The Mexico City Temple

7/19/14

We took the opportunity to go and see the Mexico City Temple.  It is currently closed for renovations but it has a visitor’s center that is “2^nd only to Salt Lake.”  It was most impressive.  The Visitor's Center didn’t look that big, but it kept going with great videos and displays.  We took two missionaries with us, Elders Reyes and Vizueto.  The old Jerusalem display took your breath away.  The church in Mexico left you appreciating all the saints here.  It was in the 1940’s that President McKay, in response to the number of Mexican saints traveling to the Arizona temple,  decided to have the temple ordinances translated into Spanish.  Keith and I didn’t do so well in the touching videos about the family.  By the time they had moved us through 4 displays and connecting videos, we were just crying.  The sister missionaries guiding the tour didn’t quite know what to do with us, so they went to the hidden stash of Kleenex’s hidden in the flower arrangement.  The grounds include dormitories that used to house the Mexico MTC.  It also has a large apartment building for temple workers and a Health Clinic for Elders and Sisters who may need it.  It really was an impressive site!

Words of Wisdom by Elder McDowell while sitting with him in the office: Mission work is like suffering, suffering, suffering, inexplicable joy, suffering.... etc.    Missionaries arrive in the mission in all different sizes - but they all leave the same size - heavy ones lose weight, and skinny ones gain.  (He was commenting about his 20 pound weight gain – and he is still skinny – he must have been a bean pole at the beginning!)