Moses Lake Washington Temple
As with every good story, this one starts at the beginning. The beginning was the cost of the round-trip airfare to Seattle, which was $73.18. It continued with the cost of the rental car, needed to drive three hours back east to Moses Lake. That was $16/day, with unlimited miles. I just need the car for one day.
The story got better when I arrived at Reagan National Airport with an hour to spare, so I dozed off in the corner of the boarding area.
The story got even better when I bought an apple fritter from Dunkin Donuts in the airport. The fritter was huge!
So, as we are about to pull away from the gate, all is well. I LIKE this story! You also have to enjoy the empty row they assigned me on the plane. Was able to lie down and sleep for most of the 3-1/2 hour flight to Denver! 😴
It took two hours and 22 minutes to fly to Seattle. That’s when the real fun began. I had reserved a rental car from Fox car rental. it was a midsize car that was only $16 a day. When I got there, they told me those cars were sold out so they upgraded me to a Dodge Charger at no extra cost. This baby is hot! It’s black and the speedometer goes up to 140 miles an hour. I drove the 175 miles east to the Moses Lake Temple in about 2 1/2 hours. I cruised through the beautiful snow covered pine trees, over the summit and passed a ski resort. Checked in at the Quality Inn Moses Lake for $62. The temple is right next to the freeway. Can’t wait to go tomorrow morning!
The endowment session was awesome. I sat in the back row in the corner, and it was delightful. I went through for a man who was born in 1866 in New Windsor, England. His baptism and confirmation were done in 2021 in the Ocquerr Mountain Temple. I did his initiatory in 2022 in the Billings, Montana Temple. Today I did his endowment in the Moses Lake Washington Temple. This guy really gets around!
I noticed in the various rooms a recurring theme of a five-peddled flower painted on the ceilings, walls, etc. I asked a lady in the celestial room if she knew what that flower represented. Without hesitation, she told me about the apple blossom, the potato blossom, and wheat blossom flowers, all prevalent in the area. She also pointed out that Wenatchee Washington is the world capital for apple production. It’s only 30 minutes away. Everything done in these temples has a purpose, including the design. It’s local for the people involved.
I also had a revelation while driving over there this morning: what God’s really trying to do is just bring his children home. He knows they need these ordinances in order to get there so he puts more and more temples out to make it easier for his children to get in.
The lady’s comment about apple production in the area, inspired me to get some apple pie afterwards. That was easy to do once I googled it.
I quickly grabbed a turkey bacon club, coleslaw, strawberry lemonade, Marion Barry pie, and a deep dish apple pie as well!
Then a miracle happened. I needed to fix a small plate that had fallen down from the front bumper earlier that morning. I was lucky I ran into Renea who got right down on the cold wet asphalt and fixed it for no charge. It was fabulous customer service!
A big shout-out to Les Schwab Tires in Moses Lake and their terrific employee, Renea!
With great food in hand, and the bumper fixed for free, I dashed 175 miles back to Sea-Tac airport and boarded the Frontier flight to Denver.
There are only two temples in the United States I have not attended now: the Bentonville Arkansas Temple and the Orem Utah Temple. I will be at the Orem Temple next Tuesday, which will knock it down to one.
What a joy, to serve the Lord in his temples! I’m also able to see some scenery that I missed the night before because of darkness. Spectacular area!
The Moses Lake Washington Temple was dedicated September 17, 2023, by Elder, Quinton L. Cook of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles. It is the 182nd dedicated temple in operation.