For more information about schedules for the open house, location of the temple and parking, and pictures of the inside and outside of the temple, see the following stories:

Public to tour the Gila Valley Arizona Temple

Gila Valley Arizona LDS temple opens to public for tours

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Read more on our site about why temples are important to Mormons.

Read more about temples at the LDS Newsroom.

Read more about temples at MormonTemples.com.

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We have a song that we teach our kids called “I Love to See the Temple.” It is a simple song that teaches the kids that going to temple is a good thing and it teaches them what we do there ~ we learn, we pray, we feel the spirit and we seal our families together forever.

Being a busy mom of three young children, I don’t get to attend the temple as often as I would like. Where we are, we live about forty-five minutes from a temple. On a day this spring, I took my daughter (age 6) and one son (age 3) to a couple stores in that area, so we stopped to wander the grounds of the temple.

On that cool, overcast spring morning I noticed that as soon as we stepped onto the grounds we felt peace. Serenity seemed to envelope us. Calmness filled us. We admired the flowers, the fountain, the beautiful stone and wood work, the Angel Moroni.

I was able to talk with my children about when my husband and I were married in the temple (a different one than we were visiting), and I was able to tell my daughter (who was adopted) about when she was sealed to our family forever. We were able to talk about the blessing of having an eternal family.

My daughter and I talked about how someday she may choose to be married in this temple.

I was able to tell my daughter how much the temple means to me and how much I love going when I have the chance. I was able to tell her how when I go I feel peace and how I have had my prayers answered when there.

On that day, I realized that even though I don’t always have the time to go into the temple, I can feel close to the Lord and feel the peace of the temple by going to grounds and soaking in the spirit there. Today, I encourage you to do the same. Take the kids, or go by yourself, sit on the grass and ponder anything weighing on you. Pray for an answer. Feel the peace. And enjoy your day.

For more We Believe posts, please click here.

The post We Believe: Temples appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

Temples are sacred structures to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Once dedicated, entrance is only available to those who are members of the Church living by certain standards. This isn’t out of a desire to be restrictive, however. Boyd K. Packer explains:

A careful reading of the scriptures reveals that the Lord did not tell all things to all people. There were some qualifications set that were prerequisite to receiving sacred information. Temple ceremonies fall within this category.

We do not discuss the temple ordinances outside the temples. It was never intended that knowledge of these temple ceremonies would be limited to a select few who would be obliged to ensure that others never learn of them. It is quite the opposite, in fact. With great effort we urge every soul to qualify and prepare for the temple experience.

It’s understandable that there is interest and curiosity about Mormon temple worship. Before temples are dedicated, the Church holds open houses to allow anyone (member or not) to take a tour and see the inside of the temple, and learn a little more about why temple worship is so important to Mormons.

The Draper, Utah temple will hold its open house for the public beginning on January 15, 2009 and ending on March 14, 2009.

For those who are interested in attending the open house, attendance is free, but tickets are needed to help manage crowds. Advance reservations (which are requested by open house organizers) can be made online at www.lds.org/reservations (there is a limit of ten reservations online) or by calling 1-800-537-6181 (toll free) or 801-240-7932 (local).

If you are unable to attend, and/or are interested in seeing some photos of the inside of a Mormon temple, see this article. You can also find more pictures here at the MormonWiki (the article contains other links as well.)

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Read what Mormon women have written about the temple here.

Or you can search on the topic at lds.org or watch a video about one woman’s joy at discovering that, through temple ordinances, her marriage could last forever.

The post What Does the Inside of a Mormon Temple Look Like? appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.