Gila Valley Temple

Temples are an important part of our life as Latter Day Saints. Temples are where we go to learn the answers about life and to make covenants with our Heavenly Father. Temples are where we seal our families together forever. It a refuge, a place we can go to feel peace...and close to heaven.
Just two short years ago on April 26, 2008, it was announced that we would have a temple in our valley. It seemed like a bit of a dream come true for many, including our family. Then, on February 14, 2009, the ground breaking occurred and our dream began to become a reality.
In the past few weeks, Jason and I have had opportunities to serve at the temple. We worked as security, medical, and cleaning staff. Each visit was a new experience and we were able to spend valuable hours becoming familiar with our temple. It truly does already feel like home.
On our very first visit to the temple, we were there as medical staff during the "dignitary day"prior to the temple being open to the public. It was not the busiest day we spent there, but I have to think it was one of the most memorable. Brother C.B. Fletcher gave us a personal tour....telling lots of awesome details about the temple I don't think we would have heard otherwise. (He is an amazing man to talk with and listen to--he was a body guard to the Prophet at one time!) I wish I would have sat down that night and jotted it all down as I think I've already forgotten some/a great deal of it. Some cool things I do remember are:
*Elder William R. Walker spoke about how our temple came to be...he sat down with folders of information to talk with the first presidency about options for the next few temples. On the top of the stack was the Gila Valley Temple folder. President Monson opened the folder and looked it over for just a few seconds and said, "Yes." The others had the same almost immediate reaction. "Yes...a temple will be built in the Gila Valley." This was one of the fastest temple approvals Elder Walker had ever witnessed...usually there is debate, questions, and problems that arise quickly, but not on ours!
*Our temple has 11 pieces of original artwork--more than any other temple! (Crazy to think of when there are 131 others!) A young European man (I can't remember his decent) served a mission and then came home and painted 2 awesome paintings (the one in the entry-The Saviour with a young boy and the one in the waiting room-The Saviour surrounded by people). The man offered to sell them to the church...the paintings were so breathtaking that it was decided immediately that they should be placed in a temple. The painting of the woman and the young girl in the flowers in the bride's room is the same that hangs over President and Sister Monson's beds (ours is now the original and Sister Monson took the copy).
*The light fixture in the bride's bathroom looks like a crown or tiara. It's intricate details are breath taking. The prophet said "Women are queens and should be treated as such." Thus, this light was chosen.
*The tapestry in the fist instruction room was painted by an artist who came down to our valley and studied the landscape. He then went back to Utah and painted the beautiful mural and it was cut and sent here and pieced together on our temple wall. (The paint on it is thick and very detailed.) Amazing.
* There is a painting in the chapel room of a waterfall found deep in the heart of Mount Graham...again the painter was shown some of our beautiful landscape and was able to capture it on canvas.
*The chandelier in the Celestial Room is amazing. I wish I could remember the details...it weighs hundreds of pounds and took 2 people days to place all the crystals on it.
I know there are lots more details Brother Fletcher gave us, and I'm sure there are lots more in general...these are just a few that made a impression on me. (I hope my memory serves me well and that they are all correct.)
This weekend, we had several special temple events. It began on Friday, with Jason working security at the Temple Cultural Celebration rehearsal. He said President Lunt said over and over again that we should take "snap shots in our hearts" and never forget these moments. I tried.... Saturday night, we watched the live performance of the TCC at the Stake Center as a family. I was a bit sad not to be at the actual performance...Jason and I are leaders in YM and YW but neither of us were needed as captains of 10 as our ward has lots of people/help... but all in all--I'm glad we watched it there because I think we had some of "the best seats in the house" and were able to see so much better than we probably would have been able to in the stadium.
As we sat down in the pew at the Stake Center. Reagan promptly asked when the Prophet was coming. I told her he wasn't, that we were just going to see him on the TV screen. She began to cry. She was so disappointed. "Mom, I just want to see him. Can't we go...and just see him?" It broke my heart. We had talked up the fact that we were going to see the Prophet and he was going to talk to us...somehow Reagan had missed that part that we weren't going to see him in person. Reagan's faith and love for the Prophet is such an example to me.
The TCC was awesome--approximately 1700 youth from our temple district performed--sang and danced their hearts out. Travis and Reagan loved when the "stampede" took place and Jason and I laughed at the "cotton bo weevil". Definitely some funny memories. The Prophet did speak and we enjoyed his sense of humor. It was fun to see him in a different light. He told the youth to go home and write about that night in their journals...here I am, writing in my "journal"!
Sunday, all meetings across Arizona were cancelled as members 8 and older were able to see the Gila Valley Temple Dedication. We went to the 9am session. (We are grateful to Dana, Rose, and all the others who graciously took on watching ours along with tons of other children.) Reagan was wishing she was 8 all morning, but once she got to the church and saw her cousins, she was okay with not being able to go to the Dedication.
The Dedication was awesome. When President Monson placed the corner stone, he was candid and talked with the children outside the temple. When it was time to go back inside, he said how he would rather stay outside with the children. It was cute. He spoke much about President Spencer W. Kimball and his adoration for him. He told stories and spoke of how much this temple would have meant to the late Prophet. Even though the prophet repeated himself a few times, his talk was still captivating and I could feel his love for us--his people. I knew as I listened to him speak that he wasn't just any man--he was a Prophet of the Lord. It was amazing. Brother and Sister Crockett from Pima who are in charge of the temple also spoke. She was an amazing speaker. Then, Elder Holland spoke. He also reference much to Pres. Kimball. It just seemed to testify that our heritage truly is rich here in this valley. At the end we sang "The Spirit of God." The spirit was strong and testified to my heart of the importance temples and of love of our sweet Prophet.