Temples dot the earth...

On Sunday I had the opportunity to teach a Relief Society Ward Conference lesson on temples, so they've been on my mind quite a lot recently. Living in the blessed land of Utah for the past five years and having international complications necessitate marriage somewhere other than Canada, Brandon & I have been lucky enough to see our share of temples in the last few years. A few of the highlights (in chronological order):
Brandon & I (albeit underdressed) outside the Spokane Temple, Thanksgiving 2005.Outside the Salt Lake Temple Christmas 2005 after NOT getting in to see the Mormon Tabernacle Choir...bummer. (But fear not, a friend just happened to have extra tickets for the following day. MoTab did not disappoint.)Same Christmas, different country. Brandon came to meet my family in the Toronto area and we stopped by to see the Toronto Temple. (The meeting went well, by the way.)A few weeks prior to our wedding and my going through the Temple for the first time, poor Angel Moroni was hit by lightning in a storm and was totally charred on one side. Some thought it an omen against our marriage, but we took the plunge anyway. Time will tell.And last, but certainly not least, we were married in the Palmyra, New York Temple (on a very overcast day in August of 2006). It was a really neat experience to be married in a place surrounded by so much history.For those of you who may have been present for my lesson, read no further - you'll just get deja vu. For those of you who were lucky enough to be absent, in an effort to rekindle enthusiasm and remind us all how much we loved the temple when we were little, or when we first learned about the temple, I asked some of our nieces and nephews why they love the temple. Out of the mouths of blonde, blue-eyed babes...

• "The temple makes it so that we can be together as a family forever." Jacob (7)
  
• "I love the temple because you get married in it to be sealed there forever and because it's Jesus and Heavenly Father's house." Jaxon (7)
  
• "I like the temple because we're sealed there." Emma (5)
  
• "I love the temple because it's special. Jesus lives there and we can go there." Tyler (4)
  
• "I don't know, I forgot." Michael (4)
  
• "Cause Mommy & Daddy got married there. It's pretty, there's a tall thing on the top." Megan (3)
  
• "My feelings for the temple run deep. Knowing that my parents were married for time and all eternity in the House of the Lord lends me the greatest sense of peace imaginable." Ben (1...Yes, there's a prodigy in the Richards line)
• Several children were napping and could not be reached for comment.
  

I just thought it was so sweet that these tiny children have such a great love for and knowledge of the House of the Lord. I also talked with my little sister Nicola who visited the temple for the first time last year, and she commented that it's a huge change from the streets of Toronto and she feels so privileged to be worthy to enter the temple. So insightful, I couldn't help but share.

For any of you who may have felt lost or confused at all whilst reading the above, you can learn more about Temples of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by clicking here.