One of my favorite things to do with my family on Sunday night is to go down to the temple grounds and visitor’s center.
My son loves to look at the reflecting pools, my daughter loves to sit in her stroller and enjoy the sites and sounds, and my wife and I enjoy the peace and solitude of the temple gardens.
Sunday night at the gardens attracts a diverse group of visitors: missionaries (of course), investigators, families and young adults. Amazingly, among so many people, the gardens retain an atmosphere of peace and tranquility unmatched by almost any other location in the Phoenix area.
As I walk around the gardens with my family, I remember when my parents took me to Temple Square in Salt Lake City, when I was my son’s age–four. I recall the fascination with the stunning architecture of the Salt Lake Temple, the beauty of the gardens and my first glimpse of the Christus statue.
When my family goes to the temple grounds, my son loves to go inside the visitor’s center and see the Christus. As we drive to the temple, he asks, “Are we going to see Jesus?” When I am walking through the temple gardens, I do feel close to my Savior, as I walk outside of His house.
I am hopeful that these trips to the temple will instill in my son and daughter the same curiousity about the temple that I posessed throughout my youth, prior to serving a mission. My fascination with the temple lead me to read Talmadge’s book, “The House of the Lord”, and spurred me to study the creation stories contained in the Pearl of Great Price, and to study the Levitical ordinances described in the Old Testament.
Kim Siever posted on pointing our doors to the temple earlier this month in his blog, Our Thoughts (great post, by the way). I want my door to be pointed toward the temple so my children can grow up and truly mean the words to the song, “I love to see the temple, I’m going there someday.“
So, the next time my son asks me, “Are we going to see Jesus?” I can say, without hesistation, “Yes, we are going to see Him and His house today.”