Temples

I am a Mormon, and every Mormon has a favorite temple. (There are 134 operating temples worldwide, with more temples built every year.) Although I've never been to the Logan, Utah Temple, it's my favorite. I don't know what it is about that particular temple that makes it my favorite . . . Maybe it's because it sort of looks like a castle. Maybe it's because the first picture I saw of it had tulips in the foreground, and they were beautiful. (And I love tulips.)

At any rate, I love that temple. The great thing about being a worthy Mormon is that as long as I can get myself to Logan, Utah, I can go inside. I can go inside any temple I want. I have seen the Idaho Falls Temple, the Washington, D.C. Temple, and countless Utah temples. I have been inside the Atlanta Temple, the Salt Lake City Temple, and the Manhattan and Birmingham temples. In a purely architectural sense, each temple is fascinating. They are all so different. Some are huge -- so huge, in fact, that pilots use them as navigational landmarks. Some have beautiful archways, and some have tall spires. Here, take a look: Temple Gallery.

In short, Mormons are taught in temples, are married in temples, and serve in temples. Temples provide a quiet place to ponder questions or problems. For me, they are places where I feel the most connected with people. People are always kind in the temple. I never feel out-of-place or overlooked. I am my best self in the temple, and everyone else is, too. Serving with friends in the temple always solidifies my friendship with them and makes me love them more.

I am grateful for temples. I have a testimony of temples. If you get a chance to walk around the grounds of a temple, do it. If you get a chance to walk inside (during an open house), do it. You won't find holier places on earth than temples.

Learn more: Temples


Thing I'm thankful for: dinner with The Olsens.