The Draper Temple Open House is in full swing in the southern area of the Salt Lake valley in Utah (United States). Tickets are required, but are free and still available if you are interested in seeing the temple before it is dedicated.
Following are some links about the open house, both news stories and personal stories. (Have a story to share? Include the link in a comment or send us an email at ‘mormonwoman’ AT ‘gmail’ DOT ‘com’)
News Stories
- Elder M. Russell Ballard and Elder Quentin L. Cook in 30-second World News Tonight story
8+ minute segment on ABC’s Nightline (text of the Nightline story here)
(Proposition 8 was also discussed briefly in the story. More information about the Church’s involvement can be found here and here.)
People often wonder what goes on in temples. Temple worship begins by what we wear.
Elder Ballard explains: “When we come to the temple…we take off our street clothes and dress in white. I would have on a white shirt, white tie, white trousers, white socks and white slippers. … And everybody then is on a wonderful, equal basis.”
Elder Cook adds that as we enter the temple, we are reminded that “the workaday world isn’t nearly as important as your family.” Ordinances in the temples are both focused on our relationships with God, and on the eternal nature of family relationships in God’s plan for His children. For more information about the types of ordinances that occur in the temples, see here.
One of the ordinances for which the Church is fairly well-known is baptisms for the dead, where members of the Church are baptized for people (representing them, on their behalf) who have passed on. In the ABC story, Elder Cook explains that the ordinance “isn’t binding on them.” As we believe that life exists after this mortal life, we believe that people are able to hear the gospel message, and choose whether to receive it and the ordinances. “We, in a loving manner,” Elder Cook says, “make that available to them and they choose whether or not they want to have it.”
Although we are not official authorities of the Church, we loved how the news story ended, and echo Elder Ballard’s words: “Yes, it [the story of our faith] is a big story, it is a big message, but it’s true. We get beat up out there telling it, but so what? We’ll keep doing it the best we know how.”
Personal Stories
Some experiences from people who have attended the Draper Temple Open House:
