Temple Dedication Sunday

We didn't have regular church services on Sunday as the (active) LDS population over the age of 8 throughout the state of Utah was invited to participate in the Provo City Center Temple Dedication via broadcast.  There were three dedicatory sessions and we made plans to swap childcare with another family so that everyone old enough to attend would be able to do so together.

I was nervous about the younger kids being at the house literally all day long and having to do Sunday-appropriate things, but it turned out just fine.  We had a relaxed morning, then had a little family devotional where we watched some short videos about the new temple and Ben read to us from D&C 109, which is the dedicatory prayer of the Kirtland Temple.  We talked about what it means for a temple to be dedicated and why it is a big deal.  Then we had our first breakfast of yogurt, fruit, and granola while watching "Music and the Spoken Word" together.

Once the broadcast was over we made resurrection rolls together, in preparation for Easter coming up.  They were yummy as usual and it's always fun to see the center completely hollow.

Soon after we finished our second breakfast, our friends arrived.  The kids kept busy for a while building temples out of blocks.  I was impressed that Cat's was so well thought-out, with a baptismal font ("but there aren't 12 oxen") and parking places and more.  The one that the younger girls worked on was complete with an Angel Moroni.

Then I took all of the younger girls and we cut up old church magazines to make collages of temple pictures, which they enjoyed as well.  Soon after lunch our visitors went back to their house and Ben, Cat and I got ready to go to the next dedicatory session.  Since the last session was during Luke's nap time, the older sister of the girls who had been at our house came over to take care of our younger kids.  Together they played with play dough, watched a Sunday movie, played a board game, and had a snack (after they found where Emma had hidden the crackers).

Ben, Cat, and I had a great time at the dedication.  The talks were centered on the temple and three people mentioned the concept of rededicating ourselves to the Lord in the way that this temple was being dedicated.  We were also instructed to work patiently to build up ourselves until we become a temple (1 Corinthians 3:16-17), just as this temple was only finished after a painstakingly long process.

When we got home from the dedication session, we went on a walk in our neighborhood to get everyone out of the house, then we had dinner.  It turned out to be a really nice day and I was pleased with how well the kids behaved and observed the Sabbath.