Portland Oregon Temple

The Portland Oregon Temple was super pretty.  I've wanted to go here a long time, and I'm glad I got the opportunity.  We also had the opportunity to be the witness couple, which is always a great experience.

One thing that occurred to me while inside this temple was the power of community.  We've spent the weekend in the Portland area and we've seen lots of people that very clearly have different standards from us.  It was so neat to walk into the temple and see the smiling faces of people we know believe exactly as we believe.  I'm grateful for the worldwide community that we are a part of.

I thought the celestial room in this temple was very special.  It is a bi-level room where you can climb up stairs to a second level that has a sort of balcony looking down on the main room.  The main room has a giant chandelier and the second level has a smaller chandelier.  The room overall is very simple, but extremely beautiful and elegant.

I really enjoyed this temple.

The obligatory selfie

Robyn looking precious next to the fountain.

Looking up at one of the spires

Robyn standing by the reflecting pool

View of the main spire

Holiness to the Lord.  The /House of the Lord.

Me next to the sign.

View from the main entrance

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Ogden Utah Temple

The Ogden Temple was really neat.

We never had a chance to attend this temple before it was remodeled.  So, while we said that we had been to all the temples in Utah, the truth was that we had been to all of the operating temples in Utah, but this temple was a secret blemish on our record.

We were finally able to remove that blemish.  We went with two of our good friends, and we were able to drive up there, do a session and go to dinner afterword.

It was really neat to me to see the completely rebuilt temple.  I wish that I had seen the old one, and it would be really neat to see what they kept and what was completely new.

I think the thing that struck me most about this temple was how important it is that the house of the Lord be a place that truly honors him.  It was important enough that the temple be up to modern standards, that they completely rebuilt it.  That was just amazing to me.

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Rexburg Idaho Temple

The Rexburg temple is beautiful.  It's very similar to the Brigham City Temple.

I was impressed with how busy this temple was.  When I first went into the dressing room, I had a hard time finding a locker that wasn't already in use.  That's a good problem to have.

The session has a multi-room progression, starting with a telestial type room with a mural depicting forest lands with deer and other wildlife.  The endowment stays in that room until it progresses to a terrestrial room that is beautiful, but with a simple design.  Of course, you eventually progress to the celestial room.  There was a huge chandelier in the center, and some smaller chandeliers on the side.

As I watched the other patrons in the temple, I could see the love that they had for temple ordinances.  It made me really think about what a blessing it is to be able to attend the temple.  It's a blessing for us to be able to commune with our Heavenly Father, and it's a blessing for those whose work we are doing.

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Idaho Falls Idaho Temple

The Idaho Falls Temple sits right on the Snake River, right above Idaho Falls.  It's a beautiful temple, both inside and out.

I loved how the river functioned as a reflecting pool.

It has the style common among older temples where there is a creation room, a garden room, a telestial room and a terrestrial room.

Each room had beautiful murals on the walls.  A few things that were unique and fun were in the creation room and the celestial room.  The creation room had lights on the ceiling designed to look like stars.  The lights come on when God creates the stars.  It was a neat and fun affect.

The celestial room had a mural showing families dressed in white, among green hills.  I liked that it was depicting something truly simple and magical, the joy found in loving relationships.  The mural also showed a glowing kingdom in the sky, but the silhouettes of the buildings looked just like temple square in SLC.  It had the Salt Lake temple as well as the tabernacle.

We had the opportunity to be the witness couple here, which is always a great experience.

Between the murals depicting families, and the fact that we've been trying to adopt recently, my thoughts really focused on the blessings of eternal families as I sat in this temple.  I'm grateful for that blessing, and the knowledge that I can be with my wife and family forever.

Here are some pictures of this temple.

It's important to always get a shot next to the sign.

Robyn is more precious next to the sign.

It's not a temple trip without a selfie.

Checking out Moroni.

A shot with Idaho Falls.

From behind the fence

I love how the leaves framed the spire

Another reflecting pool shot a little later in the evening, with some bonus geese.

A river shot with the temple.

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Houston Texas Temple

The Houston temple is very beautiful.

The inside of it, and particularly the Celestial Room, looked like a smaller version of the Timpanogos Temple, which was fun since that was the temple we were married in.

This is a smaller temple, so it had a more intimate feel to it.  There was a young lady who was doing a live endowment, and I'm pretty sure we were the only ones in the session that weren't there for her.  It was neat to see her surrounded by family and friends.  I was the only male that wasn't in the prayer circle, and I didn't feel the need to invade her experience.

There were just over a dozen people in the room, so it was pretty neat.

I really loved the exterior as well.  It is situated in a very nice neighborhood with lots of trees and greenery.  The grounds themselves had a walking path that went through kind of a little garden.  I referred to it as the secret garden, but it wasn't that secret.  Although, there was a sign for a "hidden entrance."  But, it's not that hidden if it's labelled I suppose.

This was my first temple in Texas, and I had a great experience here.

The angel Moroni

I thought this fountain was pretty

Robyn at the front of the temple.

The obligatory sign picture.

These walking paths through the gardens on the grounds gave it a very secluded feeling.

Looking back at the temple from the grounds.

The obligatory selfie picture.

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Reno Nevada Temple

The Reno Temple was absolutely beautiful.  I love its location nestled in the mountains on the west side of Reno.  This first picture is a view as you are driving to the temple.  As you ascend the hill toward the temple you get a beautiful view with the mountains in the background.

This is one of the super small temples.  I really enjoy going to the smaller temples because the culture is so different.  I always end up visiting with the locals as we wait for a temple worker to be available.  Robyn and I were selected as the witness couple, simply because I talked to the man in charge in the dressing room.  He asked if my wife would mind, and I assured him we've done it before.

Afterward, the officiator from our session asked what ward we were in.  When I told him we were from Utah, he was very surprised.  Then when I told him we had been to all of the temples in both Utah and Nevada he just wanted to know what state was next.  "California?" is what I told him.  I wasn't really sure.

This temple is very beautiful, and I absolutely loved it.  We were there around sunset which made for some really pretty pictures at first, but then it started getting just a little too dark.

The back of the temple (or at least the opposite of where the entrance is, since this is the side Moroni faces.)

The front of the temple.

Just me and the temple sign.  My suit is getting a little big.

The sunset almost made the temple glow, but it was a little dark where we were standing.

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Seattle Washington Temple

The Seattle Temple has particularly beautiful grounds.  It is located in an area that I would describe as a rain forest.  But, I'm not an environmental expert, so don't quote me on that.

The grounds are surrounded by beautiful trees, and filled with beautiful flowers.  It was absolutely stunning.

This temple is also special to Robyn and I because Robyn's grandfather served as a sealer here for a number of years.  He was able to fly in for our wedding and seal us in the Mount Timpanogos Temple.  It was neat to think about the countless other couples, living and dead, who were also sealed by him in this beautiful temple.  It's a true blessing to be one of the eternal families that he helped unite.

In layout, this temple reminded us somewhat of the Provo Temple.  It seems to have a similar structure as you go inside.  Of course, we still managed to get lost, the dressing room is one floor above the entrance, which is one floor below the chapel, which is one floor below the ordinance rooms.  You just have to learn to use the escalators whenever you want to go somewhere.  (This temple is also one of the few I've seen with escalators.)

It was definitely a special experience to be able to visit this temple.  I would love to go again.

The front

The House of the Lord, Holiness to the Lord

Looking up at the Angel Moroni

Robyn brings cuteness to the temple

The obligatory selfie

From the side

I made some new friends at the temple

These trees surrounded the grounds

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