GILBERT TEMPLE OPEN HOUSE

  PLEASE CLICK ON THIS LINE FOR ALL PHOTOS OF THIS EVENT

This week we had the privilege of attending the OPEN HOUSE of the new GILBERT ARIZONA TEMPLE.

This was exciting for us, because the Gilbert and Phoenix temples both broke ground about the same time, but the Gilbert Temple did not have opposition and is now completed.  Our own Phoenix Temple will likely be completed by the end of this year.

I don't think any of these photos do this temple justice...it is so beautiful in person!

Our missionaries from Phoenix are allowed to go to the Open House one time with investigators, so we saw a few of them as we were at the temple this day.

We loved the whole experience of the visit to the nearby chapel for orientation on temples as well as waiting in line to go inside for the self-guided tour.

The ATTENTION TO DETAIL was what impressed me the most in this temple.

Every time I looked at any little thing, I could see the little things that made the big difference.

We went to the temple with our daughter Breanna, Sister King from our Mission Presidency and our neighbors, the Janulis.

It was the perfect group!

 The art design of this temple focused on the AGAVE plant native to Arizona.

The plant has thick pointed leaves that are used to make Agave Nectar for one thing.  They are succulent looking and sometimes have pointed spines on the tips like this one.

The plant sends up a tall stock which blooms only once in its lifetime.  It blooms at 7-20 years old.  The plant then dies and new little agave plants spring up around the base of the Mother plant.

Very cool!

We could not believe the many forms of agave leaves that were used in details such as doorknobs, light fixture glass, window glass, wood table detailing, metalwork, carpet embossing etc.
it was incredible!

Temples are a symbol in themselves of eternal life which we believe strongly in.  We are grateful for temples and that communities are allowed to learn about what we do in temples through these open houses.

We hope you share the message that we make promises to God in our temples.  They are beautiful and sacred places, not secret places.
Worthy members are allowed inside after temples are dedicated so they can first make their own promises or covenants with God and then come back to serve those who were not able to make those promises to God themselves while they were alive.

We believe that everyone deserves the chance to make promises with God in a temple.

 Sister King and I were approached by a sweet couple asking questions about our beliefs after the tour.

It was a pleasure to answer questions and share that we are Christians.  We believe in Jesus Christ.

We believe that part of following Jesus Christ is to be in a place that was special to Christ while he was on the earth...the temple!

Here is our crew for the day:
President Taylor, BreannaTaylor, Sister Taylor, Dana and Ed Janulis and Sister King.

We look forward to the Phoenix Temple Open House next fall!  What a great opportunity to share with the community our faith in Jesus Christ.