Boston Massachusetts Temple

It was a little challenging getting to the Boston Temple, because the GPS coordinates didn't come up correctly on the taxi drivers unit.  So all three of us were using our phones to search for the right coordinates.  It was comical, but we finally made it!  I spotted the temple as it appeared for a moment, on the side of the freeway, and quickly motioned to the taxi driver, that that was the place.

The first thing I noticed were the beautiful flowers and landscaping.  Next, I looked up at the steeple, which compliments the many wonderful, historic buildings and churches throughout the area.  Later, one of the temple workers told me the interesting story of how the church acquired the land on which the temple is built.

This is the story, as best I can remember it.  Several years ago, a woman of a different faith, owed a large parcel of land that she wanted to sell to a church.  At the time, our church could only make use of half of the land, but they offered to pay her the full price for that half, if she would be willing to donate the remainder of the land to the church for future purposes.  She agreed.  The church proceeded to build a large church, called a stake center, on half of the land.

Around 1995, the church was searching for land in nearby areas around Boston, to build a temple on, without success.  One day, as President Hinckley was visiting the area, the Stake President was asked if he knew of some land in the area, suitable for a temple site.  The Stake President responded that the church already owned this piece of land.  So, it was a kind of rediscovery of this property.

Bill and I sat together in the Celestial Room of the temple for a long time, following the session we attended.  There were many thoughts and prayers running through my mind, regarding my family and others.  But, my heart was flooded with appreciation for my husband, and I leaned over and whispered my feelings to him.  Moments like these help sustain us during the pressures of life outside the temple.

I noticed the shape of the windows in the chapel area of the temple.  They were set back, deep into the walls, and reminded me of the thick walls, with slits for windows, in stone castles.  I thought how, even as castle walls protect the inhabitants from intruders, these temple walls protect me and my family from the darts of the adversary.