Temple Trip...
Today my mother and I went on a special tour of the Sacramento Temple for the Church of Latter-Day Saints. Neither of us had been inside before and since I might not get to go again, it was special going to see it with her for the first time. At the beginning of the tour it was pretty boring, just standing around in line and watching an 11 minute video which I could have done without. It reminded me of the movies they made us watch in seminary with a dash of Mormon propaganda thrown in. The one thing I liked was when this guy in the movie said "I can't explain/ envision(?) any paradisaical heaven without my wife and family." I love that.
The temple itself was very beautiful. The architecture was kind of modest in the halls but the rooms and the outside of the building was really pretty. One of the first rooms we entered was very interesting. The room itself is almost like a circular balcony that looks down on a chamber with marble walls and floor. In the middle of the chamber is the base of the baptismal font. Stairs from the balcony part of the room lower into the baptismal font, also made of stone. At the base are three stone(?) oxen facing the four directions of the compass. Even the ceilings are decorated with crown molding and different designs.
The most beautiful room was the Celestial Room, which is like a sitting room with a very high ceiling and windows. There is a huge chandelier in the middle of the room that draws your eye up toward the ceiling (decorated more lavishly than any other room and higher as well). Along with the huge chandelier hanging in the middle of the room there are several smaller wall chandeliers. Each one has what seems to be a million glass rainbows clinging to it and reflecting brightly colored lights that wink at you as you walk around the room. When you stand at the back of the room looking toward the way you came in you can see a set of glass doors with curtains behind them. Parts of the glass are frosted into beautiful designs and part is left clear so when you look at it you can see a reflection of the chandelier hanging from the ceiling. In this room, there is no talking allowed out of respect for the sacredness it represents.
One of the last rooms on the tour is the Sealing Room. This room is actually very simple when compared to the Celestial Room. There are chairs that go around almost the entire edge of the room. In the center is a padded altar that you can kneel on. On two sides of the room are two large mirrors. When a married couple (and sometimes families) are sealed for all eternity they kneel on either side of the altar. When they look in front of themselves and past their spouse they see their loved one reflected continuously, to symbolize that they shall always be together, even after death. My mother and I were the last people out of that room as we stopped to look at ourselves smiling into infinity.
I think I'm going to ask my dad to scan a copy of the brochure onto the computer so I can post pictures of some of the rooms on here but they really don't do the actual rooms any justice. I'm glad I got to see them firsthand at least once in my life. If there is anything in here that you don't understand or want to know about, feel free to ask. I will tell you what I know. I guess I wrote this entry more for myself than anything but if it interests you or gives you some information you didn't have before, than that's good too. :)
The temple itself was very beautiful. The architecture was kind of modest in the halls but the rooms and the outside of the building was really pretty. One of the first rooms we entered was very interesting. The room itself is almost like a circular balcony that looks down on a chamber with marble walls and floor. In the middle of the chamber is the base of the baptismal font. Stairs from the balcony part of the room lower into the baptismal font, also made of stone. At the base are three stone(?) oxen facing the four directions of the compass. Even the ceilings are decorated with crown molding and different designs.
The most beautiful room was the Celestial Room, which is like a sitting room with a very high ceiling and windows. There is a huge chandelier in the middle of the room that draws your eye up toward the ceiling (decorated more lavishly than any other room and higher as well). Along with the huge chandelier hanging in the middle of the room there are several smaller wall chandeliers. Each one has what seems to be a million glass rainbows clinging to it and reflecting brightly colored lights that wink at you as you walk around the room. When you stand at the back of the room looking toward the way you came in you can see a set of glass doors with curtains behind them. Parts of the glass are frosted into beautiful designs and part is left clear so when you look at it you can see a reflection of the chandelier hanging from the ceiling. In this room, there is no talking allowed out of respect for the sacredness it represents.
One of the last rooms on the tour is the Sealing Room. This room is actually very simple when compared to the Celestial Room. There are chairs that go around almost the entire edge of the room. In the center is a padded altar that you can kneel on. On two sides of the room are two large mirrors. When a married couple (and sometimes families) are sealed for all eternity they kneel on either side of the altar. When they look in front of themselves and past their spouse they see their loved one reflected continuously, to symbolize that they shall always be together, even after death. My mother and I were the last people out of that room as we stopped to look at ourselves smiling into infinity.
I think I'm going to ask my dad to scan a copy of the brochure onto the computer so I can post pictures of some of the rooms on here but they really don't do the actual rooms any justice. I'm glad I got to see them firsthand at least once in my life. If there is anything in here that you don't understand or want to know about, feel free to ask. I will tell you what I know. I guess I wrote this entry more for myself than anything but if it interests you or gives you some information you didn't have before, than that's good too. :)