Stake Primary Activity

On Friday, October 24th, I got to attend a Stake Primary activity with our kids.  We started in the Temple Street Chapel with our Stake Primary President telling the kids about the importance of the temple and telling them the story of when President Lorenzo Snow saw the Savior in the Salt Lake Temple.  We then all walked over to the temple and the kids got to go touch the temple wall and the door handle going in to the temple.  There was a wedding party that had just come out of the temple, so Emma was extremely excited to see the beautiful bride in her wedding dress.  Once all the kids got the chance to go to the temple doors, we headed down the sidewalk to where they all got their picture taken on the new bench.  We finished off the activity with a temple shaped cookie in the gym.  It was only a 45 minute activity, but it was packed with experiences that I hope my kids will never forget.  Each child also received a small piece of granite with that was from when the original temple was built.

This morning, I received an e-mail from Sister Burwell, our Stake Primary President.  I want to remember the story of the kids little plaques and our beautiful bench so I am including the e-mails here.

Dear Presidents,

Thank you again, for helping us with our temple activity last Friday.  We continue to hear from grateful parents whose children are still talking about how they felt about touching the temple and holding a piece of the very same stone that was used to build the temple.  For those who weren't able to attend, the granite used for the little plaques was cut from large slabs of stone that was left over after the temple was built.  The leftover granite was dumped in a field which Paul Brauti was given and he donated the stone to the children.

I just thought you might like to read this explanation about how the new bench came to be on our temple square.  Brother Joe Paulson headed the committee to focus on the temple for 2014.  He sent us the following email and I pass it along to you. 

There have been many miracles surrounding the temple activities for the Primary and Youth this week.  We are grateful for all of them!  :)

Sister Burwell

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Joe Paulson
Date: Mon, Oct 20, 2014 at 11:28 PM
Subject: A history of the bench
To: Carol Barr

Last year when President Low asked for some ideas on how to focus on the temple in 2014 I told the presidency that in Utah at the Oquirrh Mountain temple they had built a bench across the street at the stake center donated by the funds collected from the Primary children in the area.  The bench had the inscription "I Love to See the Temple" and was backless so someone could sit one way and look at the temple or turn the other way and have their picture taken with the temple in the background.  We had a committee work on the idea but when the idea was presented to the temple presidency they told us that the temple department would not let anyone, Stake or individual, donate anything that would be placed on the temple grounds nor did they think that the temple department would even consider it.  They did enquire for us and the answer was that the temple department did not budget for a bench since there are already benches on every corner of the temple block.  A few months ago when Elder William Walker (over all temples in the church) visited, President Low wrote him a letter with this explanation:  We sing "I Love to See the Temple" in our Primary and teach the kids to want to go there some day.  If they come down and visit the temple and sit on any of the six benches, what do they see?  They see the street, traffic and everything but the temple which is behind them.  Can't we have a bench that will let them see the temple?"  Elder Walker went around the temple and checked several of the benches and immediately approved the new bench.  On the 14 October the bench was installed.

The Temple Department chose Bethel granite from a quarry in the area in Vermont near where the Prophet Joseph was born. It is the same quarry that President Hinckley selected to supply all the granite when they started building the small temples. Southern Monument Company of Lethbridge built the bench this summer.  Now all the Primary children from the stake have been invited to come and have their picture taken with the beautiful Cardston temple in the background.  They can now sit and see the temple.