Reverent awe felt strolling amid myriad lights
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The beauty of Temple Square at Christmas time radiates in the reverent awe visitors exude as they stroll amid myriad lights — a visual treat that stirs the soul and invokes loftier thoughts.
The lighting of Temple Square and the nearby Church complex is an annual treat loved by members and their friends. The splendor of the setting, with its bedazzling brilliance of colored lights, creates a sense of celebration that fosters contemplation of the Savior and a love for the luster of His life.
Mild temperatures and the advent of the festive season prompted thousands to gather on Church grounds in anticipation of the switching on of hundreds of thousands of lights the evening of Nov. 26.
Sister missionaries, many of whom have never served on Temple Square during the Christmas season, were busy welcoming visitors and answering questions or ushering throngs of viewers to the Christus statue in the rotunda of the North Visitors Center.
New this year on Temple Square is the priesthood restoration display outside the South Visitors Center where a bronze statue depicting Peter, James and John restoring the Melchizedek Priesthood — safely preserved in storage for several decades — has been placed near the well-known statue of John the Baptist restoring the Aaronic Priesthood.
Frigid temperatures a few days later thinned the crowds. Young families with children warmly bundled against the cold, their eyes barely seeing between shawls and hats, strolled through the lights with a stiff-legged gait.
Others, more artistically inclined, stopped at various vantage points to note the subtle changes in hues of color.
In all, it was a scene of utter tranquility.
No matter how often visitors have strolled the grounds, each year brings new delights in sights, sounds and feelings that add to the worship of the birth of Savior of the world.
"I've been pleased," said President Milo R. LeBaron Jr. of the Temple Square Mission. "We evaluate the work of each day. We look to make a good experience for everyone who comes."
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