Did you know that on the 4th floor of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building there is this amazing map of the world with a light illuminating EVERYWHERE in the world that there is a temple??
It is one of the coolest things I have ever seen and it gave me such an amazing feeling of hope and excitement the moment I saw it!
Our sweet neighbors the Mortenson's are serving a service mission there and took us for a quick tour behind the scenes while we were there for part of our family's Easter week celebration.
Kesslyn was so happy to see them because not only are they our neighbor's and he used to be our bishop, but NOW they are Kesslyn's nursery teachers!!! :)
Did you know that this statue of Joseph Smith stands about 9' 3" tall and is about the same actual size as Goliath was from the scriptures? They say that Goliath was actually a little taller at about 9' 6"...no wonder why everyone was scared of Goliath!
We saw the private Ambassador's suite and a view of the Salt Lake temple that most people don't get to see...and some of the rooms that are used as gathering rooms for the apostles and their family's when they want to get everyone together for family home evening or some other special event...
we walked around temple square and also ran into our other old bishop Trent Higgins too! He is serving a service mission there too and quizzed my kids on all kinds of interesting facts about the outside symbolism on the Salt Lake temple.
We also went to the top of the building where you can get the best view of the temple...
And then we headed toward the large Christus statue which was one of the main reasons I wanted to bring my kids to temple square. There is such a sweet spirit and feeling that exists when you stand in this room underneath the majesty of this beautiful sculpture. It's so still and inviting, and with the peaceful music playing in that room, it was hard for me to want to leave.
(And Kesslyn was in heaven. :)...but very concerned about Jesus' owies...;(
After we saw the Christus statue and all of the beautiful paintings of Christ, we walked across the temple grounds to the Lion House Pantry where we all ate a nice home style meal of salmon, rice, and broccoli, a famous Lion House roll, and a slice of apple pie for dessert. The little kids ate chicken strips of course and chocolate pie...:)
After we finished our dinner we walked back over to the Legacy theater in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building and watched a Meet the Mormons movie called "The Craftsman." It was one that I had never seen before and of course it was beautifully done. I felt the spirit so strong and had the witness once again that this is the true church of Jesus Christ and that it is only in and through Him that we can find REAL joy, and eternal life in the presence of our Heavenly Father, our Savior Jesus Christ, and with our families.
With Easter, the reminder of Sheri's husband that passed away this time last year, my own father's death, and the legacy of others who have gone on before us, I felt an immense amount of gratitude for all that has been done in our behalf... That's just one of the many thoughts I had, and it's just one of the many reasons I'm so grateful for the gospel and for my knowledge and testimony of my Savior Jesus Christ...all of this...all that we have is because of Him!
As we are in full swing of our week long Easter celebration we have been enjoying Bible movies every morning, this visit to temple square, a Mormon Message movie night (with kettle corn of course ;), tonight we will be making our oil lamps for our Jerusalem dinner, and tomorrow we will be going to the Jordan River Temple open house as a family...more traditions and fun to come...it's one of our favorite times of the year!!! :)
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