Payson, Utah Temple

Tonight I had the chance to visit the Payson Temple open house. It was so beautiful, and I really enjoyed being with my daughter, Brighton. There is always such a calming spirit at the temple, and tonight was no different. I asked a sweet lady standing outside of the temple to take our picture, and although she warned me that she couldn’t take pictures very well, I had her take it anyway. Now I see what she was talking about 🙂 We look like we might slide off of the grass. Well, at least it’s not a selfie!

The whole temple has a theme of nature, because the Payson temple sits up by the mountains. I couldn’t believe the number of paintings and stain glass windows. The color pallet flowed through, from room to room, like a castle. It was sky blue and the fabrics were all complimentary, but many of them had fruit theme – not in a cheesy way, but in a very beautiful way. The chandeliers were breathtaking, especially in the bride room, and everyone giving the tours were so nice.

Although the temple was so beautiful, the really powerful thing was how it felt. It felt peaceful and happy – and it made me want to make the time to go visit the temple, more often. I rarely get the chance because I’m running around like a crazy person, trying to get things done – and in the end, I am the one that misses out. I’ve had some of the most spiritual feelings and answers to prayers inside the temple.

I remember once in particular, when I was praying about my niece, Shauntyl. She had come to live with us for a few weeks in the summer, and that quickly turned into a few months, then a few years… and beyond. I was overwhelmed because she came to visit/live with us only one week after Whitney was born, and I already had my step daughter and Kinley, in two years! She had endured a pretty rough childhood, and so it was my turn to foster her – or she would have been taken into state custody. She had been through many things that I was worried she’d teach my kids, and I needed to be sure Jon and I were making the right decision. I went to the temple to pray about our decision to raise her and love her unconditionally. I poured out my heart and asked how I would ever do it all. And then, something simple and powerful happened….

Right after sat down in the celestial room, I asked the question in my prayer, “Heavenly Father, how will I ever do it all? How can I be a good mother to so many kids, while we are struggling in our own life?” and I heard the words in my head… “I’ll go with you.”

That was it. Simple. But it was a phrase that got me through five years of being her foster mom, through court, visitations, counselors twice a week for years, getting her step dad in prison …. and on and on. I love the temple, and I feel so blessed that we have such a beautiful place to worship and think of things bigger than ourselves. If you have a chance, go check it out when it’s open to the public. I think that is the end of this week or the beginning of next week. We can hard things if we trust that there is as loving Heavenly Father that will ‘go with us’.

written by: Janae