A Place of Love and Beauty
“Who knows what this is?” Sister Gonzales held up a picture of a white building with pointed steeples.
Samantha’s eyes sparkled. She knew. “That’s the temple.”
“Right!” the nursery leader said. “And I’m going to sing you a song about the temple.” Sister Gonzales began to sing:
Samantha smiled. Yesterday, her family had gone inside that very temple to be sealed for time and all eternity. Samantha wasn’t quite sure what that meant, but Daddy had explained that now they could be together as a family forever.
Sister Gonzales continued singing:
Just thinking about the temple gave Samantha that same warm feeling she had felt when she was inside it. It felt like being in heaven.
The two women dressed in white in the youth center had been very kind to her and her brothers. Samantha called them “her angels.” While the children were waiting to join their parents, Sister Ferguson read stories to Samantha, and Sister Moore gave her some cookies and juice. Then they had both watched as Samantha built a temple with blocks.
Sister Gonzales’s voice was sweet and clear.
Samantha already knew that the temple was Heavenly Father’s house. And it was a beautiful house! She thought about the sealing room with its crystal lights and mirrors. She remembered how her family had knelt around the altar as the temple sealer, dressed in a white suit, spoke the words of the sealing ordinance.
Afterward, they stood in front of the mirrors, and it seemed to Samantha that her family just kept going on and on and on. Maybe that’s what forever means, she thought.
By now, Sister Gonzales was finishing the second verse of the song:
Samantha was glad that she belonged to a forever family.
[illustrations] Illustrated by Julie F. Young
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Children’s Songbook, page 95.
Just Like Him
[illustration] Christ’s Image by Heinrich Hofmann
Growing Up with the Temple
Photocopy page 19 onto card stock, or glue the page onto card stock and allow the glue to dry. Color all the pictures and cut them out. Stack them in order, with 12 on the bottom and 1 on the top. Make sure the right edges are even. Staple the stack near the left edge. Flip the pages to see the boy grow up with the temple.
[illustrations] Illustrated by Julie F. Young
Snowman Sandwich
To make this lunchtime friend, you will need: two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches made with white bread (head and body); two pretzel sticks (arms); three baby carrots (nose and feet); one large graham cracker, broken into sections (hat); raisins (eyes and buttons); three celery sticks (scarf); and more peanut butter (glue).
Ask an older person to cut a large circle from each sandwich. Then lay the circles on a large plate or cookie sheet, and follow the picture to make your own snowman. Use peanut butter to stick the graham crackers together. Add the other parts of the snowman by pressing them into the bread.
Photo by Jed Clark
