The temple is definitely in the air here in Rexburg. I went through the Open House on January 17. When one of the ushers was showing me where to go, he said, "Single? All by yourself?" and he shook his head. Thank you, kind sir, for reminding me of my pathetic single life. The temple was absolutely amazing. I had never been inside a temple before, other than in the waiting room or baptistry. All of the designs, motifs, and murals were created by locals. A common motif throughout the entire temple is wheat. The idea stemmed from the wheat fields next to the temple. Even the refreshments after the Open House are from Broulim's and Albertson's. The temple will be dedicated on February 3 at 9:00 a.m. My ward is assigned to meet in the Kirkum for the dedication.
I have also been involved in a temple art project with one of my English teachers who is an accomplished watercolorist. He made 24 Rexburg Temple paintings that now hang in the McKay Library. I quickly learned the virtues of art critiquing and was able to give feedback and suggestions for how to improve the paintings (I hope!). I also helped edit his artist's statement, which is a talk that he gave at the show's opening reception. The night before the show I joined his family (or at least part of his family) in hanging the paintings. It was a lot work--deciding the order of the paintings according to size, color, theme, etc.; bending and cutting the metal hangers so the paintings would all hang at the right height; leveling the paintings; measuring the distance between paintings; hanging placards; and then taking the paintings and placards down and starting all over again whenever someone would say, "I don't think that is going to work. Those two paintings can't go next to each other." Two-and-a-half hours later, I was tired and sore, but very happy with out how it turned out. I also attended the opening reception Thursday night, which was wonderful. Being involved in this whole process has been very educational and provided me with many opportunities to meet new people. After working so closely with these paintings, I was almost sad when Brother Samuelson said he'd already sold four of them. I think I'll take pictures of them all before the show closes in March. They are beautiful paintings.
I received two new callings last Sunday. Last semester I was the compassionate service leader, and I figured I would stay there. This semester, however, I was called to be the Enrichment leader. I'm not sure how this is going to work out--I've never been in charge of something like this before, and the thought is very scary. My other calling was one I kind of asked for. Our ward was assigned to fill five slots for weekly Rexburg Temple workers, and I volunteered to be one of those five. I'm not sure what my assignment will be, but I was assured that I don't have to be endowed. It sounded like I will be doing baptisms every week. The student stakes also will have a monthly cleaning rotation. It's so cool to see how the temple has and is drastically changing the entire community.
I have also been involved in a temple art project with one of my English teachers who is an accomplished watercolorist. He made 24 Rexburg Temple paintings that now hang in the McKay Library. I quickly learned the virtues of art critiquing and was able to give feedback and suggestions for how to improve the paintings (I hope!). I also helped edit his artist's statement, which is a talk that he gave at the show's opening reception. The night before the show I joined his family (or at least part of his family) in hanging the paintings. It was a lot work--deciding the order of the paintings according to size, color, theme, etc.; bending and cutting the metal hangers so the paintings would all hang at the right height; leveling the paintings; measuring the distance between paintings; hanging placards; and then taking the paintings and placards down and starting all over again whenever someone would say, "I don't think that is going to work. Those two paintings can't go next to each other." Two-and-a-half hours later, I was tired and sore, but very happy with out how it turned out. I also attended the opening reception Thursday night, which was wonderful. Being involved in this whole process has been very educational and provided me with many opportunities to meet new people. After working so closely with these paintings, I was almost sad when Brother Samuelson said he'd already sold four of them. I think I'll take pictures of them all before the show closes in March. They are beautiful paintings.
I received two new callings last Sunday. Last semester I was the compassionate service leader, and I figured I would stay there. This semester, however, I was called to be the Enrichment leader. I'm not sure how this is going to work out--I've never been in charge of something like this before, and the thought is very scary. My other calling was one I kind of asked for. Our ward was assigned to fill five slots for weekly Rexburg Temple workers, and I volunteered to be one of those five. I'm not sure what my assignment will be, but I was assured that I don't have to be endowed. It sounded like I will be doing baptisms every week. The student stakes also will have a monthly cleaning rotation. It's so cool to see how the temple has and is drastically changing the entire community.
2 comments:
Very cool. You sound busy. It seems like you are involved in so many new and interesting things. What an amazing school to be at! Whose great idea was it to start going there? Oh yah, mine. Then Aaron followed me and then I forced Justin and Stephanie to come keep me company-- and then you so obligingly came with out having to twist your arm. At least that's how I'm choosing to see it in my self-centered world. But wow, I'm a little jealous you get to be there right now and do all these awesome things.
I'm excided to come and see Br. Samuelson's beautiful artwork.
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