Our Final Full Day with Ben

Ready to go to the MTC

For our final full day with Ben before taking him to the Missionary Training Center (MTC), we visited the last temple in the list of temples we wanted to take him to (and he wanted to visit): the Salt Lake Temple.  I don't think it is inappropriate to call this temple the "flagship" temple of the Church.  After the forerunner temple built in Kirtland, Ohio and the first "fully functional" temple built in Nauvoo, Illinois, the plans for the Salt Lake Temple began not long after the vanguard pioneer wagons entered the Salt Lake valley when Brigham Young marked the spot where the temple would stand.  Before the Salt Lake Temple was completed, however, three other temples were started and completed in St. George, Manti, and Logan, Utah.  The Salt Lake Temple took 40 years to build and was completed the day before it's dedication on April 6, 1893.  This is one of Ben's top three favorite temples and we were also happy to have my sister Joanna join us.

Isaac Takes a Selfie w/ the Temple

This temple visit almost didn't happen.  Over the years, Jennifer has become our designated packer person when it comes to getting us ready for long trips (I don't believe the assignment was ever specifically given to her, it has just evolved that way).  However, in this particular trip, Jen was very focused on getting Ben all packed and ready to go to the MTC (rightfully so).  I will admit that I should have taken a more active role in making sure the remaining members of the family were packed, but I became focused on other details that caught my eye and (at least in my brain) demanded my attention on the morning we finalized packing and loaded up the rental car for the trip.  Because of this focus of attention to Ben and other things, certain packing details were missed.  About 30 minutes into our trip, Jennifer realized we had left our vitamins and other medicines at home.  A little later, we realized we had forgotten to pack a few other minor details.  It wasn't until we were approaching Mesquite, Nevada, however, that we also realized we had left our temple bags at home.  At first, this wasn't such a big deal, temple clothing can be rented at the Salt Lake Temple, until Jennifer also realized that her temple recommend is in her temple bag (it has a convenient little slot for recommends).

Christmas Lights in September

Now, we had a problem.  Without a recommend, Jennifer would not be able to enter the temple.  Because of the "recommend slot" in her temple bag, its been years since Jen has forgotten her recommend.  Early in our marriage, this situation occurred twice before I told Jennifer to let me keep her recommend in my wallet (which I did until she received her first temple bag as a Christmas present and her recommend switched to the slot).  The mood in the car was very solemn for several minutes until Jen remembered the remedy that helped us back in the day: calling the bishop to confirm to the temple that she is a recommend holder in good standing.  As we entered Arizona and approached the Virgin River Canyon, she made a phone call to Bishop Galindo and explained her predicament.  He gave her his phone number and told her to have the front desk at the temple call him when we arrived.  This is what we did this morning and she was allowed to participate with Ben.  We were grateful for this blessing, but it also reiterated for me something that I always tell people taking the temple preparation classes while teaching Lesson 6: don't forget to bring your recommend. ☺

Because we forgot our temple bags, we had also left our family file names behind—meaning that we would not be able to go through the endowment session for one of our kindred.  This situation was solved by Joanna.  After finally finding a parking spot under the Conference Center (that was an odyssey in and of itself ☺), she handed to each of us names of a family line she has been working on.  We were grateful to be able to help her and to also be able to do temple work for ancestors.  I had told Ben that one of the wonderful aspects of the Celestial Room of the Salt Lake Temple was the intricate woodwork and carvings.  To know that these were hand crafted by the pioneers makes the all of the rooms amazing.  Ben was in awe in each of the rooms as we progressed through the session, but his eyes lit up in amazement as he entered the final room.  As we sat quietly talking, two things happened, Jennifer finally cried (not that she hadn't been emotional throughout Ben's entire process, but this was the first time those emotions leaked out of her eyes ☺); and I realized again the satisfaction that I've been feeling and that this was the final time I'd be able to sit next to Ben in the temple for two years.  I've been enjoying having him with me as we've visited the 4 temples I've chronicled over the last several weeks, but I understood I am ready to turn him over to the Lord for his mission.

Roof of the Conference Center

Brothers

When we were finally ready to leave the temple, we met back up with Isaac (he had spent the time on the grounds of temple square, taking a couple of selfies and talking to the Sister missionaries).  One of things Isaac had learned was that workers were already putting Christmas lights into the trees of the temple block.  There are so many trees and areas to prepare that it takes months to get the lights ready for the unveiling the day after Thanksgiving.  Joanna left to return home to be ready for her children when they finished school.  We spent the rest of the afternoon picking up some last minute items at Deseret Book (scripture marking pens, a small copy of Preach My Gospel, and another journal), eating ice cream, and taking a tour of the Conference Center (probably our 4th or 5th tour, but I'm always fascinated by the fact that each guide—while mentioning the main aspects of the building—always seems to tell us something different and new as well).  Our final stop on the way back to Joanna and Chad's house was to stop at Mr. Mac (the same store where we bought Ben's brown suit) and buy the final two items on our list (a shoe shine kit and a wallet—his Green Bay Packers wallet didn't seem appropriate ☺).  Ben now has all the physical accouterments, the rest is up to him. ☺