PACIFIC NORTHWEST - Three Temples

I’ve been very blessed in my life to never live more than 15 minutes from a temple — despite growing up outside of Utah. And living in Provo now, there are two in Provo — and six within about 15 minutes of home or work. On this trip I decided to add a few to my “Temples Visited” list this trip — Seattle, Vancouver BC, and Spokane.

   In Seattle I learned that the temple was closing “tomorrow, for a month” – so I rearranged my plans for the day after the cruise (the day it was closing) to make sure I had this opportunity. As the last day, it was a very busy day – because for these people the next-closest temple is a 5-hour drive away. But regardless of the number of people coming and going, or even the geographic location, there is still always a peace that comes within the walls of the temple.

   On my quick trip through Vancouver, I headed just outside of town to one of the small temples – built in the parking lot of a Stake Center. While there I met a family from Haines, Alaska, (about an hour south of Skagway) — and they were on their Annual Temple Trip. They save all year, just so they can drive 30+ hours (1500+ miles) to be at the temple for one weekend each year. A nice couple with their 12-year-old son – making his first trip to the temple. Seeing the sacrifice they make to go to the temple made me appreciate even more the short 2-mile trip I am fortunate to have.

   Then in Spokane, I swung by the temple my last morning in town – to another of the smaller temples. It was quiet there, with a ward group meeting to care for the landscaping on the temple grounds – a few kids running around having fun. Inside I met a couple there with their “almost” missionary – he would be leaving for the MTC in a few days. They would put him on a plane in Spokane, and their daughter would drive down from Rexburg to pick him up in SLC and drive him to the MTC – just so she could see him for a few hours before he left for 2 years.

   I don’t have to travel far to go to the temple, and seeing the sacrifices others have to make to attend certainly brought a tender gratitude to my heart for the blessing of living so close to so many temples. When I was a kid there were 23 temples, and I could name them all – now there are 150+, and I’m not even sure I can name all the ones in Utah. And amazingly, even though each temple is different and unique, each also has that familiarity and “Home”-like essence – and the feeling I get within those 4 walls is something I can’t find anywhere else in the world.