Tired Feet, Happy Hearts

For weeks I have been wondering how I would possibly put into words my thoughts and feelings surrounding the Open House and Dedication of the Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Now that it is officially over, the perfect composition still eludes me, but I feel the need to record my mediocre words before the urgency fades.

First and foremost, we feel grateful. So grateful. We have heard so much about sacrifice and, yes, we have sacrificed a little of our time and a little of our money but nothing compared to the blessings we have seen. We feel grateful to the small army of volunteers who served tirelessly day after day and week after week to share this beautiful edifice with nearly 150,000 visitors. We feel grateful we were able to be a minor part of the vast undertaking and rub shoulders with the other volunteers, always in awe of their service and stories. We feel grateful to those who sacrificed much more than we did to make the Open House and dedication such a success. We feel grateful we were able to tour the temple early on, just Brian and I, and the emotion that overcame us at every turn. We feel grateful we were able to tour the temple with family: sitting together in the Celestial Room is a forever memory, one I will cherish every time I enter that stunning room. We feel grateful friends - dear, dear friends - of other faiths came to tour the temple and ask questions and learn a little bit more about the Mormon faith. We feel grateful for the architects and designers and builders and all who physically built the temple. It is remarkable. We feel grateful for the Founding Fathers who, too, sacrificed and served for the very religious freedom that makes this temple a possibility. The list could go on and on. Very, very grateful.

But today was the icing on the proverbial cake. Today we woke up at 4:00 AM, arrived at the temple a little after 6:00 AM, and spent the entire day ushering guests for the dedication. Today we shook hands with President Henry B. Eyring and Elder D. Todd Christofferson and a few others. Today we stood for hours and smiled for hours and listened for hours. Today we posted signs and covered shoes and called elevators. Today we saw old friends and rejoiced that "they were still [our] brethren in the Lord" and celebrated with new friends that this happy day had finally arrived. Today we remembered that when the Philadelphia Temple was announced in October of 2008 our brand new baby girl was asleep on my lap and I cheered so loudly that I woke her up. Today we marveled that that same baby girl is no longer a baby but an eight-year-old big sister to two who was baptized in July and is always reading and helping and creating. Today we felt the Spirit of the Lord and rededicated our hearts to Him. Today we drove home with tears in our eyes because the day was just that amazing. Today we have tired feet and happy hearts.