Fighting the Good Fight at the Ogden Utah Temple

We were excited to take the kids through the Ogden Utah Temple, but our happy balloons popped when we saw the Disneyland-esque (i.e., long) line of white shirts and long skirts stretch halfway around the temple block. 

The line started at a temple entrance, snaked through the Ogden Tabernacle next door (where a 10-minute movie was shown to guests before entering the temple), then stretched from the tabernacle doors to the sidewalk along 22nd street 30 yards away, then 60 yards south to Grant Avenue, then halfway down the next block west. I suppose this is a good problem to have, though I'm not entirely sure because some people (perhaps many) with small children had to leave because they didn't have an extra hour to spare.

The line.

Emme giving up near the tabernacle doors.

We decided that we would abandon the line if either of the girls became too cranky. But the day of miracles has not ceased(!) — they were surprisingly well behaved, and we fought the good fight and finished the course of a 40-minute wait in 79-degree sun.

The tour featured a 10-minute video, mixed before and after with the testimonies of two sister missionaries (one from Cambodia or Singapore with a broken foot, the other from St. Louis with no broken foot, and both a bit long-winded in their testimonies for a room full energetic small children).

After the video, we walked to the temple entrance, were given white booties, then walked all the way from the baptistry in the basement to the Celestial Room on the top floor and back down again.

Afterward we asked Lucy what her favorite part of the tour was. Her answer: "The stairs." I'm sure there's a deep theological lesson in there somewhere.