The Church of Jesus Christ (LDS) has over 100 temples. We chose some of our favorite LDS temples. This week’s topic was a little more challenging to come up with activities and crafts, but we still had a lot of fun.
The Salt Lake Temple took 40 years to complete. Three other LDS temples were started and finished while the Salt Lake Temple was being built. The original plans had two Moroni statues. It is rich in symbolism, from the spires to the battlements to the many engravings. We also found pictures of a large model of the interior of the Salt Lake Temple.
Although four temple sites have been dedicated in Missouri, the first one to actually be built was in St. Louis. It was completed in 1997. It was the 50th LDS temple in operation.
Laie, Hawaii
This exotic temple is currently closed for renovation and will be rededicated this November. (Sounds like a good excuse for a Hawaii trip!) Laie Hawaii Temple was the first temple built in Polynesia back in 1919, actually it was the first temple built outside of the US. The Laie Hawaii is one of only three temples without spires; the other two include Cardston Alberta Temple and our very own Mesa Arizona Temple.
Bern, Switzerland
The ninth LDS temple in operation was completed in 1955. Its sister temple is the Hamilton, New Zealand Temple.
Mesa, Arizona
Our Mesa Arizona Temple was the 7th LDS temple in operation. It has been here since 1927. At Christmas, it has an amazing light display. There is also a visitor center with many interactive presentations and several movies. We were able to take a field trip to the temple grounds. After our picnic lunch, we watched a movie on the building of the Salt Lake Temple. Not only did we enjoy the many displays, there was also a traveling art display in one of the rooms where we were able to see what we remembered from Art Camp.
We had a pleasurable week learning about LDS temples. It was a great reminder that learning isn’t limited to history or geography. Anything your children are interested in can be a focus of study
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