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Missionary Dan Email #34 from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

September 28, 2009 by rickety Leave a Comment

Presented here are portions of Elder Daniel Willoughby’s thirty fourth email from the Mongolia Ulaanbaatar Mission. If anyone wishes to send Daniel a message, write it in the comments and I will make sure he receives it.

Daniel with Mongolian children.

Transfers

Thanks for the great pictures and the fun emails. I always enjoy reading them. Transfers were Friday and my companion was transferred. My new companion is Tumup ocip (not sure how to spell it in English). He is great. His little sister is a missionary in our district. I think that would be weird to serve in the same district as my younger sister, but lucky I don’t have a younger sister. He doesn’t seem to mind it either.

Investigator

This week we met with our new member’s friend, Odon bat. About 3 years ago she investigated the church and received all the lessons but because of work she never became a member. We were excited to hear that she remembered most of the Joseph Smith story. She said she had a dream about the story and she was able to recall most of the details. She recognized too that it could have been an answer to her prayers to know if the church was true. We were very happy to meet with her and she came to church yesterday too. The Lord has greatly blessed my companion and I with great investigators.

Elders Warner and Weaver

I am still in the same area. I’ve been here for 3 months now. It doesn’t seem quite that long. Maybe next transfer I’ll get to leave the city, since I haven’t left it yet. Lots of missionaries like the country-side, so it would be fun to be able to see what it is like. Now in my district is Elder Weaver. He was in my MTC group. Now there are three of us in the same district. Elder Warner, Weaver, and I. It is really fun to talk to them. All of my MTC group’s elders are in the city so we’ll probably have a year mark party together.

Came To Church

Our less active member that we’ve been meeting with diligently for 3 months came to church yesterday. We met with her Saturday and she said there was no way she’d be able to go. About 2 weeks ago she broke her arm trying to come to church. She said maybe after her arm healed she’d try to come. She hadn’t been to church in probably two years. I was so excited and shocked to see her. She met up with some old friends and it was wonderful. It made me really happy. We’d been thinking on giving up on her and her family for about a month now, but then she came. It really made all the visits to her worth it.

To Melissa Lee

My Mom sent me a package September 3 and I got it September 15. So a package probably takes about 2 weeks is my guess. We’ve heard the American group has been delayed. That is cool that Justin gets to be in Montana. It was a good experience for me to be in Alabama while I waited for my Visa.

Thanks for all the support.

Love from Elder Willoughby
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Provo Utah Temple

September 28, 2009 by rickety Leave a Comment

In October 2008 I visited all thirteen Utah temples. It was then that almost all of the photographs were taken that appear in this series of posts. To download a photograph click on the image to obtain the full resolution of 3264 x 2448 pixels with a file size of 3 to 4Mb.

Provo was the sixth temple built in Utah and the first in Utah County

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Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple

September 27, 2009 by rickety 3 Comments

South Jordan is the only city in the world with two LDS temples

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Ogden Utah Temple

September 27, 2009 by rickety 1 Comment

The temple was the first temple dedicated in the <em>state</em> of Utah rather than in Utah Territory

Ogden is the first temple dedicated in the state of Utah rather than in Utah Territory

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Mount Timpanogos Utah Temple

September 26, 2009 by rickety Leave a Comment

A total of 679,217 people toured the temple during the six weeks of its public open house

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Monticello Utah Temple

September 25, 2009 by rickety Leave a Comment

The Monticello temple was the eleventh temple built in Utah

The temple was constructed in just eight months

Originally there was a white angel Moroni statue that "disappeared" on cloudy days

Monticello Utah Temple Facts

Announced: 4 October 1997
Site: 1.33 acres.
Exterior finish: White marble.
Temple design: Classic modern.
Rooms: Baptistry, celestial room, two endowment rooms, two sealing rooms.
Total floor area: 11,225 square feet.
Dimensions: 79 feet by 108 feet; 66 feet high to statue of angel Moroni.
Groundbreaking, site dedication: 17 Nov 1997, by Elder Ben B. Banks of the Seventy.
Dedication: 26-27 July 1998, by President Gordon B. Hinckley; rededicated 17 November 2002 by President Gordon B. Hinckley.

The temple was constructed in just eight months

Monticello Utah Temple Impressions

I have never visited the Monticello temple. Half way through the session we relocated to a terrestrial room. The celestial room was smaller than the one at Vernal but still very beautiful and peaceful. A temple worker showed us one of the sealing rooms. It was about the same size as the Bountiful sealing rooms that I have attended for weddings. She said there was another sealing room and just one endowment room if you don’t count the terrestrial room.

The temple has few buildings around it and a local told us that a herd of deer will sometimes come through on the land across the street from the temple. This was a very friendly temple with the temple workers shaking our hands, asking where we were from, and insisting that we come back again.

Originally 7,000 square feet, the temple was once the smallest in the Church

Later added was a second ordinance room, second sealing room, entrance canopy, waiting room, laundry and additional offices

Added later: a second ordinance room, second sealing room, entrance canopy, waiting room, laundry and additional offices

Other Utah Temples

Bountiful Utah Temple
Draper Utah Temple
Jordan River Utah Temple
Logan Utah Temple
Manti Utah Temple
Mount Timpanogos Utah Temple
Ogden Utah Temple
Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple
Provo Utah Temple
Saint George Utah Temple
Salt Lake Utah Temple
Vernal Utah Temple

Manti Utah Temple

September 24, 2009 by rickety 2 Comments

This is one of two temples still employing live acting for presentation of the endowment

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Logan Utah Temple

September 23, 2009 by rickety 3 Comments

The temple is visible for miles throughout northern Utah's Cache Valley

The temple was the second temple built in Utah

Logan Utah Temple Facts

Announced: 18 May 1877.
Site: 9 acres.
Exterior finish: Dark-colored, siliceous limestone, extremely hard and compact in texture, was used for the major portion of the temple. Buff-colored limestone, more easily carved, was used wherever intricate shaping was necessary.
Temple design: Castellated style.
Rooms: Baptistry, celestial room, four endowment rooms, 11 sealing rooms, five stories.
Total floor area: Originally 59,130 square feet, 115,507 square feet after remodeling.
Dimensions: 168 feet by 224 feet; 86 feet high. The east tower is 170 feet high; the west tower is 165 feeet high; there are four octagonal towers, each 100 feet high.
Groundbreaking, site dedication: 17 May 1877; site dedicated by Elder Orson Pratt, ground broken by President John W. Young of the First Presidency.
Dedication: 17-19 May 1884, by President John Taylor.

The temple was built entirely by volunteer labor over a seven-year period

Logan Utah Temple Impressions

My wife’s parents were married in the Logan temple. I have visited the grounds before but this is the first time I have been inside the temple. On my last visit in October I arrived in the early morning and you can’t miss the temple in the dark. It is on a hill and well lit.

After leaving the temple there was a cold wind blowing as a storm moved in. It is always interesting to view a temple with a backdrop of storm clouds.