Ryker's First Temple Visit

Since the boys were out of school Monday and Tuesday this week and Davis County school was out Friday and Monday, we decided to take advantage of Tuesday being slower at the temple. The first of the year it's especially busy because all the new Young Men and Young Women who just moved into the program and received their temple recommends for the first time are really excited to go. So it makes for waits up to 2 to 3 hours before being able to get to the font. It's a good problem to have. But it's hard to find that time right now. So I was so happy to get this opportunity to take Ryker and know that the rest of Bountiful students would be in school while we went to the temple. 

The night before, Jesse set Ryker up a Family Search Account so he could search for family names that could be taken to the temple for baptisms and confirmations. I really enjoyed watching the excitement that came from Ryker discovering how far back he could search in his family line. I think he got back to 300 AD. Crazy. But he did fin 9 names that he could take to the temple the next morning. 

When we arrived to the baptistery in the temple we were one of only a few people. We came in just right after a small group of youth (about 10) that came together. I was actually curious how they were all there on a school day. Which I later found out in the girls locker room that they also went to a Charter school.

Before that I was waiting at the font for Ryker and Jesse to change and get dressed. The temple workers invited me to be a witness. Which is a recent change in our church. Woman are now able to be witnesses at baptisms and sealing ceremonies. So I thought how neat it was that I could do this on the day that Ryker was doing baptisms for the dead for the first time.

The font felt peaceful. I had a couple of moments that I felt choked up and thought when Ryker gets in the water I expected to bawl my eyes out. But I kept it together and soaked up the peace that I felt. And how normal it felt to have my son in the temple.

It's just so cool to have him be at an age to go to the temple now! I loved seeing the look on his face when we first walked into the temple. He even quietly  said "whoa" really quietly and reverently in pure awe. And even the look he gave me when he came out of the dressing room into the font area, he gave me this silent look of "Yay, I finally get to do this."

Ya know, when I was his age we didn't get personal temple recommends. We only could go when our youth group was going. Which I think was 2x a year. But now a days, all the youth have their own recommends that they can go anytime they want. And as many times as they want. So when we got home Ryker looked at me and told me that he wants to go EVERY week. Haha. I love that. I just need to figure out how to make that happen. 

It's also so great to have Jesse there baptizing Ryker in behalf of these family name that we brought. So grateful to have a husband that is loves the gospel as much as I do. 

I asked Ryker to record of few of his thoughts and feelings about his first time going to the temple. So here he is....

"When I first when into the temple I thought that it was so amazing. Right when I walked through the door the spirit just hit me. When I went down stairs, I thought it was so cool because I have never been that far inside the temple. When I got into the font it was so warm. I remember that it wasn't as warm as my real baptism font and I thought it was also kinda funny how quickly I got baptized nine times. It was such a great experience."