Taipei Taiwan Temple

Temple #65

December 20, 2016

Taipei Taiwan Temple

     Taiwan! What an amazing country. The story to Taiwan first starts with Ivy and I going to China to teach English to children as I have mention in past posts. We did this through a program called ILP and did it for four months, and it was some of the best months of our lives! We made friends with other teachers, with some Chinese people, came to love the students we taught and fell in love with the scenery of China. 

     When we were planning our flights to and from China we asked ILP if we could have our flights leave from Hong Kong so we could do the Temple there. We got our flights and just couldn't wait!

     Part way through our journey in China we were planning our flights and trip to Hong Kong from where we were teaching. I just randomly looked up Taiwan for fun, and had the idea we could fly there first and then go to Hong Kong. After some planning and discussions with the ILP boss we figured out the visa and flights and made plans to go to Taiwan!

     So that is what brought us to Taiwan, but that still isn't the end of the introduction. One weekend while in China we went to church in Shanghai. We were planning on going to the earlier ward, but ended up going to the eleven o’clock ward. While there we met a guy from Taiwan who was visiting Shanghai with some friends. Ivy asked him what we should do in Taipei while we are there. He told us some things, and then got our Wechat (Chinese Facebook) to tell us more later. 

     This man, Bert, than Wechatted us a few days later. After sending messages for a while, he told us he'd pick us up from the airport and help us out! We were at first a little apprehensive but it all worked out. 

     A month later we got to Taipei Taiwan. It's a beautiful country, very green and has massive mountains that are gorgeous and cover nearly the entire island. The island isn't too big, it could fit twice in the state of Utah but it has nearly 30 million people. So yes, it is a little crowded. 

     When we got to the airport Bert and his driver picked us up. This was a blessing for sure because the airport was about an hour away from Taipei and there was no cheap way of getting there. Bert was an answer to our prayers helping us out just because we were members. 

     Now Bert is not a member interestingly enough. He went to church all growing up until he was twenty, but then just chose not to go any more, and never got baptized. But because of the love he has for the gospel and the members he still goes to church sometimes and loves to help out others as much as possible. He really is a fantastic man. 

     He took us to our hostel right in downtown Taipei. We took our suitcases up five stories and then Bert led us to the Temple. It was closed for the day, but we still really wanted to see it. 

     We got out of the metro stop and headed towards the Temple. There were buildings everywhere and no sign of the Temple. Suddenly the angel Moroni appeared and then the Temple. 

     The Taipei Temple is beautiful. It's small, and the grounds are smaller, being surrounded by streets and other buildings. It was so neat though to finally see a Temple, and in Taiwan, after not even being in a chapel for four months. China doesn't allow the Church to do much and so the difference from China to Taiwan was amazing. 

     We took a tour of the church building next to the Temple where we learned a neat fact about the Angel Moroni. It is actually facing West, unlike the norm of facing East. The reason is because it faces to China in hope of spreading the Gospel to China one day. After living in China for four months we now hope more than anything that it will open up to the Church soon. 

     We then went to church the next day which was wonderful, partially because we finally got to have sacrament meeting in a chapel. The church is also right next to the temple, about thirty feet away. This makes it more amazing and spiritual as you walk around the church halls and see the Temple through the windows. 

     The Taipei Temple is also very similar to the Dallas Texas and the Chicago Illinois Temple. It has three steeples in the front which are separated from the building, and three steeples in the rear are the same, just shorter. The three on the front represent the Melchizedek Priesthood, and the three on the rear represent the Aaronic Priesthood. 

     We went inside and had a very spiritual time. Everyone was so kind and tried their best to speak English if they could. We first did initiatories, and then did a session. It's a really small temple inside and so is the Celestial room but it was marvelous being able to go to a temple finally. 

     The session was in Mandarin Chinese, which was different for us. We also just happened to be the witness couple, which is always fun. This was only the second time doing a session in a different language for us, the first time being in Montreal. We had head sets though that made it easier. 

     After the session we did sealings, which was a neat experience. The dealer was an old Taiwanese man who didn't speak too much English. He did the sealing in English, which surprised us, yet we hardly understood a word he said. It was still spiritual though to do sealings for Taiwanese couples who had passed on.

     The Taipei Temple was simply an amazing experience. The people were so friendly and kind, the weather was beautiful and warm, and the spirit was strong. We were glad to finally have gone back to a temple, which made us feel as if we were at home.

     After the Temple our friend Bert took us to a good Taiwanese Restaurant, and then to the airport. It was sad saying goodbye to Taiwan after being there for only a few days. We knew that one day we had to return though to that beautiful and friendly country, and, of course, go through the Taipei Temple again!