Is It Still News If It's a Week Old?

General Conference weekend was a bit of a wash. We had fun with Summer's parents, but rainy weather and my sickness kept us from catching any of conference in person. But we did get the big news from the Saturday AM session later that day. A temple in Rome is so very exciting. My mission was north of Rome, so all I every saw of the Eternal City was the airport, but this is still an emotional announcement.

Earlier this week I downloaded the MP3 files from conference, and Thursday, on the way to work, I listened to President Monson announce the new temples (by the way, downtown Philly--wow!). I knew what we was going to say. But as he said it, I still felt this powerful spiritual feeling, a sense of gratitude for having served among a wonderful people who will now be blessed with a temple in their own land.

Historically, the strength of the Church in Italy has been up north, but Rome is centrally located and symbolically potent as a place for a temple. And, as we see in other places when a temple is built, there will be incredible growth after the dedication. I am excited to see when a stake is formed in Rome and that area flourishes.

Speaking of the dedication, Summer and I have decided to go. Assuming Italian bureaucracy is what it was a decade ago, the temple will take at least 5 years to build, so the kids will be old enough to go or (better yet) leave with someone else while we take a two-week trip to Italy. we've begun planning already...