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| Greg Farley photo |
I was fascinated and amazed to tour the St. George Temple. After reading and studying the stories of the unbelievable sacrifices that the early pioneers made to build it, I was awe-inspired to see it in real life.
Aunt Linette, Mom (Kathy) and I drove together to St. George on Thursday, October 5, 2023. We stayed in a hotel. Aunt Linette and I shared a room, and we talked the whole weekend. It was like a teenager slumber party.
On Friday, October 6, we toured the temple. I was so fascinated by the architecture designed by my own great-great-great-great grandfather, Truman O. Angell. I had some questions afterward, so we were directed to the visitors' center. After the assistant there answered questions and told us some history of the building, she said, "You can go back through the temple again if you like - you don't have to go through the church again, you can just go back into the temple."
I was so excited! I really wanted to go back through. But Mom and Aunt Linette were tired and hungry. So I asked if they would go to lunch, pick up some food for me, and come back to pick me up after my second tour. They agreed.
The second time I went through, I had a question about what it was like before and how it was changed that I asked one of the ushers just outside the baptistry, even though it's supposed to be a silent tour. She told me that they had added a walkway to the laundry. The walls were lined half-way up with metal. She said that was so the laundry carts could go through without damaging the walls. So the first part of the tour is actually through a laundry chute!
It was amazing to see the oxen that the pioneers made by hand and transported so carefully all the way from Salt Lake City by wagon:
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| Baptistry |
After going through the laundry chute on my second tour, I went up a flight of stairs. As I was walking up, I saw a man talking earnestly to an usher on the landing at the top. He said, "I made one of the cabinets in that room. Can I just go in and show my family?" The usher looked a little hesistant, then seemed to say, "Why not?" and moved the stanchion and rope to the side so the man could go in. In the meantime, some of his family had gone on ahead, so he had to go get them and bring them back.
I made an impulsive decision to join them - I wanted to see the cabinet he had made! So I walked in. The usher asked, "Are you with them?" And I said, "Yes!" thinking, "I am now!"
Once I got there and some of the family started gathering, I asked them if it was okay for me to join them. They said yes and didn't seem to mind. The man talked about the replica cabinet he made, how he made it, and how he fashioned it from looking at other furniture from that time period and a book on pioneer furniture. When he had finished describing it and everyone had admired it properly, I asked if I could continue with them on the tour. They agreed. The man introduced himself as Fred Denison. Later I found out that he was from Pocatello, and that he lived on the Valleyview hill! His dad was the bishop of the Valleyview Ward for a time! He said he graduated from Pocatello High School and named the year. Later the wife told me proudly that Fred had been the student body president his senior year.
As we were leaving the office with the cabinet, I said to Fred Denison, "My great-great-great-great grandfather was the architect and carpenter for the temples. And here you are -- it's like you're the embodiment of my great-great-great-great grandfather!" Brother Denison looked like he had no idea what to think about my crazy statement. But I won the family over, and we were all good friends by the end of the tour.
When I went back to work the next week, I found Fred Denison's senior photo on the wall of former student body presidents:
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| Fred Denison's student body president photo |
Brother Denison made several pieces of the furniture in the temple. The one he was most proud of was the three-legged table in the center of the celestial room. He had to put extra support and stabilizers under the tabletop for the legs, because the marble tabletop was so heavy, the table was unstable on three legs. But he was able to stabilize it so that it would not be a danger to any patron:
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| Celestial Room |
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