Kansas City Temple Dedication

Having a new temple build in your area really is a once-in-a-life-time opportunity. We feel very blessed to have been able to be involved in several different areas. I already posted about being tour guides during the open house. (After the temple is finished and before it is dedicated for use, it is open for the public to go through.)

Typically the night before the dedication there is a cultural celebration put on by the youth that live in the surrounding areas. This is a show of song, dance, and lots of talent. It helps explain and celebrate the cultural of that area. And now you are thinking, Kansas? Really? What cultural? That is exactly what I thought but, surprisingly there is lots to offer. I had the opportunity to help our stake learn their dance routines for their parts in the show. This was so perfect because I really miss dancing and I love being able to teach it. Our youth had a pioneer-like section where they danced with partners to a medley composed by some people in Branson just for this occasion. They practiced weekly and on several weekends in preparation.

I also had the chance to be a chaperone at the actual event. I helped lead and organize the youth, but my main responsibility was to man one of the tunnels that lead to the performance arena. I helped youth learn their entrances and exits and then helped lead them on and off during the show. It was so much fun. I love being involved and helping out with things like this. It was also really neat to meet and work with people who are also in the temple district.

This is a picture of me and my friend Megan (at 5:45 am might I add) who also helped with the dancing and was a chaperone. All stake chaperones were instructed to wear white hats so they could be identified. I have been mistaken for a youth many times in the past so I made sure to get a nice big white hat so there would be no mistake! It helped-for the most part. 

The actual event was crazy.  A good crazy, but crazy. In all there were 3,000 youth that participated. We had one day to all be together to rehearse, be on the arena floor, learn where to go, etc before the show that same night. So many things went wrong including the building being locked when we showed up early that morning, the lighting not working, the big jumbo-tron blacking out, the dress rehearsal cut way short, but in the end it was very obvious that the Lord's hand was in all of this. At one time the whole cast (3,000 youth plus leaders) knelt down in a group prayer to pray that the tech guys could be able to fix the problems so we could have a chance to practice before the actual show. Of course, it worked and the show was a tremendous success. The prophet was there and the spirit was very present.  Click here to see some snippets of the show!

The next morning was Sunday May 6, 2012 the day of the dedication. We had the opportunity to be inside the temple for one of the live dedicatory sessions. Wow-what a neat experience! The prophet walked by our room and Elder Holland stuck his head in and waved. They talked about, in the history of the church, how far we have come. The governor of Missouri came through the temple open house and it was a very historic moment when you consider, at the start of our church, the events that occurred in Missouri and particularly with the governor. To be able to reflect on those events and to now have one our holy temples there with the support of local civil leaders is pretty awesome. We feel truly blessed to have a temple close by. It has been pretty crazy with all the events surrounding it but we have loved the incredible experiences we have had.