Kayak on Causey

We rented a kayak from

Weber State University

and took our sweet puppy

to Causey Reservoir. 

The Brigham City Temple

We got to tour the

new Brigham City temple.

Around 300,000 people

made reservations

to tour the temple

during its open house.

Plans for the Brigham City

temple were announced

in October of 2009.  

The ground-breaking

ceremony was in July of 2010.

The Brigham City temple is

the 139th temple in the world

and the 14th in Utah.

This temple will serve

over 40,000 church members

in northern Utah and southern Idaho.

The temple opened to the public

on August 18th and will remain

opened to the public until September 15th.

The temple will be dedicated on

September 23rd - after that

only LDS members in good

standing will be allowed in the temple.

(Information came from www.mormon.org)

The Brigham City LDS temple

The Brigham City LDS temple

The Brigham City LDS temple - tabernacle in the background

The Brigham City LDS temple

Brigham City tabernacle - across from the temple

The Brigham City LDS temple

The Brigham City LDS temple

Me and Eric with some of Eric's co-workers and their families

Pictured below:

Every temple has a time capsule

that is sealed at the temple dedication

ceremony.  When this temple is dedicated

in September, this block will be removed

and a new one will replace it.

Items will be placed behind the block

before it is sealed by the president.

The Brigham City LDS temple

Pictured below:

So, you park in a parking lot

several blocks away from the temple

and jump onto one of these buses

that takes you to the temple.

Pictured below:

The parking garage at the temple.

This is where you watch a video

before the temple tour.

The Brigham City LDS temple

The Brigham City LDS temple

I didn't take any of the following pictures - 

we weren't allowed to take pictures inside

the temple, but some reporters were

able to - so you can check out

what we got to see.  If you want to see

more pictures of the inside

(and some awesome aerial shots)

check out the link below. 

http://www.ksl.com/?sid=21703299&nid=1164

Photo Credit: Tyler Groves

Upon arrival, we were ushered into

the temple parking garage

which has been converted into 

several temporary rooms.

When the open house

(which is from August 18-Sept. 15)

is over, the walls will

easily be removed and it

will once again be a parking garage.

We watched a 15 minute video

about the history of temples. 

The video also talked

briefly about the 

Church of Jesus Christ

of Latter-Day Saints.

The room we were in 

is very similar to the one

pictured below.

Photo Credit: http://www.ksl.com/?sid=21703299&nid=1164

After watching the video,

we left the room

and were helped into

little white booties 

by some friendly

volunteers.  We entered

the temple from the parking

garage - into the "basement." 

The first thing we saw was

the baptistry.  The font is used

to perform baptisms on 

behalf of the deceased.  

It is then up to the deceased

to accept or reject the ordinance

performed on their behalf.

I learned that this is why

the LDS population is so interested in 

genealogical research - so they

can identify their ancestors and

see that ordinances are 

performed on their behalf.

The room pictured below is

called the Instruction Room.

The picture doesn't do it

justice - it was beautiful.

We were told that local

artists painted most

(if not all) of the artwork

inside the temple.

The wall is actually canvas.

In the instruction room

members learn about the 

purposes of mortal life

and what happens in the

next life.

Photo Credit: http://www.ksl.com/?sid=21703299&nid=1164

The room pictured below

is the Sealing Room.

It's where weddings

take place - when married

here, you are not only married 

for this life but also for eternity.

(We were told that this

temple is rather small - 

so I'm guessing the sealing room's

in the Salt Lake temple are bigger.

Photo Credit: http://www.ksl.com/?sid=21703299&nid=1164

Photo Credit: http://www.ksl.com/?sid=21703299&nid=1164

Taylor Goes Camping

Well, I finally experienced

camping!  It was a first for me and

Oliver.  Other than not packing

warm enough clothes, I think

we did pretty well.

We went to Willard Peak

to camp and hike with some

friends from church.

They had a camper

(which made me really happy,

cause it had a bathroom).  

Oh, how I wish

I had taken pictures of

the road we drove in on.

It looked a little like the ground in

the above picture.

We drove ten miles

on a mostly one lane

road that was dirt, rock,

and all kinds of bumpy!

But look how beautiful...

Oliver borrowed a friend's jacket - it got cold in the evening

We survived!  We slept all night in the tent!  Oliver got a little cold,
but we slept well overall.  And believe it or not, there's room in this
 tent for all 3 of us!  We weren't cramped at all!

The view from our campsite

Willard Peak is behind us

We drove up a mile or two for our hike...

And after hiking about

a mile and a half -

up 1,108 feet...

we reached the tip top

of Willard Peak.

Willard Peak is the highest

Peak in Weber County.

It's 9,764 feet above sea level.

Willard Bay is that big body of water down there

Oliver on top of the world!

After eating lunch, Oliver spotted something...

Mountain Goats!

All 6 of us at the top of Willard Peak

All 6 of us at the top of Willard Peak

Our friends Cary and Kristin with their dog Raven

The Underwood men

You can see some of the 

smoke still - we will

have to go back when it's a little

clearer out.

Eric - on top of the world

On our way back down the mountain

we ran into a whole pack of mountain goats

If you look closely - you can see all of the goats on the top right.
They blend in quite well.

We got back to the campsite and Oliver found a shady spot under the camper.

We are all a little tired

today, even though we crashed 

when we got home last night.

We enjoyed our campout!