Brett and I have attended the temple together every month (except the month right after Shimri and Shimei were born when he represented our family alone) since before we were married. As it takes us two hours each way to get to the temple, the whole family goes and it’s a whole day trip and we always come home with doughnuts. We are blessed to have friends and family near the temple who help us watch our kids so we can serve in the temple.
And then I realized we kept telling Iddo we were going to the temple, and she loved going and getting the doughnuts and playing with our friends, but she wasn’t even seeing the temple. And that wasn’t right.
In July of last year during a Relief Society lesson on temples a friend talked about how she would take her children into the foyer of the temples because you don’t need a recommend to go there. When we stopped at the Gilbert temple on our way home in September last year so Iddo could see the Angel Moroni on the top (she has a thing for Angel Moroni), I remembered that comment and took her inside to sit down for a few minutes. It was only a few minutes (she wasn’t even 2.5 at the time). But she sat quietly. Looked around. And I could tell she felt the difference.
Since then we’ve made it a regular part of our monthly trips to take her back to the temple after we pick the kids up and we take turns going into the foyer with her. This July as we left dinner after serving in the temple she said, “Let’s go get doughnuts and then take me to the temple. I don’t want to miss going to the temple.”
As Shimri and Shimei get bigger we’re letting them explore the temple grounds right now. Soon we’ll let them sit in the foyer for a bit too.
Soon we’ll have a temple we can serve in here in Tucson. After the ground breaking for the Tucson temple we’ve tried going up regularly to watch the progress. What started as going to see the “temple hole” has turned into a beautiful building. We’ve truly enjoyed taking Iddo to watch as she already has a special understanding of the sacred nature of temples.
I am an educator and PhD. I quilt, belly dance, run, read, and try to grow things. I am a Mormon. I am infertile. I am a daughter, sister, aunt, grand-daughter, friend, wife, and mom.
Brett L. Dennis
Mama g
Giggles
AmandaStretch
Love that photo with the lit Gilbert Temple in the background. That was this month, wasn’t it? :brett:
That was July, back when she said that.
What a wonderful training you are giving the kids.
Your family’s example of temple service is definitely one I admire! We’ve been pretty successful about monthly temple service and we already discuss ways to involve kids. Not having a temple close by for two years will be hard, but we will still make it a family priority!
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I love to see the temple | Random Giggles