Fort Collins Temple

In April of 2011, we were sitting in our living room watching General Conference when it was announced that they were going to build a new temple in Fort Collins, Colorado. We cheered, and were excited at the thought of having another temple in Colorado. We wondered if we might be in the Fort Collins temple district. It was exciting news!

Some time later we drove out to where the temple was going to be built. At that point it was just an empty grassy field across the street from a church building. But it was less than an hour drive from home. Maybe it is a little farther away from us than the Denver temple, but with the traffic that we usually experience driving through down town, going to Fort Collins would probably take about the same amount of time. 

Last summer we returned to the temple site to see the progress. We could see it was a beautiful building, even with the scaffolding that was still up. The angel Moroni was not yet on top, but the outside looked like it was getting close to completion.

And now it is done! And it is officially going to be our temple! All those in our stake who used to work in the Denver temple have been released and are being called to work in the Fort Collins temple instead. They are holding an open house for the next couple weeks (until September 10th) and then it will close for some final renovations, and then the dedication will be held October 16th.

On Tuesday of last week, Steven and I drove to Fort Collins to serve as ushers for the first day of the Open House. This was the day that VIPs got official tours of the temple. We spent the first hour or so as crossing guards, helping people cross the street between the church building, where the tours began with a short video about the purpose of temples, and where the temple was located. Later we got to put on shoe coverings and enter the temple, where we stood at our posts and guided the people through the tour route. I spent a good amount of time standing near the baptistery admiring the gorgeous woodwork in the arches overhead. 

Yesterday after school got out, the kids and I dressed up and headed back to Fort Collins so the kids could experience the open house tour. The building is really beautiful! I especially like the stained glass windows and the murals and paintings that make it look like we are in the middle of Rocky Mountain National Park. It truly is a gorgeous building that fits in Colorado.
The older kids and Steven will return to the temple on the last day of the open house to help usher again. (I have to go to a meeting that evening so I won't be able to go.)

Besides the temple itself, there are other temple related activities in the works. Hannah, John and Joshua get to participate in the Cultural Celebration that will be held the evening before the dedication, and they are in the midst of rehearsals, learning songs and dances. I'm thrilled that they will have this wonderful opportunity to be involved. I hope that the Fort Collins temple will feel like "their" temple, just as the San Diego temple always felt like mine.