I Love to See the Temple

 I went to the dedication of the Star Valley, Wyoming, temple on Sunday, October 30th. In Nevada we had Friday, Oct. 28th, as a state holiday, to commemorate the day Nevada became a state 152 years ago. (It was actually on Oct. 31st, 1864, but a few years ago, they voted to move the state holiday from Oct. 31st to the last Friday of October.)  So, when I found out the date for the dedication, I bought myself a plane ticket, and reserved a rental car so I could be in Wyoming for this great occasion.

The weather was amazingly cooperative, too! Many Halloweens of my childhood featured a blizzard, or plenty of snow already fallen on the ground. There was a vigorous rain storm on Friday evening when I arrived, but then the clouds held it in for the rest of the weekend. It was a great help to all the people who were traveling through mountain passes to be in Afton for all the activities.

Here's why having a temple in our little mountain valley is such a luxury and a blessing. When my grandparents wanted to be married in a temple in 1912, this is how they did it: a brother and a sister were marrying a brother and a sister from another family. So, the two couples (who lived on the Idaho side of the valley in Freedom) packed their things in a wagon, hitched up the horses, and rode over the pass to the county seat in Idaho. There, the two couples were married by a justice of the peace, and then they continued on their way, for two more days, to the temple in Salt Lake City, Utah. The two sets of newly-weds were sealed for time and eternity there, and then they got back in their wagon for the three day journey back to their new homes in Star Valley. So, having a temple, right there, would have been a wonderful bonus for them. But, it wasn't an insurmountable obstacle to their fervent desire to be sealed in the temple from the start.

The tradition to stage a "cultural celebration" at the dedication of a new temple was followed here, too. It was simply delightful to watch! They made me cry with one of their songs, too. The theme of the whole show was "Mountain Heir"--meaning that the people who live in this region now (including the valleys of the Bear Lake region, and the surrounding parts of Wyoming) all benefit from the work and endurance of our ancestors who settled this region and stuck it out, despite the many hardships, and the isolation. It is a theme I've been constantly aware of, since I was a child. Our ancestors enabled us to live in a very fine place, with an excellent heritage of faith, hard-work, and family love. Here are the words to the song that made me cry:

The Lucky Ones
verse 1

I look at my life and I know that I belong.

I've had the help of loved ones, from generations gone.

They came to this valley, this cold, rugged land.

What they went through I'll never understand. 

But their memory enfolds me,

Their love consoles me,

I feel their strength, they're part of who I am.

(chorus)

The faith of our fathers, these noble pioneers,

Their courage and their sacrifice reach beyond the years.

Their banners on Mount Zion are shining like the sun. 

We're built upon their dreams---We're the lucky ones! 

verse 2

Their lives and devotion have made our fortress strong.

Their faithfulness and courage write a victory song.

We're in their debt. We won't forget

The trials they went through.

These heroes have blessed me and you.

For their memory enfolds us,

Their love consoles us,

We turn our hearts to them in gratitude.

(chorus)

The faith of our fathers, these noble pioneers,

Their courage and their sacrifice reach beyond the years.

Their banners on Mount Zion are shining like the sun. 

We're built upon their dreams---We're the lucky ones! 

It was that chorus that really got me! "We're the lucky ones!" That is SO true. I cannot say that I was a thoughtless, or thankless teenager. I knew how much work it took to live there in that beautiful place. My sisters and I helped our parents do it every day. I knew that it took courage to get up every day and work as hard as my parents did. Yet, they wanted us to go to college, and to go out there in the rest of the world, and do good, and make good of ourselves. Even though I, personally, do not live there anymore--nor do I want to live there--I really, really appreciate growing up there, and learning all those values. 

 It was a fantastic weekend, and I'm excited to be able to go up there to visit (in the summers only, thank you very much) and attend the temple in my very own home town, surrounded by those towering mountains that are as unchanging as the values of righteousness I learned as a child---I was the lucky one!

 This motto was on all the T-shirts they wore. The adults wore black, and the six stakes involved each had a different color of shirt for the youth of their stake.

 Cool new sign I hadn't seen before, at the mouth of the canyon that leads up and over the pass to come into Star Valley from the south. 

 It was pouring rain when I took this picture, but it still looks quite impressive, all lit up and shining. 

Here is the house I grew up in, and the barn where I spent half of that life! Cow milking is a good way to teach children that they can do difficult, tedious work, and survive. Plus, caring for animals is an effective way to learn that you simply have to put your own needs aside when someone else can only survive if you do your job.