Exceeded my expectations

I cannot even begin to describe the wonderful feelings that I had in the temple tonight. Aside from my wedding day, this was undeniably the best experience in the temple of my life. My husband was there, two of my children were there and without a doubt a host of others who came before us were there. We were there to do something for them that they could no longer do for themselves.

Back in October when Rob's parents gave us permission to move forward with the temple work for their parents, siblings and family, we knew it was going to be a special experience. And it has been. I have lost count of the names that have been submitted. Well over 500+. I have been taking my kids to do baptisms and our ward has stepped in to help with a lot of it as well. But I have been holding onto some names that are near and dear to us. There were 3 of Rob's grandparents and their parents and their parents, some aunts and uncles, etc. We set a date and asked the kids what temple they wanted to go to, suggesting many close to us that they had never been to, but they insisted the Manti Temple, the same one they go to with the youth in our ward. So I made the appointment on Tuesday for tonight. As with any other time something great is set to happen, the adversary tried his hardest to stop it. There were a few fleeting moments today when I was about to throw my hands in the air and declare surrender. But thank goodness I didn't, for once I set my mind to it and we were on our way, it proved to be an unforgettable night.

When we walked into the babtistry, there was another ward on their way out. And then there was just us. It was so quiet and peaceful. The temple workers we so kind and helpful. It was all about us. They kept asking us how we wanted to do each thing, insisting that they were there to serve us. Rob was so nervous because never in his whole life had he been to do baptisms for the dead and he was expected to do them all. And he did a wonderful job. I kept watching him as he did each name. He kept choking up and often had to compose himself as he spoke each name. I watched Jordan and I watched Brandon. How lucky they each were to stand in the place of these fine people, these people who I knew were there. And then I wondered, do these people know how lucky they are that Jordan and Brandon have kept themselves worthy to stand in their place and do this work for them. And I knew that they did know. These wonderful family members will forever reverence their names. They will forever be their guardian angels.

As we walked away from the temple tonight, we knew that we had just experienced a night never to forget. We knew that this temple and this night would forever hold a special place in our hearts.