oquirrh mountain utah temple

just in case you are following along on our temple excursions, you may have noticed we changed our outings. at the beginning of the year, we planned to visit every utah temple this year, and planned which months we'd be visiting each temple. we quickly realized we simply don't have the resources to travel and visit further away temples every single month. so we stayed local for march and april, and then went to the oquirrh mountain utah temple in may. if we ever find ourselves on a trip, you bet we'll stop in the local temple, but we need to keep it as close to home as possible in the mean time.

oquirrh mountain temple seemed to us to be a reflection of utah. it sits at the base of the oquirrh (pronounced o'-ker) mountains, and faces the rest of the salt lake valley. from its position on the hill, you can see the three other temples in the valley:

draper utah temple (exact top center of the photo) :

jordan river valley utah temple (the lower center) :

and salt lake city utah temple (this is the best photo we could get of downtown salt lake...the temple is in there somewhere) :

the outer and inner architecture, as well as the paintings, murals, decorations and design, reflect the natural beauty of its indigenous surroundings. the outside granite mimics the mountains. the paintings depict familiar utah meadow- and mountain-scapes. there are beautiful, tall, flowing staircases that make you feel like you are cascading down a mountain waterfall. the color scheme is very natural, and you feel like you are walking along corridors of birch trees. the very structure--inside and outside--rises straight to heaven, which in turn pushes our minds upward.

it was a beautiful reminder of the simplicity of the gospel, the wonder of the creation, and how much peace we can find in the Lord's creations that surround us. there is definitely a calming influence in the natural world--we can find God and His hand all around us.

"There, in the house of the Lord, you can learn what you need to know to be truly free. There, tucked away from turmoil and strife, is the chance to be totally unselfish—a rarity in today's world."

—Robert L. Simpson