We are so proud of Julia and Emma!
They participated in the Ogden Temple Cultural Celebration on Saturday.
Here's Julia in the choir:
And here's Emma. She was in the dance floor choir as a Nephite:
Today this beautiful temple will be dedicated!
Read all about it in this article from the Deseret News:
OGDEN — LDS youths from the Ogden area (74 stakes!) spent their Saturday singing and dancing in celebration of the remodeled Ogden Utah Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints during a “cultural celebration.”
The event, held in conjunction with the temple’s rededication on Sunday, brought more than 16,000 youths to fill the Dee Events Center at Weber State University. Their families, and others living in the temple district, gathered in stake centers to watch a broadcast of the event.
Right before the event started, the youths — dressed in bright-colored T-shirts — stood and sang “We Thank Thee O God for a Prophet” as LDS Church President Thomas S. Monson walked into the Dee Events Center. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles welcomed the youths to the first performance, telling them they “are the hope of Israel.”
Drawing from the performance’s theme, “Shine the light,” Elder Holland spoke of the light that comes as the youths join together to light a darkened world.
“Your collective light — each of you individually being who you are and what you are … living the gospel and loving the Lord and keeping your light shining — as each of you come together … your collective light can change a darkened world,” he said.
Because there are so many youths living in the Ogden Temple district, two casts performed — one at 1 p.m. and the other at 7 p.m — so all who wanted to be involved could have the opportunity. Many of those participants were part of a youth choir that accompanied the entire performance.
“In the beginning it was only going to be one performance,” said Dennis Ferrin, director of the event. “It is the first cultural celebration that I am aware of to ever have a second performance.”
Although there were a lot of youths to coordinate, the high numbers were part of what made the event so special.
“They have been practicing for three months on a regular basis,” said Elder Craig G. Fisher, an area Seventy for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who has led the events for the temple’s rededication. “They will remember the words to these songs the rest of their lives, and they will always bring that sweet memory for when things get hard. I hope they take away a love of the temple, a love of the gospel and that the Spirit bears witness to them that it is true.”
Whether it was a dance honoring the Native American settlers, trappers or emigrants to the area, costumes of the eras filled the floor as each portion of the program highlighted the first settlers — including Ogden’s namesake, Peter Skeen Ogden — and industries in the area. As part of the theme, a lantern passed around to different participants led the audience through the history of northern Utah.
“We used a lantern traveling from scene to scene to represent the light that (the youths) will shine on the world — the light of Christ,” Ferrin said.
Some numbers had as many as 700 youths involved while others included a short video segment with one youth sharing his or her testimony. When not performing, the youths filled the seats and watched.
“I loved being with all of the other youths,” said Robbie Maloy, a 13-year-old participant from Clinton, Utah. “It seemed much shorter during the actual performance. I could really feel the spirit in the room and loved being a part of it.”
One of the final scenes had hundreds of youths carrying pieces that made up a large picture of the first Ogden temple. Later, they turned the pieces over to present a large photo of the newly remodeled Ogden Temple.
“None of these kids were born when the temple was built originally, so they are excited to now have a temple again,” Ferrin said. “We hope this helps the kids look towards the temple.”
Email: mholman@desnews.com , Twitter: @marianne_holman
.jpg)
