Payson Utah Temple
February 1, 2017:
I was excited to attend the Payson, Utah temple with my mother and step-father. I had been told how beautiful it was but had no real appreciation for it until I was actually there. I sent out an email to my eight siblings in Utah inviting them to join us should their schedule work out to do so. I was delighted to see one of my sisters waiting for us at the top of the stairs before we went into the chapel.
Another of my sisters, who lives not far from the temple, told me it was designed to make you feel like you’re “…inside the tree of life.” I thought about that as I walked in. My mother’s favorite part is the automatic door-opening button you push on the outside—it swings open two sets of full-length doors at the push of a button. It was quite the sight to see them work.
Inside, the temple is designed with a large, open feel to it, kind of like you’re inside the base of a tree. Beautiful dark wood from Africa fills the interior. The staircases are wide and expand as you go up. My mom pointed out that the baseboards around the whole place are made of marble.
I learned something that surprised me too: many temples today are not renting clothing to patrons anymore. I hadn’t brought any clothing with me. I thought about how the Church is always teaching us to be prepared, so I believed they would probably take care of me anyway. I was right. They escorted me downstairs into a small laundry room area. There I found three people working next to a small singular bookshelf-type set up on which there were sets of white clothing for men of all sizes. She asked me a few questions and soon I walked out with a complete set of white clothes. I was set.
I talked briefly with one of the temple workers about the temple, saying it was my first time inside it. He quickly mentioned the paintings. He told me about one in particular that was of a waterfall, seemingly all by itself. He then said that when you look at it more carefully you see a bunch of animals kind of hidden in the painting. The same was true of other paintings. One worker showed me one painting, this one again of a waterfall, then pointed out four different places in the painting where you could see a person’s face hidden. I didn’t see any of them. It makes sense to me that the more you look at the painting the more you see. That’s a perfect analogy for the temple.
But back to my sister.
Just two weeks earlier my brother had visited me in Bethesda, Maryland. He told me about one of my sisters and how her father had never told her he loved her before he died. My sister was about 14 when Dad passed away. I thought it was cool that the same sister had now traveled about 50 miles to join us at the temple.
As we sat in the chapel I had the impression to tell her that her father loved her. It came out of the blue. It made sense and quickly caught my attention. As we were ushered into the endowment room and took our seats, my sister sat across the aisle from me. Soon the same impression came to me again, this time with more strength and impact. It hit me so solidly that I started to get emotional. My deceased father (38 years prior) wanted his daughter to know he loved her. I was in the best position to tell her. As the temple session started I quickly found myself wiping away a couple of small tears.
After the session we gathered in the celestial room. I took my sister aside and invited her to sit in the corner of the beautiful, large room. I asked her if what my brother had told me was true: did she never hear from Dad that he loved her while he was alive?
She verified that was the case. I then told her that I had been impressed to tell her that Dad did love her and he had always loved her. I made sure that was communicated to her clearly. I then said, “And you know I love you too, right?” She nodded quickly.
This particular sister is not one to show a lot of emotion. As I stood up to greet my parents after they walked into the room my sister was dealing with her own tears.
The temple is a place of communication involving people who are not only on the earth but those who have not come yet and those who have passed on already. I went to the Payson Temple to see this beautiful structure; I came out having seen God in action.
I requested that we take a photo of our little group before we left but no one was outside to do it. Soon a lady emerged by herself. I walked over to her and asked if she could take the photo. She quickly agreed. I also asked her where she was from. “Alexandria, Virginia,” she answered. That’s about 30 miles from where I live. It was perfect.
I plan to be in the Philadelphia Temple on February 18th, my father’s 87th birthday. I’ve invited my siblings to attend a temple that same day in Dad’s honor. Collectively we should be in a number of temples that day as a family. This temple visiting experience is really a fun thing. I’ve been to three different ones in the last 30 days. I love putting the photos on my wall at home. 
Following the temple visit we met my college roommate and great friend John Freeze for lunch at Thanksgiving Point. He treated us to a feast at Zupas. I went with the grilled cheese, some kind of new salmon soup they recommended, and of course a Dr. Pepper. It was great!
On to Philadelphia, because all things considered, on February 18th I’d rather be in Philadelphia (in the temple…!)