We braved 104 degree weather to tour the new Tucson Temple before it is dedicated in August. I am so amazed at how quickly this temple went up! It was announced before we moved here to southern AZ. The groundbreaking happened in Oct. 2015, a month before we moved here, and here we are a little over 18 months later and it is done! Having the temple in Tucson cuts our drive to a temple by about an hour. We are excited about this! And guess what? We can stop by Costco and a Whole Foods store on the way to the temple, instead of just a Walmart, which is how it was when we would go to the Gila Valley Temple. The pictures in this post show some of the beautiful desert surroundings of the temple in the Catalina foothills of Tucson.

Here is a look inside this beautiful temple that we are so grateful for. With every temple built and dedicated, I feel increasing power of righteousness on the earth to combat wickedness.

After we toured the temple, we looked at the exhibits in a tent that was on the temple grounds. I especially enjoyed the video that showed a timeline of construction of all the temples in the latter days. Here’s a similar video below.

As I watched the video, I felt the unmistakable feeling of the Holy Spirit confirm to me the validity of temple ordinances. I felt the Spirit telling me that if my husband and I live faithful to the temple covenants we made in the Manti Temple on our wedding day 25 years ago, we will live as a family joyfully through the eternities. I suddenly felt how precious family life is.

Just a month previous, I was in a car accident that could have easily taken my life and my younger children’s lives if we had not been wearing our seat belts. We collided with another car. I felt gratitude to God for sending the Holy Spirit to prompt my 15 year old son to turn around and ask his siblings if everyone had their seat belt on, just five minutes before we had a collision with an oncoming car that turned left in front of me. My 12 year old did not have his seat belt on, but fastened it because of his brother’s inquiry.  I felt that part of the joy of this life and the next is having a family life to enjoy and protect us.

This family life envelopes us with that loving attitude of caring for each other, asking each other if we are wearing our seat belts, so that our lives our saved as we go through the accidents of life. We also extend this loving attitude to those we are asked to visit and minister to, and other neighbors. I know that this restored gospel of Jesus Christ is true, that God sends the Holy Ghost to protect us, and that the holy ordinances in the temple can bind families to live joyfully forever if we are faithful to our covenants.