temple dedication

The kids and I had the wonderful opportunity to attend the Oquirrh Mountain Temple dedication this morning! It was a tender, peaceful experience. Pres. Uchdorf and Elder Bednar were among the speakers and they are some of my favorites. It's the second temple dedication we've been able to attend in less than 6 months. What a miracle! Utah now has 13 temples. I, personally, have a temple to my north, to my east, and to be northwest.

A few years ago, as I was substituting seminary, I was speaking with a girl in the class in the moments before the bell rang. She had just moved from Florida. I asked her if she liked Utah. She did. I asked her the biggest difference in Utah and Florida. Without hesitation she replied "The temples." I asked what she meant by that and she explained that every single day in Florida her family knelt in prayer and gave thanks that the nearest temple was ONLY 2 hours away! I began laughing and said I understood. We started counting the number of temples that are within 2 hours of my home - Logan, Odgen, Bountiful, Salt Lake, Jordan River, Mount Timpanogos, Provo, and Manti (at the time Draper and Oquirrh Mountain weren't yet built). We could be at any of 8 different temples in 2 hours or less!

I often think my children do not realize how incredibly lucky we are! Heck, for that matter, I often think that I take it for granted far too often. Do I kneel in prayer every single day and thank the Lord that I have a temple only 10 minutes away? And that I can go there in my air conditioned/heated car after choosing what food I want to eat?

What is the best way to help my children realize what an incredible blessing this is? My nephew was here in June and was able to do baptisms for the dead for the first time. It was about 3 months after his birthday. Shanley wants to go on her birthday (and will probably have the blessing of being able to do that). I am filled with stories of people who save their whole lives, sell their home, or go without food in order to afford to go to the temple. How do I make these stories come alive in the minds and hearts of my children? That is my quest.