Old Testament Tabernacle Experience

In March, our Stake had the opportunity to participate in an Old Testament tabernacle event. The Church has built a replica of the ancient tabernacle and has created a Mission whose responsibility it is to travel with the tabernacle throughout Utah. There are missionaries called to organize the events, but Stakes are assigned to provide all of the help needed to run it. (See TabernacleUtah for more information.)

Our Stake was asked to help on Saturday, March 18th. We were responsible for getting over 100 volunteers to be hosts, guides, nurses, security, etc. They asked youth and adults to help, but they really wanted the youth to serve as the guides at each station to give them an opportunity to learn about the tabernacle and bear testimony of it to the public who would come for tours. Christian and  Andrew signed up to be the guides in the Holy of Holies, and I signed up to be one of the adult hosts inside the makeshift Visitor's Center (the church building next to the tabernacle).

I wanted the boys to get the most out of the opportunity, so I encouraged them to look up information about the Holy of Holies so they would be prepared to answer questions. We went through a lot of information together so that they felt comfortable for their assignment. We learned about what things were in the Holy of Holies, as well as where they came from and what they represented. 

On the day of the event, we drove over to the east side of Provo where the tabernacle was set up. Jonathon was out of town, so Grandma Hill watched Hyrum while the rest of us volunteered. We started the day with a brief orientation and then headed to our positions. Christian and Andrew ended up working with a girl in our Stake named Claire Jarvis. I love Claire and was so thrilled that they all got to work together. They are all very responsible and knowledgable, so I knew they would do a great job. 

I was stationed to guide people through the gym, which served as a Visitor's Center with informational posters and beautiful pictures and displays. My spot was at the very end of the tour, so we didn't have anyone make it to my station for the first hour. When they finally arrived, I was just supposed to make sure no one stepped on the white carpet of one of the displays. It was actually fairly boring for me, but I was happy to serve and fill a need.

After our 2 hour time slot was up, I found the boys and talked to them about their experience. They said that everything had gone well. They got over their initial nerves and were able to present the information well to all the groups. Christian even had the opportunity to explain a bunch of extra information that we had studied to one of the groups that had questions. He felt pretty good knowing that his work had paid off. Our neighbors and good friends, the Vigues, went through the exhibit while we were there, so we got a picture of Andrew and Henry in the Holy of Holies. This was definitely an assignment that was out of the boys' comfort zones, but I was proud of them for being willing to help. I hope they learned a little about the tabernacle and gained greater understanding of the importance of the temple today.