The Thirteenth Temple: The Logan Utah Temple (The last one)

Thats right people, we finally made our goal and went to the last temple on our list which was the Logan Utah Temple. We went this past Wednesday to a nice night session. It felt good to finally achieve our goal but it was also hard because it was our last one. In less than a year we have been able to visit all 13 Utah Temples. Maybe our next goal will be all Idaho Temples.

History:

The Logan Utah Temple was announced on May 18, 1877. The site dedication and groundbreaking was on May 17th, 1877. Orson Pratt did the site dedication and John W Young did the groundbreaking. It then took 7 years of volunteer workers to build the five story temple. The temple was then dedicated on May 17-19, 1884 by John Taylor. Some interesting things about the temple is that it was first painted white to hide the stone color, but in the early 1900s the paint was allowed to weather away leaving the original stone color showing that is still seen today. Another instead fact is that in December 4th, 1917 there was an electrical fire that burned the southeast part of the temple (it was of course fixed). This temple was also the first temple to have progressive style mural ordinance rooms, but in 1977 it became the first temple to be completely gutted and rebuilt inside to work with film ordinance rooms. Some people were sad about this because they felt it lost a lot of the original pioneer beauty. After the renovations the temple had an open house from February 5th to March 3rd, 1979. Then it was rededicated by President Spencer W. Kimball from March 13-15, 1979.

Architecture/Decor:

The Logan Utah Temple is an interesting temple in that on the outside it has all the majestic beauty of an older temple such as Manti, and St George, yet on the inside it has more of a look close to the other temples built around it's renovation time period (aka Provo and Ogden). The color skeem is also green and gold. The Temple is also built on a hill making it so that you can see it throughout Cache Valley.

Helpful things to note when visiting the temple:

Location:

The temple is located on top of a hill off of Highway 91.

Scheduling and Temple Clothing:

If you are going to the Logan Utah Temple you do not need to call ahead and schedule an appointment. There are also temple clothes available to rent there.

The source that I used and a great source to learn more is:

Logan Utah Temple: http://www.ldschurchtemples.com/logan/

The Twelfth Temple: The Provo Utah Temple

So first I like to start off by saying sorry I have been horrible at updating this blog. Its almost April and I am finally making my post for last February 5th, when Tyler and I went to the Provo Utah Temple. It was my birthday and so for one of the things I wanted to do on my birthday was go to another temple on our list. I picked the Provo Utah Temple.

History:

The Provo Utah Temple was announced to be built on August 14th, 1967. The site dedication and ground breaking was done on September 15th, 1969. The dedication was done by President Joseph Fielding Smith and the groundbreaking was done by Hugh B. Brown. The open house was then January 10th-29th, 1972, and was dedicated by Joseph Fielding Smith on February 9th, 1972. There were two session to dedicate the temple. There were over 70,000 people that attended the dedication. People were seated at the temple, and BYU buildings that include: Marriott Center, Fieldhouse, JSB, HFAC for the temple dedication. The Provo Utah temple is located across from the Provo Mission Training Center and close to the Brigham Young University Campus. It is also known as being the busiest temple in the world. Its sister temple is the Ogden Utah Temple.

Architecture/Decor:

The architecture is much like the Ogden Utah Temple, and within the past year the colors have been redone to be green and gold instead of pink and white. Something that is interesting about the original design of the Provo Utah Temple is that it was made to look like a "cloud by day and a pillar by night" referring to how the Children of Israel was looked over by God. This was done by having the lower part like a big white cloud (hence it's interesting shape) and the spire being originally gold. This was changed in renovations in 2003 where the spire was painted white and an Angel Moroni was put on the top. The original design had planned to have an Angel Moroni on top but it wasn't until thirty-one years later that one was put on it.

Helpful things to note when visiting the temple:

Location:

The location is pretty easy to find. If you just get off I-15 at University Parkway and follow it into Provo through Orem and then turn on 9th in the direction you see the temple.

Scheduling and Temple Clothes:

You don't need to call ahead to schedule a time to do a session and there are also temple clothes that you can rent there.

The source that I used and a great source to learn more is:

Provo Utah Temple: http://www.ldschurchtemples.com/provo/

The Eleventh Temple: St George Utah Temple

During Martin Luther King Jr. Day Weekend, Tyler and I as well as my roommate Melissa traveled to St. George to attend the St George Utah Temple. It was a jam packed weekend with attending the temple, visiting Brigham Young's Winter home, and exploring two National Parks (Zions National Park and Bryce Canyon National Park).

History:

The St George Utah Temple has a long and rich history (especially due to it being the oldest operating temple) . This temple was announced on November 9th, 1871 and the groundbreaking and site dedication was also on the same day by the prophet Brigham Young. It was then dedicated on January 1st, 1877. It was actually dedicated in a series of three private dedications on that day. Wilford Woodruff dedicated the baptistery, Erastus Snow dedicated the main floor and Brigham Young dedicated the sealing rooms. It is interesting to note that this was the only temple finished during the time Brigham Young was president of the church. Other interesting facts is that it has gone through three major renovations. The original design was modeled after the Nauvoo and Kirtland temples that had a large assembly room. This assembly room was then separated into smaller rooms by curtains for endowment rooms. Then in 1937-1938, the temple was remodeled for the first time where the assembly room was taken out and live acting endowment session rooms were put in. This made it so that there could be 3 endowment sessions a day. Then in 1975 the last major renovations took place to make it so the endowment rooms were for film presentations. This made it possible to have 14 endowment sessions a day. There was then a public open house from Oct 15-15, 1975, and it was then rededicated on Nov 11-12th, 1975 by Pres. Spencer. W. Kimball. Now one of the most fascinating facts about this temple is that this was the temple were the founding fathers appeared twice to the prophet Woodruff Wilson asking why their work hadn't been done. This lead to the church doing the ordinance work for all of the American founding fathers and other influential leaders of the past.

Architecture/Decor:

I found the decor and architecture of the building very fitting. The overall theme seemed to be colonial Americana mixed with ancient Greece. Colonial Americana due to American stars and just the over all colonial look. Then the mix of ancient Greece by having Greek pillars in it. I thought it decor for the temple where the founding father's appeared ( I think they would have approved). Some other interesting historical/decor facts, the temple site was originally a spring. To fill in the spring they used volcanic rock that they packed down with a canon. It took a long time but made it so that they temple could be built there.

Helpful things to note when visiting the temple:

Location:

The St George Utah Temple is located in the heart of old downtown St George. Originally when it was built the temple was on the outskirts of town but now it in the middle of the older district of town. The roads around it are extremely wide and over all is an easy temple to find (it towers everything around it). I would recommend going there in an off season of the St George craze (summer) or at least not on a holiday weekend. I say this because the town was a mad house and traffic was stressful. I would even say worse than Provo (yes that bad).

Scheduling and Temple Clothes:

There are temple clothes to rent there and you don't need to worry about scheduling with 14 sessions a day. Each session can hold around 140 people (so you don't need to worry about getting in).

Other random advice:

Don't go to Zions or Bryce Canyon during the winter if you want to go on any trails, because a lot of the trails are closed due to snow or are ,very icy. On the bright side it is less busy and during MLKJ Day Weekend it was free. I would still recommend going during the summer over winter if you want get the most out of these parks.

The source that I used and a great source to learn more is:

St George Utah Temple http://www.ldschurchtemples.com/stgeorge/

The Tenth Temple: The Ogden Utah Temple

For the month of December, Tyler and I visited the Ogden Utah Temple. It was a nice snowless December day when we went, which made it nice for walking around the grounds. I also fulfilled a dream that day by finally eating at a temple cafeteria. For those of you who don't know this some of the older and larger temples have cafeterias. I have never eaten at any of them before and growing up in MN where the Minneapolis Saint Paul Temple was rather small, I always wondered what one of these cafeterias were like. To answer your question of how was it, it was pretty much like any other cafeteria. I had a taco salad, which was ok. It was still a fun time for me, call me lame hehe.

History:

The Ogden Utah Temple (originally named the Ogden Temple) was first announced to be built on August 24th, 1967. The site was dedicated on September 8th, 1969 by Joseph Fielding Smith and Alvin R. Dyer, and the groundbreaking on the same day was done by Hugh B. Brown. The date of the groundbreaking and site dedication happened to also be the 96th birthday of Pres. David O. McKay. President McKay then passed away four months later, but when it came time to dedicate the temple it was dedicated on the second anniversary of his passing. The temple's open house was then on December 16-30, 1971. Then it was finally dedicated on January 18-20th, 1972 by Joseph Fielding Smith. An interesting fact about its history is that in the original design it had an Angel Moroni, but in the end it didn't make the final design. It wasn't until 2002 that the Angel Moroni was added and the once gold spire was change to white. Another interesting fact is that the Ogden Utah Temple was the first temple to be dedicated in the state of Utah, although there had been four other temples dedicated in the Utah before Ogden they had all been dedicated in the territory of Utah. In 2010, the Church announced that the Ogden Utah Temple will have major renovations done on it, making it look on the outside more like the Draper Temple. Like the Draper Temple it will also be facing east instead of west like it currently is. The inside will also be renovated so the Ogden Utah Temple as we know it will be totally different (it kind of saddens my soul, its so nice the way it is). I am sure it will be nice in the end though. Check out the new design.

Architecture/ Decor:

I was expecting it to be exactly like the Provo Temple (its sister temple aka same design) but was pleasantly surprised to find that although it has the same lay out the colors and woodwork are very different. The Ogden Utah Temple has beautiful oak wood in it (the light oak not dark). The color scheme is awesome with green and gold (maybe I love that because it is my wedding colors:). I liked the clear layout that is has and the grounds are very beautiful. I thought one of the coolest things about the temple grounds was instead of having flowers they decorated it with vegetable plants, how self reliant of the Ogden people! You might think that would look ugly, but it actually looks super cool. See picture above

Helpful things to note when visiting this temple:

Location:

Basically you just need to get off the freeway and drive straight on one road, pretty nice. The area has all been redone (probably why the temple is being redone too). I heard in the past that the temple had been in a more shady area of town, but that is not the case now. Now there are nice higher end condominiums, and a more downtown hipness to it. There is also a cute ice cream place kiddy corner to it. The Ogden Utah Mission home is next door in the temple grounds where the Ogden Tabernacle is. On the grounds there is also the first permanent pioneer home in Utah that was moved from its original location by the Weber River. It is the Miles Goodyear Cabin and right next to it is the Daughters of Utah Pioneer Museum, so over all good times. I would imagine these are open during the summer months (they weren't open when we were there).

Scheduling and Temple Clothes:

FYI, the Temple will be closed in 2011 for renovations so if you are going to go in the near future hurry now and go! Other wise you will have to wait until the renovations have taken place. As far as temple clothes go they do have clothes available to be rented.

The source I used and a great source if you want to learn more is:

Ogden Utah Temple http://www.ldschurchtemples.com/ogden/

The Ninth Temple: Mount Timpanogos Utah Temple

For the month of November, Tyler and I visited the Mount Timpanogos Utah Temple. We went on November 6th, 2010. It was a great experience.

History:

The Mount Timpanogos Utah Temple was announced in General Conference as a new temple in Utah County on October 3rd, 1992. It wasn't until the next conference that it was announced that it would be built in the southern part of American Fork that was once a farm operated by church welfare. The ground breaking and site dedication was on October 9th, 1993 by Gordon B. Hinckley. The open house was then from August 6th to September 21st, 1996. Then it was then dedicated October 13th-19th, 1996.

Architecture/ Decor:

The Mount Timpanogos Utah Temple was designed after the floor plan of the Bountiful Utah Temple. Just like the Bountiful temple this temple is filled with open rooms filled with 90's style designs. That uses geometric shapes.

Helpful things to note when visiting this temple:

Location:

This temple is well of the main freeway, yet easy to find because you only need to take one main road to get there. The roads are decently busy yet all there is after getting on to that road is four way stops (which can be fun when driving in Utah County if you know what I mean).

Scheduling and Temple Clothes:

This is a fairly large temple so you don't need to worry about calling ahead to schedule a time. There are also clothing rentals available there as well as a cafeteria.

The source I used and a great source if you want to learn more is:

Mount Timpanogos Utah Temple: http://www.ldschurchtemples.com/mounttimpanogos/

The Eighth Temple: Draper Utah Temple

It has been a while since my last post. I have been really busy but I have finally found time to post the next two temples that we have visited. For the month of October, Tyler and I went to the Draper Utah Temple on Oct 30th, 2010. It was a nice trip (as every trip to the temple is).

History:

The building of the Draper Utah Temple was announced as an anonymous temple in the October 2, 2004 session of General Conference. At that time it was only announced as a temple to be built in the Salt Lake Valley. It wasn't until Sunday November 21, 2004 that through a letter from the First Presidency members in southern Salt Lake County learned this temple would be built in Draper. In 2005 Draper City Council changed zoning laws making it possible for this temple to be built (before that buildings could not reach 90 feet in hight in residential areas). President Gordon B. Hinckley broke ground for the dedication of the site on April 5, 2006. The open house was then held from January 15th through March 14, 2009. The temple was then dedicated on March 20th-22, 2009 by President Thomas S. Monson.

Architecture/ Decor:

Some interesting facts about the Draper Utah Temple is that it was made with Granite from China, Makore wood from Africa, and limestone from France. All of the art-glass windows actually survived a fire while the studio that they were being made in all was destroyed. The art theme of the temple is that of the sego lily which is the state flower. The temple also has beautiful murals of the local landscape. This temple also has the largest sealing room in Utah. Over all it feels like a large temple built with very high end materials (I won't say that is is elaborate like SLC temple or Manti though).

Helpful things to know when visiting this temple:

Location:

Overall just get off at Draper and head up the hill. There is pretty good signage as to how to get there. It is a bit harder to get to though then the other temples in the area aka Oquirrh Mountian or Jordan River Temple.

Scheduling and Temple Clothes:

This is a large enough temple were you don't need to schedule ahead of time and there is also temple clothing for rental.

Other things to note:

Over all if you go to this temple be prepared to be confused as to where things are. Out of any of the temples I have gone to this temple was the easiest to get lost in. Temple workers are nice but just assume you know where you are going so if you look lost don't expect someone to give you directions. Also there are tons of random huge wood doors without labeling where you are like "where does this go?" and no help to tell you. I would recommend going with someone who has gone there before.

A Source I used to write this and one I would recommend looking at is:

Draper Utah Temple: http://www.ldschurchtemples.com/draper/

The Seventh Temple: Monticello Utah Temple

First off I would like to say sorry for this late post. I have been super busy with school, work, sickness (cold), family functions, and wedding planning. Now with that said, I will continue to post on our latest temple that we have visited. On September 4th, 2010, Tyler and I drove to Monticello/Moab area for our Labor Day Weekend. We also went with my roomie and good friend Melissa. We dropped her off in Moab as we went on to Monticello to go to the temple for the 12 o'clock session. Then afterwards we spent the rest of the weekend at Arches National Park (hiked Delicate Arch), Dead Horse Point State Park, Canyonland National Park, and eating the amazing and cheap burgers at Milts Dinner in Moab. We also had a great time camping:) In all a great Labor Day weekend. Enough about the non-temple fun and lets focus on the Monticello Utah Temple.

History:

The Monticello Utah Temple was announced on October 4th, 1997. The ground breaking and site dedication was on November 17th, 1997. The first open house was on July 16th-18th, 1998. Then dedicated on July 26-27, 1998 by Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley. This temple was the first of the small temples. It was actually the smallest temple until an an expansion project. The temple was then rededicated on November 17th, 2002 after an open house from November 2-9th, 2002. Another interesting fact about this temple is that the Angel Moroni was originally white but due to it being hard to see when it was cloudy the statue was replaced by a gold leafed Moroni.

Architecture/ Decor:

The Monticello Utah Temple is interesting in that unlike the other Utah temples this one is really small. It seems more like a temple outside of Utah. The temple grounds seem like a little green park next to all the dry desert landscape. The temple does have a really cool mural of the Monticello landscape. In all its a nice little temple.

Helpful things to know when visiting this Temple:

Location:

The Monticello Utah Temple is on the North West corner of the town. It was hard to miss because Monticello is incredibility small. I think you could probably walk the whole Main Street in 10 minutes.

Scheduling and Temple Clothes:

Due to this being a small temple there are no clothing rentals and there are also a limited number of sessions. You don't need to call in though because the sessions aren't overly busy. In fact when I called ahead (which I did due to it being a small temple) the lady kind of thought I was crazy for calling ahead (I guess small temples in Utah aren't like visiting small temples in other states).

Other things to Note:

If you are hungry Monticello has two food places: Taco Time or Subway. If neither of those seem up your alley stop in Moab before heading out to Monticello. While in the area try to go to the awesome National Park.

The site I got my info and if you wish to learn more:

Monticello Utah LDS Temple: http://www.ldschurchtemples.com/monticello/