by Maddy Stutz
Christmas Eve blanket forts and summertime puzzle building may not seem like the most meaningful of traditions, but in simple ways, these and other unique family traditions have brought me closer to the family that I adore, and I’m grateful for every loveable moment.
Establishing family traditions that unite family members is important, but those traditions can be made eternally significant when they involve gathering your family to, around, or in the temple. It doesn’t matter if you live near a temple or if the closest you can get is via Google Earth. You can establish temple family traditions that create special bonds between your living family members and connect them with their ancestors. Here are different examples from families who have found ways to create meaningful temple traditions.
Help Everyone Get Involved
“It all started after my parents got back from their mission,” Chris Matthews explained. “My dad got this idea to have monthly temple trips with all of the cousins. Our first trip was to the Ogden Utah Temple, where 28 of us did the work for nearly 125 of our deceased relatives.”
Since that first temple trip in February 2016, the Matthews family has visited 7 temples and performed ordinances for over 1,000 family members through this newfound tradition. Younger cousins are baptized and confirmed while older cousins as well as uncles and aunts help perform the ordinances, offer a dry towel, or direct traffic. Everyone is involved. “One of my dad’s motives for this idea was to help my nieces and nephews stay strong in the gospel and grow in their appreciation of their heritage,” Chris continued.
A few months ago, Chris’s dad passed away, and on his birthday, relatives in Hawaii, Arizona, Utah, and various other states flocked to temples to honor the man that started it all. Even though their grandfather is gone, they plan to keep this tradition going strong.
Take a Drive Together
“Our three youngest boys are adopted,” Melanie Nielsen said as we talked about her family traditions while they lived in Pocatello, Idaho, “and they remember being sealed to us and the feelings that they had in the temple. When they were little, they would always ask to drive by the temple just to look at it. Doing frequent temple drives with the kids became our own little family tradition.”
Strengthen Family Ties
Sometimes keeping your family focused on the temple can happen through unconventional means, especially if you don’t live close enough to visit on a regular basis. No matter how far away you live from the temple, you can create traditions that will bring the spirit of the temple into your home and family.
In my own family, my grandparents have created a storybook for each of their grandkids every Christmas for as long as I can remember. It’s filled with their favorite memories of us throughout the year, poems and short stories written by my grandpa, and a spiritual message for us to read. It may not immediately seem like a tradition focused on the temple, but it’s something that has reminded all 26 grandkids that we’re a sealed family.
For the past few years, my grandparents have switched it up to focus primarily on a relative that has passed away. The first ancestor storybook I received was about my great-grandmother. It included pictures, a life recap, her patriarchal blessing, and her testimony of the Savior. “It’s important to know where you came from,” my grandma said. “I can look at my grandkids and see so many characteristics of my mother and grandmother in them, and I think it’s important for them to see how those traits have been passed on.” Looking back on the lives of our ancestors has helped my family to feel gratitude for the blessings of the temple that seal us together for eternity. By remembering them, we can keep the spirit of the temple in our hearts, even when we can’t be there physically.
Create Your Own Temple Tradition
Gathering your family to the temple can be a well-organized event or a spur of the moment decision, but both accomplish the same goal. Are you looking for some new traditions to start with your family? Here are a few ideas to help you brainstorm:
- Pick a temple location and teach a family home evening lesson about that temple’s history. There are several books and articles that go into detail about the making of each temple. After all, every temple has a story.
- Make a list of the temples your ancestors were married in, and then take a road trip to visit them.
- When possible, visit an open house for a new temple in person or virtually look through images of a new temple by following Mormon Newsroom.
- Create a temple experiences book, and invite family members to write their testimonies and experiences of the temple if their experiences are not too sacred to share.
- When a family member attends the temple for the first time, have them write down their thoughts and impressions. When a new member enters the temple, give them the previous testimonies to read.
- Print some coloring pages of temples, and spend the night crafting with your kids. Talk about why the temple has been a sanctuary for you and about how they can work toward worshipping inside one day.
Download the coloring page of a family in front of the temple, the temple, and temple portraits.
