lord. Even more, though, I love the experience of being inside and performing sacred ordinances while worshipping in a way that is, I believe, rather unique to Latter-day Saints. For me, and for millions of other members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Temple ceremonies are simple and they are beautiful and they are sacred. Which is why you may not hear us speak much about the experience. It is hard to describe spiritual experiences in words. The Temple experience is a learning experience. I am always learning when I am in the Temple, but there is one lesson that comes through more strongly than any other every time. It is the lesson that comes from knowing that God lives and that He knows me, personally, and that He loves me, personally.

Comments

We Three Queens said…
Hello. My name is Brenda and I'm an LDS sister living in PA. Please feel free to check out my blog. The reason I'm contacting you is because of an experience another sister shared with us last week in Relief Society. It was in reference to the dedication of the St. Louis Temple and the report of people driving past the temple on the expressway seeing flames coming from the top of the temple. Have you by chance ever heard this? I know it is documented to have happened during the Kirkland Temple dedication. For the record, the spirit was very strong as she told of this happening, but I'm still curious if anyone in the St. Louis area is familiar with it as well. Thanks for your help. I appreciate it. My blog address is www.brendaoxford.blogspot.com
May 29, 2009 at 4:26 PM
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