Traveling to the Pittsburgh Temple

Obviously some people were not interested in getting a ticket for the temple dedication itself or had a change of plans so our Stake President offered us 2 tickets for the 10am session. If we didn't have the tickets we would have had our recommends checked at the door of the chapel and could have viewed the service from Lorain. Jocelyn was generous and invited us to come early with Jinx so it worked our perfectly. We drove down on Saturday, slept well, were first in line at the temple, came back to her home afterwards to be with the kid. Jocelyn's kids, Scarlett and Autumn and Honor and Val, worked before the 10am session by putting on the shoe coverings for the guests. They thought they would be taken to the stake center after their 'shift' but instead were ushered into the temple! What a glorious treat. Jocelyn and Steve worked the lines for the 1:30pm session and then returned inside the temple for that session of the dedication. Jocelyn of course was able to shake elder Uchtdorf's hand. They returned to the house and we had dinner and they convinced us to spend an extra night which I gratefully agreed to. I didn't want to drive home as the light dimmed and besides it was along day and we are old. Jocelyn had been asked by The Church News to take pictures of the event. She got up early for the magical BLUE HOUR, right before sunrise, to get the best lighting but felt the crowd pictures weren't very good. However, the Church News added all she submitted to the online site. It's lovely that her skills have been noticed and requested. She has spent so many hours at the temple, taking hundreds of people on the tours, cleaning off the chairs that were rented for the event. She is so blessed to have felt the spirit guide her to this area by the prompting she received that a temple would be here. She will be a temple worker again.

The session for us became with the recorded message from President Russell M Nelson: he talked about how the temple here would strengthen the members and the increased numbers of temples throughout the world would lesson the power of Satan in the world. Temples would be a sacred space from the contentions of the world. We are tolay our burdens at the door of the temple and be taught through the Holy Spirit. Attending the temple will increase our ability to repent and forgiven. THE TEMPLE IS A SYMBOL OF OUR FAITH INLIFE AFTER DEATH. The temple President: there is no end to the deceptions Satan will use. Listen only to the believers. There is a healing powere when we make and keep covenants. The temple Matron: 1) Learn to provide loving service ad Jesus Christ did in order to become more like God. Marian G Romney said that Servive leads to exhaltation 2) Hold fast to sacred things through CARE, DEFERENCE and Stake President Hoak: Nephi was asked a question but responded that he did not know the meaning of all things. The Pittsburg saints prepared all things Spiritually and altho there wasnt a temple for so long they didn't feel badly. Elder Uchtdork: Saints have lived in this area since the 1840s. 1919 James Talmage came to talk to the community and explain the gospel in defense to the community of Jesus Christ and then had to escape for his life. Various family names were mentioned as having lived in the area. HATCHes since 1920. First branch was organized in 1929. 2024 has 10 stakes in this temple district. The desire to share the gosel has always flourished. The blessings of the Gospel are universal. CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, Pennsylvania — Because Pittsburgh is known as the “City of Bridges,” a granite bridge was incorporated into the landscaping design of the Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Temple grounds. The bridge connects the new house of the Lord to a nearby meetinghouse and provides a picturesque location for photographs. Standing at the crest of the bridge under blue skies with the new temple in the background, Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said the structure holds deeper meaning. “We are standing on a bridge here, right next to the temple, which is a wonderful symbol. This is a place where earth is connected to heaven and the other way around. It is a flow of information and of wonderful inspiration and revelation,” Elder Uchtdorf said. “The house of the Lord is here to make covenants which connect us to heaven. These bridges, from one side to the other, from earth to heaven, are real.”

“This temple will be a blessing to you,” Elder Uchtdorf said. “It will enrich your lives, inspire you to create in your homes and families a spirit of hope and peace, and endow you with blessings from on high.” Daryl and Karen May from our Lorain Ward. Daryl is heavily involved with the Cleveland Temple and gives us Drone videos of the update