This new temple is in Yuba City just a little bit north of us. We were invited to their open house which included a video and a walk-through tour of the temple, which is just as beautiful on the inside as it is on the outside. Several families chose to go and take their children. Here are a few of them and a report of their experience.
On the left is Ann and Cliff Kerr. Their daughter Alison and her family live in the temple district.
The right picture is Bishop Adam Sroufe and his family, as well as the Cody Nore family.
Within the temple we have the opportunity to make sacred promises with God in special ceremonies like marriage where a husband and wife and their children can be sealed together for all time and eternity.
On the left is Travis and Cathy Leonard who took Priscilla Quarnstrom with them to visit the temple.
Middle is Christopher and BrieAnn Congrave and their children.
Right is Erin Flores and family.
In the temple we can access the power of Godliness. God has made these blessings available to all of His children.
The grounds of the temple were not only beautiful, but had a lot of meaning. Large olive trees were plentiful in the design. Many olive trees can be found in this area and are a livelihood for farmers here. But the first thing that crosses your mind when entering the grounds is that it looks like a place where Jesus lived and taught when He was on earth. There were also beautiful flowers.
Benches were placed throughout the grounds, giving visitors a place to sit and contemplate, or to share thoughts with their family and friends.
Before entering the temple visitors where directed to a stake center next to the temple. In a large room half the size of a cultural hall and surrounded with large beautiful pictures, families were treated with a video that talked about the church and the purpose of temples. Visitors were then led to the front of the temple where young women members placed booties on their feet to protect the floors in the temple.
Bishop Sroufe made this comment about the experience: "One of the highlights for me was showing our primary age children the baptistry and talking to them about what happens there, and setting a goal for when they are older. We were also able to show all our children the rooms where the initiatory, endowment, and sealing ordinances take place and bear brief testimony to our kids about covenants and how they are necessary to find them more directly to Jesus Christ. What a blessing!"
Tim and Genevieve Shull visited the temple with their five children. This is their report: Although the children have been on temple grounds before, most of them had never been inside of one.
We talked with them beforehand about what a temple is, what types of special ordinances are performed there, and our daughter Emma talked to her younger sisters about doing baptisms for the dead.
The temple was beautiful! We felt the spirit as we walked the grounds and explored the different rooms. We noticed the large amount of beautiful paintings and artwork depicting Christ and His teachings. We sat in the celestial room for a bit and recognized the peace and reverence felt there.
On the drive home we discussed our favorite parts of the temple. Here are some of the kid's thoughts:
Emma (14) "I liked the Celestial room. It was cool to walk through the entire temple because I have never done that before.
Julianne (7) "I loved seeing the baptismal font and the golden oxen holding it up. I wanted to get in."
Allison (5) "I loved the Angel Moroni and the cows around the baptismal font. It felt peaceful.
Maddie (3) "I loved the windows. (stained glass) It felt different inside.
