Gila Valley Temple Open House & Dedication

I had to have a separate blog for this particular subject because it was just so special! The day that we went to the open house, we were already up in Thatcher for a Eastern Arizona College Choir reunion. That was very bittersweet and special. I got to see friends I haven't seen since th good ol days at EAC back in 1997 that is 13 years!!!!! Time flies by so very fast. Some of the people looked exactly the same and I recognized right away. We went to the spring sing and they were singing songs that we sang at our spring sing and I started crying when I heard "In This Very Room", Shanendoah, etc.... Then at the very last song the Alumni were asked to come up and sing with the choir for the last song, and Dr. Lunt who has been retired for a few years was asked to lead us. I was BAWLING. It was so bittersweet to be able to be lead my such an amazing man that I've admired for 13 plus years. Then we went and changed in the local convenience store bathroom, because I wanted the boys to be in their sunday clothes and I needed to change my shirt and pants into a skirt and blouse. We got to the open house and watched the video before going in. When Elder Holland spoke about how he could not even imagine Heaven without his children that struck a nerve and put a huge lump in my throat and caused the tears to start falling. There's nothing I want more than to have my children sealed to me.... in fact it's been a sore spot with me for several years. My ex is anti- lds and I just know he will never give permission for them to be sealed. Then we walked into the temple, I was in a white blouse and the boys were in their nice white sunday shirts. The spirit was so very strong. I felt so strongly that the people who had lived in the Gila Valley before they died, were given special permission to be able to go into the temple. I thought of my favorite uncle Dallas Welker, my grandma Welker... I felt them there. I coudln't stop crying, no matter how hard I tried. I just kept thinking of the song I heard at the choir reunion "in this very room" the parts where they say "For Jesus, Lord Jesus... is in this very room". I knew that the savior walks those halls. The boys were in awe of all of the things in the temple. They were so reverent and listened very closely to what each of the tour guides had to say. When we got to the Celestial Room and I looked up at the Chandelier, it took my breath away. My mouth opened and my eyes popped out and I just started crying again. I felt like I was in Heaven with my children. Then.... we went into the Sealing Room...... WOW!!!!!!!! The boys and I all looked in the mirror at the same time, I was right behind them and like I said before we were all in white shirts.... Danny whispered "mom, why is there so many reflections?" I told him "because that means we will be together forever" and he said "WOW!" There was not a dry eye in that room. A girl I had gone to EAC with, had tears in her eyes. The tour guids were crying. I couldn't remember how, but I just KNEW that one day my kids will be mine forever. I felt generations linked together in that mirror.
The dedication was another amazing experience because I had never experienced a temple dedication before. My boys kept asking me what was going to happen and I said "I don't know, i've never been to a temple dedication." What an awesome day that was. The spirit was so very strong. We didn't go to the dedication itself at the temple, our stake center was part of the process where we were able to watch it there, if we were a recommend holder or a baptized member of the church, so my kids were able to attend it with me. The spirit was soooooooooo strong in the chapel when the dedication started. David whispered "mommy, is this what it feels like in the temple?" and I said "Yes, it feels exactly like this" and he said "wow I can't wait to go there!"