The Time Is Now: The Tucson Temple Is Here

Our children's charter school usually begins the school year during the last week of July or so. As a result, our summers usually feel fairly rushed, especially compared to everyone else's. But even with school starting, we didn't feel like this last summer had truly come to a close until the weekend when the Tucson LDS Temple was dedicated.

Our family, at the temple Open House

That weekend (August 12 & 13, 2017) was the culmination of months and months of hard work by countless dedicated people. It featured a large, complex cultural celebration featuring thousands of LDS youth from nine stakes in the Tucson area. And the very next day after the cultural celebration, apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints stood inside the new temple and read aloud the sacred dedicatory prayer, thus officially dedicating the temple and declaring it a House of the Lord. Now, only members of the church will be allowed to enter the temple, where they will perform sacred ordinance work on behalf of their ancestors; study the doctrines and gospel of Jesus Christ; and grow closer to God through meditation and service.

This was a day long awaited by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Tucson area. Our family was no exception! We love visiting the temple, but it has been increasingly difficult to find the time to make the long drive up to Mesa (in the Phoenix area) in order to attend. The temple for Tucson was announced over five years ago now; and after some lengthy planning/designing/red-tape-cutting with Pima County, the ground was broken for the temple's construction just over two years ago. At the time, I assumed the temple building would take between two to three years.

As it turned out, the builders worked quicker than we all thought! In early spring of this year, the open house dates and dedication dates were announced for the temple; June for the open house (when the general public is invited to tour the building), August 12th for the youth cultural celebration, and August 13th for the dedication. Our feelings were a bit mixed: we were all a little wary of holding an open house in June (it would be so darn hot!). Similarly, the cultural celebration would be taking place outdoors in early August...most likely, it would be either very hot or very rainy (August is right in the middle of Arizona's monsoon season). On the whole however, we were excited; the temple would be opening sooner than we thought it would! There was a lot to do to get ready.

Some of the info we had to learn to become open house volunteers; the all-important flow of parking!

We were all eager to help out, in some way, with any aspect of the temple celebration; open house, cultural celebration, or dedication. Nathan and I both wanted to volunteer at the open house (our stake was given two days to staff the open house), and eagerly signed up to work a few volunteer shifts when such opportunities became available. Neither of us had any jobs related to the actual dedication, but we had a few friends who sang in the dedication choir, and I was asked to help out as an accompanist at the choir's rehearsals once or twice (I also recorded their rehearsal tape for one of their songs). We were also excited that Lorelai just barely qualified to participate in the cultural celebration (it actually took place on her 12th birthday. Hard to cut it much closer than that!). Nathan was also chosen to help with the cultural celebration; he was asked to be a "captain of ten," which was basically a "youth wrangler." He was responsible for getting a specific group of ten youth to show up to practices; he was also responsible for these youth and all their belongings during all the rehearsals and the final cultural celebration itself. As a captain, Nathan would be one of the only adults on the performance field with the youth; he'd have a ground-level view of the action! He was excited to accept the calling.

But while we were excited to serve, we were also (not so secretly) glad that we weren't put into leadership positions, or on heads of committees, for anything related to the open house, cultural celebration, or dedication services. We had many friends who were appointed to such committees, or who had leadership positions, on the ward, stake, and even regional levels. My friend Shannon, whom I team-teach with at our charter school, was appointed the regional music director for the entire cultural celebration. That's a nine-stake area that includes more than 3,000 youth! She spent many many long hours listening to auditions, writing or commissioning original songs, running rehearsals, recording over a dozen songs and editing and mixing them on her computer, and coordinating her efforts with all the other committees. Whew; even writing about it makes me tired!

We must know a lot of talented people, because we ended up having several friends serve on the cultural celebration committees. Our friend Diana (the same lady who has directed all of our school's plays) was the stake dance instructor; the youth in our stake had to learn two large-scale dances that would be performed at the cultural celebration (each stake would be responsible for a separate dance, and then there was a large combined hip-hop style "missionary" dance as the finale. It was actually way cuter than it sounds). Our friend Elizabeth was the stake props & costume director. In our stake, that luckily wasn't as stressful a job as it sounds. Since the Sahuarita Stake was doing a "hoedown" dance, all the kids needed was a cowboy hat & vest, to be worn on top of their celebration T-shirt & jeans.

We also had many other friends who helped out in MANY other ways. Some were captains of ten, some provided medical or security support for the open house and cultural celebration, some were volunteer shift coordinators, some were ushers at the dedication...we really must know a lot of amazing, hard-working people, because there were a lot of man-hours put into this project. We are grateful to have so many wonderful examples of hard work and service living among us!

What was most impressive about all this work was the short turn-around time involved. At many other temples, these committees have nine months to a year to make their plans & put them into motion. In the case of the Tucson Temple, everyone only had about four to six months, so everything was on a greatly accelerated schedule. The fact that everything turned out as well as it did was a testament to the hard work, ingenuity, and spirit of everyone involved.

The temple open house lasted through most of the month of June. The first couple of days of the open house were for VIPs only; presumably, this included a variety of community leaders, government officials, businessmen, etc. Our stake asked for its musically inclined members to sign up to provide background music for these VIP guests as they exited the temple into a small covered pavilion just outside the temple following their tour. I was happy to oblige. My friends Tabatha (on flute) and Julie (on violin) formed a trio and played a half-hour set featuring several songs that used our instruments in various combinations. We met about once a week for a month leading up to this date to practice our numbers.

When we finally arrived to perform our pieces, we were slightly amused to find that almost no visitors were currently touring! We ended up playing through our set twice (the next half-hour time slot after ours hadn't been filled), and we only saw a few youth go through the temple (we were playing in the late morning; I suspect the crowds were much heavier later in the day). Also, our music was a little hard to hear, due to the loud portable air conditioners that were right next to us in the pavilion. But honestly, we didn't mind having a minuscule audience! We played our music happily, giving glory to God. For all of us, this was the first time we'd come within touching distance of the temple, and we were giddy with anticipation for our turn to enter it. That alone made all the practicing and playing worthwhile.

Just a few days later, our family got to take the open house tour ourselves. Nathan and I were overjoyed; not just because we were getting to see the inside of our new temple for the first time, but because we got to share that moment with our children...all of whom I hope will be visiting this temple regularly as they grow older!

Our open house visit was in the evening; it was hot (obviously; it's June in Tucson!), but we still loved to stand outside and admire the view. Our temple's blue dome is relatively unique among LDS temples; most of them are built with spires. We were a little surprised by the design at first, but it has quickly grown on us.

The next week, it was volunteer time for Nathan and myself! Our stake was assigned to completely staff two days of the open house; Tuesday, June 13th and Friday, June 23rd. We signed up to help on both days, but doing different jobs on each day. At first, we just signed up to be on temple usher duty on Friday the 23rd. That sounded like a dream job; we'd be inside most of the time, away from the hot weather. Secondly, we'd get to hang out inside the brand-new beautiful temple for a few hours and all we'd have to do is smile & direct the crowds from room to room. So easy!

Then we noticed that our stake was having real trouble filling its assigned volunteer positions on Tuesday the 13th. This is probably because it was on a Tuesday, in the middle of summer, and lots of families were either out of town or unable to find babysitters. Nathan and I prayed about it and decided to sign up to help as parking attendants on that day (parking was the area that was by far the most understaffed!). What's more, we each ended up signing on for two consecutive parking shifts that day; I would be doing the morning & afternoon shift, and Nathan would take the afternoon & evening shifts. We were worried about our kids, but trusted them to take care of themselves & be responsible. Luckily, our faith in them was rewarded!

I worked in two different parking lots for my two shifts; the morning shift I spent at the temple parking lot, and then switched to the LDS stake center (Sunday meetinghouse) for the afternoon shift. Nathan spent both of his shifts at the stake center. This meant that we got to work together for the afternoon shift. It was definitely hot, but mercifully ours was a "mild" June day of "only" 96 degrees. The following week saw each day topping 110 degrees; I legitimately feared for the brave volunteers who worked the open house on those days!

My morning shift at the temple was fun and drama-free. Our friend John was the shift coordinator, so we had a brief orientation from him first before manning our stations. We rotated positions every half hour or so. We were mostly responsible for directing the tour buses into the proper drop-off spots, and for politely but firmly directing visitors to park at the stake center, not the temple. Most temple open house tours begin with a presentation at a stake center; since this stake center is located a couple of miles away from the temple, and because parking at the actual temple is limited, the visitors needed to be bused to the temple after the presentation. We got a couple of confused looks when explaining this to people ("In order to visit the temple, you have to leave the temple and go to this other place!"), but most did so with no complaints.

Plus, our intrepid volunteer coordinators supplied a bunch of big umbrellas to all the volunteers, so as to keep the beating sun off our heads. I got to look like Mary Poppins and keep cool at the same time.

After finishing my work at the temple (with crowds steadily increasing in size throughout the morning), I hurried over to the stake center to begin my next shift (and to meet up with Nathan). The stake center parking attendants were responsible for directing visitors to empty parking spaces, and also for directing the large tour buses as they entered & exited the parking lot.

Nathan got pretty good at directing those buses! We spent most of our time near the south exit of the parking lot. It was hot, but we had good company and it was fun to see so many familiar faces visiting the temple. We had regular breaks and lots of snacks & water to keep us going. At the end of our day, we were hot, sweaty and very tired, but also very excited to be part of the open house. It was a very positive feeling. All the visitors were kind and polite, and all the volunteers equally so. It's nice to participate in such a "busy, hectic" event and come away feeling so positive about the whole thing!

After the open house finished at the end of June, everyone with a teenager in their home turned their focus to preparing for the cultural celebration. All the usual youth activities for the summer were suspended, to make way for song & dance practices. Besides the two dances our youth needed to learn, they also had a few songs they had to memorize as well. Adults from each ward were called to teach the youth how to sing the songs, and still more adults were called to teach the kids the dance choreography. Some kids with performing arts experience (like Lorelai and many of her school-play-alumni friends) were just fine with all these practices. Many other youth were less impressed, and struggled to come week after week. A few really frustrated kids also dropped out and opted not to participate. I was kind of bummed on behalf of those kids; I thought they were missing out on a great experience! But overall, participation was high and all the kids were patient and happy to be a part of this rare opportunity.

For Lorelai, it was a weird, transitional summer. Even though she didn't turn twelve until the day of the performance, she needed to attend all the rehearsals...so she essentially had to stop attending Activity Days, and start attending Mutual activities a few months ahead of schedule. She was in an in-between stage that made her feel a bit out of place; she wasn't quite a "young woman" yet, but she felt she didn't belong with the Primary girls either. Nevertheless, she was a good sport throughout and prepared diligently for the celebration. She did feel some burnout, particularly in the final few weeks, but overall she was happy to be a part of it.

The Saturday before the cultural celebration was an all-day outdoor activity with all the other youth of our stake. They spent hours dancing outside in the hot August sun, going over their parts again and again. The kids were all good sports, but they were also exhausted. Nathan was tired, too...he attended all the rehearsals in the final month of preparation, and he was right there alongside the kids throughout that day. Lorelai and Nathan were both red-faced, sweaty, and tired by the day's end. As a consolation, the youth all got to participate in a pool party after their long hard day of work. It was to be a brief reprieve before the long challenging weekend that would follow.

The weekend of the cultural celebration and temple dedication was crazy hectic at the beginning. That Friday night, all the youth in the region, and all the adult leaders convened at Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium for the celebration's "dress rehearsal." They were thankfully allowed to wear casual clothing, but they were still there for many long hours.

These two had so much fun that weekend.

Saturday, August 12th was The Big Day. It could also be called The Long Day...but The Good Day as well! We had just enough time to celebrate Lorelai's birthday (more on that in the next blog post), and then it was off to Kino Stadium again, this time for the main event!

Luckily, the thoughtful youth leaders remembered that it was Lorelai's birthday and brought cupcakes to celebrate! It was a nice break in the action. Nathan and Lorelai were pretty tired by this point, but still excited for the show to start.

You may ask, "What were Celeste & Aurora doing this whole time?" Mostly, they were hanging out with me! We missed Lorelai and Daddy a lot during those last couple of weeks. We hoped we'd be able to attend the cultural celebration in person (it would also be televised--poorly, as it turned out--at local meetinghouses), but we were almost afraid to ask for tickets. Luckily, our stake ended up with quite a few extras, and we were happy to request a few. That night, we drove to Tucson and braved the crazy parking lot, but we were all very excited to see the results of everyone's hard work.

It was definitely a night to remember! Being in a stadium with thousands of super-excited youth was energizing. Their joy and eagerness to perform was almost palpable. And the atmosphere in the stadium grew electric when President Dieter F. Uchtdorf (a member of the First Presidency of the LDS Church) showed up to preside over the whole thing.

For months, Lorelai had been asking me if she would get to "meet" President Uchtdorf...he is her favorite LDS General Authority. He is charismatic, loving, and witty, and his talks are fun to listen to. Unsurprisingly, I wasn't able to arrange a private meeting; but Lorelai did get to see him live and in person. Uchtdorf shook the hands of several youth; sadly, he never quite made it over to our stake. But I think they all got a good look at him.

These are probably my favorite two pictures of the whole weekend (thankfully, the photographer shared them on social media & I was able to borrow them); Lorelai looking on in excitement as an Apostle of the Lord walks by. I certainly hope this is a memory she will cherish for a long time to come.

Uchtdorf opened the ceremonies with a short address. He lived in Arizona for several years as a young man, so he has a lot of affection for the state and its people. We were happy he was able to come and help dedicate our temple. After his remarks, it was showtime!

WARNING: LOTS OF VIDEOS AHEAD. Each stake had their time to shine. I didn't have the best seats in the house, but I was able to get snippets of video from many of the musical numbers. These performances evoked many different things; the Hispanic heritage of many of our youth; the dramatic and intense weather patterns in Arizona; the courage and diligence of the early saints who lived in the area; the importance of family togetherness and history; and finally, at the end, the love of missionary work and spreading the good word of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

All week, we'd heard reports of the storms that were going to hit us that night. All week, we waited and sweated and worried. On performance night, though, the clouds kept their distance, and the lightning we saw was far far away. The rain didn't start falling that night until almost everyone had gone home to bed. Nathan said the cultural celebration was one of the most uplifting spiritual experiences he's had in years. I think everyone who attended that night knew they were witnessing something special, and it was an amazing event.

The next morning (Sunday, August 13th, 2017), everyone got to sleep in. Hooray! But this day was the day we'd been eagerly awaiting for five years; it was dedication day for the Tucson Arizona temple!

I don't have any pictures of the dedication. We attended it via satellite in our local meetinghouse. On the video feed, I saw several friends singing in the beautiful choir. I saw our stake president (who is a member of my ward) give the opening prayer at the dedication. Seeing all that made me quite emotional; it was a powerful reminder that this temple was our temple, for our city and our families. I have been so happy to attend temple dedications for the other temples in Arizona over the last few years, but none of them have hit me as hard as this one did. I am so grateful the church was able to build a temple in our area; I hope I can visit it often and teach my children to do so as well.

The theme of the youth cultural celebration was "The Time Is Now." This summer, all the members of the LDS Church in Tucson felt that our "time" had at last arrived. I saw so many people who wanted to be a part of this great moment, and I am so glad for the small part our family had in it. I know the temple is the house of the Lord here on earth; I am so grateful for the lessons we learn within its walls, and the work we do to strengthen eternal family bonds. I can't wait to visit our beautiful, unique, sacred temple again and again.