Next week, youth in the Salt Lake City, Utah area (USA) will have such an opportunity.

Thousands of young people (ages 12-18) from 51 stakes will participate in a cultural celebration, entitled “Come Up to the Mountain of the Lord, commemorating the dedication of the Draper and Oquirrh Mountain temples. Such cultural celebrations have occurred all over the world (e.g., in Ghana, Finland, Chile, Brazil, Panama, and others).

Performances of this celebration on May 29 and 30, 2009 will be held in the Church’s Conference Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. They will also be broadcast via satellite to several meetinghouses throughout the state.

Youth have been auditioning, practicing, texting, writing, going to the temple, planning, and setting personal goals to prepare for this event. I’ve been impressed to read the thoughts of some of the youth as they prepare for this once-in-a-lifetime event. Their enthusiasm is evident. We look forward to hearing more about this event over the next few weeks. (Are you involved in this celebration? Have you been involved in others in the past? Please consider sharing your experience through pictures, words, original video, etc. Send submissions at gmail to mormonwomen.)

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Read more about LDS youth at MormonYouth.org. The Church’s official site, The New Era, also gives glimpses into the lives of Mormon Youth, and includes content of interest to youth.

The post <i>Noteworthy News</i>: “Come Up to the Mountain of the Lord” – Cultural Celebration, May 29-30 appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

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:

Anna’s experience

Bethany’s experience

Mayne family’s experience

V H Family

The post News Stories, Posts about Draper Temple Open House appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.