Once in a lifetime tour

This week we took advantage of a rare opportunity. We went on a tour of the new Mormon temple in Farmington, CT. After the temple is dedicated, non-Mormons will not be allowed inside. Because it is a special holy place to them, we were only allowed to photograph outside. I can only tell you the marble (white Italian accented by dark marble from Pakistan) and the chandeliers (one with over 9000 crystals) and murals and huge paintings were amazing. Outside in a tent where I was allowed to take pictures, were pictures of other temples, which I will share below to give you an idea.

This is the second temple in New England. Temples are different from the churches where anyone is welcome. Only Mormons who show identification can enter the temple after it is dedicated. The temple is a scared place for ordinances of wedding, baptisms and a place of higher learning. One must wear white upon entering.

This 32,000+ square foot temple is located on 11 acres. Constructed of 13,000 pieces of hand carved white granite from China, it is built to last one hundred years or more.

At the top of the 115 foot steeple is a statue of Moroni, an angel found in Mormon literature, who they feel is the angel mentioned in Revelations 14, This statue is more than 13 feet tall and weighs 1,000 pounds. It is wrapped in 22-karate gold leaf.

Inside the temple are various rooms for different purposes. Here are pictures in the temporary tent outside that I was allowed to photograph. They are not of this temple, but others.

This is a Celestial Room. The chandelier in Farmington is much more amazing than this one pictured below.  It is a 9500 piece crystal chandelier--so awesome.

The baptismal in Farmington is similar to this one pictured here. The oxen below represent the twelve tribes.

 A statue of Jesus in the reception tent.

The grounds are beautifully landscaped.  

I highly recommend anyone of any faith taking the opportunity to tour this amazing structure if only for the architecture which is breathtaking. Tours will run through October 23, after that the general public will never be allowed to enter again, so if you are not Mormon, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity.

If you are going to view just the architecture, they don't explain much of the details that I have included in this blog. I did some internet research. The price tag seems to be a secret, but I did see someone quote 60 million dollars. I actually think that may be a low estimate. One Mormon there stated that they didn't know the cost but that it was worth more than whatever the dollar amount was. That is how sacred this is to them. You can sign up for a tour, which takes about an hour, by logging onto their website. It was an interesting and jaw dropping tour.