Beautiful Nauvoo

Our temple trip was extra special last month. We got to meet up with part of Todd's family in Nauvoo and attend the temple while we were there! I had been looking forward to this temple trip for a good decade. As an early teenager my family made the trip out to Nauvoo and my brother and I got to do baptisms for the dead while my parents did a session. Where Marysa and Emily were? I have no idea. I'm sure they just hung out in the hotel room... they weren't that young. I don't remember a ton from the experience that Brennan and I had other than the weather was crazy hot and humid, we had to walk back to the hotel afterwards, there was a cool narrow spiral staircase, and of course... that everything was beautiful. I was reminded again of this temple's beauty a few weeks ago as Todd, my in-laws, and I got to do a session together. Inside and out, this temple is one of the prettiest ones that I've ever seen... probably tied with the Sacramento Temple for prettiest. Now if we're trying to pick out the coolest temple... Nauvoo wins, hands down. Just the fact that they rebuilt the temple after it was burned down in 1848 makes it extra cool and definitely extra special. I also highly associate President Gordon B. Hinckley with the rebuilding of the Nauvoo temple... and I love President Hinckley. He is near and dear to my heart as he was the prophet during most of my childhood and vulnerable teenage years. Anyway...

After enjoying a lovely session we were also blessed with lovely weather to enjoy the temple grounds.

The detailing on the outside of the temple also contributes to it's neato-ness.

The sun stones topped each of the pillar looking things on the outside... I looked up what they mean but no one can seem to agree haha sooo interpret how you will.

The stained glass star windows or the "inverted stars" are a neat Nauvoo-specific feature. I wonder if they debated between calling it the "inverted star" or the "rotated 45 degree star." Hmmm. Either way, I can actually tell you about this one. (: The meaning behind these stars date back to the early Christian church. This star is also known as the "morning star" as found in Revelations 22:16 and it symbolizes Jesus Christ. The reason for the up-side-down-ness is because when the actual morning star (Venus) orbits it makes a perfect inverted five-point star. Pretty neat yea?? I thought so. And just so you know... none of the missionaries that we asked knew this information haha. They told us to go to the gift shop and buy something with the star on it and the cashier would tell us. Huh?? So that's what we did! We got a little ornament for our Christmas tree and sure enough the cashier gave us a little handout explaining the meaning behind the star! Thanks man! (:

And  we can't forget the sweet moon faces on the bottom of the pillars, also a fun detail.

But the coolest part of the temple isn't it's colorful windows, surrounding landscape, or even it's history. The coolest and most wonderful part of this temple as well as all of the temples on this earth are the things that take place inside of them. In the temple, the Logan Utah temple in our case, we were sealed together. Because of our temple marriage Todd and I have the opportunity to be with each other, our children, and our Heavenly Father for eternity. That means forever, not even death can separate us. Isn't that so incredible? I think so. I can't even begin to describe how amazing of a blessing it is... to be with the ones that I love forever. Now that's cool.