Our beloved Provo Temple is closing this week. Saturday, February 24th, will be the last day it will be open in its current iteration. It was announced in 2021 that the temple will be reconstructed, just as the Ogden Temple, which looked like Provo, underwent a reconstruction. The temple design was a visual representation of the scripture in Exodus 13:21, "And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night." Our cloud and pillar of fire will be no more.
This has been my temple my whole life. It was dedicated in 1972, only two years after I was born, and has been the temple I have looked to as I grew up and as I have lived in Provo. It was the temple where I first went to perform baptisms for the dead. I was endowed here before my mission. Kent and I were married here and I was an ordinance worker for nine years before Brandt was born. Both Brandt and Isabella were sealed to us here. For the nine years before Brandt was born, and since Isabella began pre-school, Kent and I have attended the temple every week, only interrupted by Covid. I longed to be at the temple when it was closed and rejoiced when it opened again and we could return. I have gone to the temple repeatedly with questions, concerns, cares, and worries, seeking inspiration, direction, and answers to prayer. It has been a place of peace, hope, and enlightenment.
A new temple will be built in the place the temple stands now. It will be God's house as this temple has been for fifty years. I will miss it and would be devastated if there weren't multiple temples close by. There is another temple in Provo, plus the new Orem Temple, Timpanogos, Payson, and the Lindon Temple which should be finished next year. Our cup overfloweth with houses of the Lord, and my blessing overflow as I am spiritually fed and strengthened by my experiences serving and worshipping in God's presence.
Our last trip to this Provo Temple
It will be fun to watch the new temple being built.
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