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Sunday, July 15, 2007

Temple Trip

What happens when the Provo, Manti, and Jordan River temples are all closed the same weekend?

Everyone goes to Timpanogos Temple...

Everyone except us, that is. We drive to the Provo Temple, realize that no one is there, and then drive to the Timpanogos Temple.

Yesterday was the longest temple trip I think I've ever taken in Utah. Usually we just drive to the Provo Temple (20 minutes), wait for the next session (max, 20 minutes--sometimes a little longer if it's really full), and then do a 2 hour session. It never takes any longer than 3 hours for us to do a temple trip, if we time things correctly.

However, today it took us twenty minutes to get to the Provo Temple, and then another half hour to get to the Timpanogos Temple. The parking lot was completely full so we had to park on the street. We looked at all the different brides while Andrew commented, "Her dress is very poofy, her dress is not so very poofy...how can she wear something that poofy?" and so forth.

We stood in line to show our recommends.

It took five minutes for one of the workers to help me find an empty locker.

I got dressed and hurried to use the washroom, which was, of course, rather full. It's a good thing I'm pregnant and people give me priority!

Then I headed upstairs to the chapel to wait for Andrew.

As I approached the chapel, Sis. Ostlund, who was working there that day, said, "Standing room only, sweetheart," and she let me in the hallway to see if I could find my husband.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find my husband in the hallway because he had sneaked into the chapel through a door that had been left open. He was left to stand in the back since there really was no room anymore. When one of the workers noticed the open door, they closed it.

The workers in the hallway insisted that my husband wouldn't be in the chapel if I just got there because it had been full for about 20 minutes now and they weren't letting anyone in anymore.

I squirmed my way, as directed, out of the hallway leading to the chapel, and went to line up on the stairs with everyone else while we waited for the chapel to empty.

Twenty minutes later (at 3:00), they finally took the 2:30 session from the chapel and we were allowed to enter.

It was a really good thing that Andrew was there already because he was able to guarantee us a seat close enough to the front, ensuring that we would make it into the next session, which, gratefully we did...another half hour later.

The session was completely full and I think there were probably at least 7 people taking out their endowments--when I did that, it was just me.

Because the session was completely full, it took a little longer than usual...I was in the back row in the back corner so I was the very, very last woman to leave the room. They guys always take a little longer, so even though Andrew wasn't in the very back I still beat him out.

At nearly 6:00, we were finally finished. And famished, having left the house at 1:30!

We stopped off at the Purple Turtle for a milkshake, which was very good. I'd never been to the Purple Turtle, which Andrew just couldn't believe.

We got home around 7:00!

It was nice to see the temple so busy, but I'll sure be glad when the Provo Temple opens again. These all-day temple trips are killers!

5 comments:

  1. Watch out!!! I gave birth to Miriam like four days after (what turned out to be) our last trip to the temple. Maybe there's something about it that's labor-inducing...

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  2. :) Sounds to me like the people in Happy Valley are making very good use of the temples, if they all have to go to Timp when the other three are closed. That's odd, though... usually they don't close so many temples in such close proximity for cleaning all in the same two weeks. Interesting. But hey. Whoever that sister is that you did the work for, she no longer has to wait for another 100 and some odd years, hooray!!! (PS, as a former temple worker I can tell you that in fact, a session is scheduled to run at almost exactly 1 hour, 27 minutes. :-D )

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  3. I remember one time when we went to the Timpanogas temple because the Provo one was closed... We got there in time for the 6:30 or 7:00 session... and the chapel was full, the hall was full, they opened up another area to wait in and that was full... so after we stood for about an hour, we got to sit for awhile, and then we finally made it into the chapel, where they had one of the members of the temple presidency come and talk to us while we waited. We ended up going in the SECOND extra session they scheduled after the last normal session that evening... which started at about 10:00pm. Definitely the longest wait I've ever had for the temple, and the latest session! I felt bad for the workers...

    But then, what is worse... waiting three hours in the temple, or driving three hours there and three hours back, plus any traffic delays which are normal for a place under constant construction in the 2nd biggest city in the country? (okay, it's not always the 2nd biggest city, it goes back and forth with LA...). Other than being pregnant while waiting, I'm not sure I feel really that sorry for you! :) LOL

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  4. Of course I realize that 6 hour temple trips are normal other places.

    In Vancouver, our closest temple was across the border, and in Alberta we definitely made going to the temple a whole day affair...

    But when the temple is like 15 minutes away? You just don't expect to be gone for 6 hours, that's all. ;)

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  5. Of course... I did not mean to appear completely unsympathetic! ;) See, we went to the temple as well on Saturday. And we HATE the drive through Chicago... so it was fresh on my mind!!

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