Las Vegas Temple

Temple #9

Las Vegas, Nevada

October 26, 2013

     Welcome to Las Vegas! A city that never sleeps, and has shows, lights and entertainment for all! If you've ever been to the Las Vegas Temple though, you'll know that that is where the true joy in Las Vegas is. 

     The first time I went to the Las Vegas Temple was with Ivy. I had been to Vegas only a few times before, but never went to the Temple. Ivy had gone when she was younger, doing baptisms for the dead, so it wasn't too new to her. 

      We first went when we were both dating. The story that goes along with the Las Vegas Temple is one of my favorite dating stories of ours. This is that story: 

     Imagine Dragons, the famous band out of Las Vegas, was having a concert in Vegas. I wanted to go, along with some friends, and so I invited Ivy. Somehow it worked out to where Ivy and I drove together, just the two of us. We planned on going to the temple before the concert, and we did just that. 

     The Las Vegas Temple is a shining light in that crazy city, and you can see it from a ways off, for it sits upon the foothills of a small mountain. Seems to be a pattern in the Temples, which I love. 

     The palm trees surrounding the Temple help you realize you're in the desert. It's usually scorching hot outside, similar to St. George, but none of that matters. The six-spired building brightens the mood. 

     Ivy hasn't been endowed yet, so we just did baptisms that first time. It wasn't until later that year after we were married that we went back and did a session. That is when we counted the Temple for our list, but this first time was still fun.      After the Temple, we went into the city, leaving the spiritually lit building, and headed to some extremely, physically lit streets. The show was a blast, and we left the concert, although it took nearly an hour to leave the parking garage because of the traffic. 

     We were nearly to the freeway, about to get on I-15 headed North, but I randomly decided to head South, towards California. It was a joke, seeing what Ivy would say. She noticed right away, and asked what we were doing. I said “we’re going to California!” Funny enough, she didn't object, and went along with it. I figured she wanted to, and so we kept driving. It wasn't until we were two hours away from Los Angeles that we decided to actually go. 

     The rest of the weekend went great. We slept in the car, getting about four hours of sleep. We went to church, heard some great talks, than went and fell asleep at a park. We then went to the beach and watched the sun set. After sunset we went and walked around the Los Angeles Temple, which is magnificent, but that's for another story. 

     The next day Ivy just happened to have work off, so I called in to my work and asked for it off as well. We both had a free day, so we went to Disneyland! Afterwards we drove home, and that night was when I first told Ivy I loved her, and asked her to be my girlfriend. This wasn't the first time I had asked, but it was the first time she agreed and answered “Yes!” It was a great trip, as all are that include the Temple. Ivy told me later that that weekend trip was when she figured out she loved me. It was great and worth it. 

 

     When we first went back to the temple to do a session, we went with Ivy’s parents, because Darcy had some work meetings in Vegas. We stayed with them, and went to the Temple as well. It was a great weekend, and we had a blast. 

     One thing we loved about the Las Vegas Temple is what you first see after you pass the front desk area. There are glass walls, which encase an open area in the room. You can go through some doors, and then you are outside, yet still within the Temple. It's a gorgeous atrium, and is neat how they build it within the Temple’s walls. 

     The Las Vegas Temple is a beacon, a light, a symbol of hope, to all of Las Vegas. Vegas can be a fun city, with plenty of entertainment and fun activities, yet when you enter the Temple, all the noises and commotion of the city are gone, and you can focus on what truly matters.