I love to see the temple

I had to go to Hamilton for work, and since that's where the temple is, I decided to stay over the weekend and visit the temple. (Hamilton is about an 8-hour drive or a 1-hour flight from Wellington. I love it when work sends me places that I wanted to go anyway.)

Just about every intersection in the entire city of Hamilton has signs indicating the direction to the LDS temple, so it's impossible to get lost, at least on the way there. You'd think it was a massive tourist draw or something. The temple is west of Hamilton in a "suburb" (I'm not sure it can officially be called a suburb, since it's farther away than the other suburbs, but I can't think of a better word) called Temple View. As if that wasn't cheesy enough, Temple View's streets have names like "McKay Drive," "Cowley Drive," and "Deseret Road." It's like having mini-Utah in the middle of New Zealand.


I had heard of Church College of New Zealand but had never seen it before. When they talk about "college" here they mean high school, and higher education is referred to as "university." (I've gotten more than a few quizzical looks when referring to my "college degree.") So Church College was a boarding school for kids aged 13-18. (Boarding schools are very common here.) It opened in 1958 and just closed last year. I don't know the full story about why it closed--old buildings and other public education options in the country had something to do with it, and there are some nefarious rumours which I probably shouldn't repeat--but many people in my ward are still heartbroken that it's gone. I had no idea the place was so big! It was probably half the size that Ricks College was when I went there.


I'm mystified about who this statue is supposed to be (which is kind of cool because at least it's something different!). He's barely clothed, is holding a rod, and has a jutting finger pointing to the sky. Moses was my best guess, although he didn't seem very Moses-like. He looked more like King Triton.


Don't these remind you of church dorms everywhere?


The view looked just like this on every side. It was like being in Blackfoot, only prettier.



And here's the temple! This was my first time being in a temple outside the United States. Almost everyone in there with me was Asian, Maori, or Pacific Islander--I was the only light-haired person in the crowded room. The temple is gorgeous inside, with beautiful murals in some of the rooms.