I love to see the Temple

 Deciding when to go through the temple was tricky.  There were several people that I wanted to be there and had to coordinate with.  The first was my sister, Klah, since she lives two states away.  She could come almost any week in January, none in February, and the week before I enter the MTC.  So Mum hit the calenders and figured out the best week for us too.  Since everyone was giving the advice to go through as soon as possible so I could go as often as possible (not knowing how often I can go during my mission), we decided to go in January.  There was a debate between the 21st and the 28th so I called the second person that I really wanted there, Love.  As mentioned before, Love has had a really huge impact on my choice of serving a mission, and on me in general, so it was natural for me to invite her.  The 21st turned out to be the best weekend for her since she would be in Logan at a conference and thus 2 hours closer than normal. Perfect!!  The plans were then made known to everyone, January 21st at the Provo temple, be there by 6:20. 

Jump of plot points but stick with me.  Everyone was really curious which temple I would go through for the first time.  To me there wasn't really a question,  the Provo temple is the one I have grown up with.  It was the temple we went to when I was first able to do baptisms for the dead, the one that Da goes to every Saturday for his shift (he's a temple worker), it's where my parents were married.  There was the small question of "My sisters and Mum went through the Salt Lake temple, should I as well?"  But it was quickly ruled out because I don't feel like I have a real connection there. 
Jump back to main story.

The week before I went through the temple I did a technology fast.  No computer, no tv, no smart part of the smart phone.  I did the fast so I could clear my head of distractions and focus on the gospel, Christ, and the temple.  It was one of the hardest things I have done.  Though my room did get cleaned really well that week.  And it was a lot easier to keep a good schedule.  So hard, but totally worth it in the end.

Llama and Georgia boy came down from Idaho on the 20th and we met up at Beauty's house (I was "kidnapping" Georgia Boy for his birthday).  I think the best part about this meeting was that no one knew that I had cut my hair.  All of their reactions were awesome by the way. 
Anyway, that night was pretty fun.  Georgia Boy slept at one of my friends house and I picked him up the next morning.  The night before we had decided to go do baptisms for the dead with Kwistin.  She and I had been going every Saturday for three weeks prior and I really loved it.  Plus it was suggested that it would be an awesome experience to go through all the ordinances, excluding sealings, in one day.  The baptistry was overflowing with ladies as usual so they pulled those that couldn't fit into a side meeting room and we sang hymns.  It was a really amazing experience and I'm really glad my day started that way.

The weather of Utah is usually odd but this year has been even more so.  Winter has seemed more of a late Fall, cold but no snow, until, you guessed it,  January 21st. The 20th was great weather, so was the 22nd, go figure.  When we arrived at the temple that morning for baptisms it was raining pretty hard, we even had to jump over some small lakes.  Coming out of the temple nothing had really changed.  But I didn't really think about it.  I had been praying really hard that everyone would be able to make it so I wasn't really worried.   However that changed when Love called around 3:30.

It was snowing in Logan and one of her classmates had said that the canyon out of Logan was pretty scary due to the weather.  She couldn't make it, she wanted to but she couldn't.  I told her it was fine, I would rather have her safe and sound rather than her almost dying trying to get to the temple. 
I was a little upset, I had been really looking forward to seeing her, but I shook it off.  Like I had told her, I would rather her be alive and well.

Less than thirty minutes later Georgia Boy got a call from Beauty and he handed the phone to me.  You know something is up when she starts out the conversation with "You're pretty =}"  She wasn't coming, Llama wasn't either.  Llama had apparently almost spun off the roads a couple of times dropping her chilluns off at her in-laws and then going to try to meet Beauty to come down.  We then got a phone call from Llama a few minutes later.  Both gave their biggest regrets but like with Love I would rather them be safe than dead.  Specially with both being moms already and then expecting. 
At this point I was pretty devastated, but with a long hug from Georgia boy and the knowledge they were safe I focused on the temple. 

We left about an hour later, it was lightly raining, almost snowing. 
All I can say about the temple was it was amazing.  I was a little nervous but after it all I can really say I love the temple.  I can't help but smile when I'm in the temple.  The handful of others I had invited, close family and friends, had made it safely and it was wonderful to have them there.  It was the first time that my immediate family, My parents, my two sisters, and I, could and were in the temple together.  It was amazing. 
When we left the temple, say three four hours later, there was something like four to five inches of snow, if not more.  Roads were slightly tricky but not to bad for Utah. 

I'm proud to say that I've been back almost every week since.  I just love the temple.  Not to mention almost every time I've gone I've gotten the answer that I'm still supposed to be going on a mission (and yes I still ask if it's the right thing to do). 

35  days until the MTC