Payson Temple Cultural Celebration

Tonight was the night Dallin and Amber have been working towards for the past 4 months. Prior to dedicating the LDS Payson Utah Temple, the youth in the geographic temple district were asked to participate in a production depicting the culture of the area. Dallin participated in a dance/song from the Prince of Egypt - Through Heaven's Eyes. This song was chosen to represent the area in Goshen where the church has constructed a movie set depicting ancient Israel. Other groups danced to songs representing rodeo, baseball, patriotism, etc. Each song was chosen to depict another area in the temple district or an aspect of our faith. In the middle of the production, Amber sang a solo of the third verse of the National Anthem. She was the only one on the field. She did an incredible job! Jeff and I were so proud of her! She looked like a natural. She was so at ease and didn't over perform. I know I may be a little biased, but I think she was the best soloist by far! Over 13,000 youth participated. I loved the energy you could feel from the youth. It was a miracle that they could even perform. The performance took place at the BYU football stadium. About an hour before it was supposed to start, a huge storm rolled in. There was lightning, thunder, and sheets of rain for over an hour. Everyone sought shelter under the bleachers. The weather forecast appeared bleak. In fact, the tech crew were reported to have been monitoring the lightning strikes in the area and stated that if another one went off within 15 miles of the stadium, they would have had to cancel the performance altogether. I think it was more than coincidence that the rain finally stopped and the kids were allowed to perform. It was quite the production! They did a great job! In the end, they revealed a "rainbow" of hope (which was done by removing the white button-up shirts they were all wearing over a specific colored t-shirt) that I thought was even more appropriate given the previous weather conditions. It was a fun, inspiring evening. I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to parent these incredible kids. I love them more and more each day. I am so proud of who they are and the choices they are making with their lives. Sure, I have my moments of parental frustration and I will be the first to admit that perfection does not exist for either child or parent in this house, but I wouldn't trade these kids for the world!

Here's a pic of Dallin (second kid back on the right) during rehearsals earlier that day.

Amber getting ready for her solo performance during rehearsals.

Amber with several girls from our ward. She said she felt like she was living in a fairy tale all day because people would want to take their picture with her and because she was able to meet several church authorities before the performance.

Amber with the other three female soloists.

Danny, Jeff and I still smiling in spite of the rain.

Our tickets to get into the event along with a couple key chains I got for Dallin and Amber to commemorate the event.

"Fill the World with Love" was the theme of the production and inspired everyone from participants to spectators to share love with others.

President Henry B. Eyring, first counselor in the first presidency of the church, presided at the event.

Each stake designed a "flag" to represent their stake. Ours clearly shows the farming communities we are surrounded by.

Our "flag bearers" marching into the BYU stadium with our "flag".

The first group performance...Happy (by Pharell) to represent how we feel about having a temple so close.

Second...May Pole performance representing the apple orchards that surround this area.

Third...this was the group Dallin performed with.

Dallin is on the 25 yard line, second group from the back, third kid from the front of the group.

Dallin is in the back group, third row back, second kid from the left.

Fourth performance...Patriotic performance to represent the faith of our Founding Fathers.

Bag Pipe band playing Amazing Grace

Fifth...Stripling Warriors to represent the faith of the ancient prophets.

Amber, alone on the 50 yard line, belting out the National Anthem.

Sixth group perforamce...basebal

Seventh perforamce...rodeo

Eighth performance...depicting the storms that come into our lives.

Ninth group performance...representing the faith that brings joy after the storms.

Finally, the beautiful "rainbow" of hope! It was amazing to watch this "rainbow" be revealed as the kids took off their white shirts in a wave from left to right.

What an amazing, inspiring event!