The visit

Last night Father reprimanded me for messing up with his precious Sony earphones. Honestly it was not really my fault. When I played a song I suddenly noticed that the right earphone is no longer working. Unsurprisingly, Father was pretty much pissed about what's happened. He even said some rude words about how I handle my things to my mother, as he thought I was already asleep that I was not. I bet those bloody Sony earphones are more important than me, just a guess. . . .

However, my family and I—with the exception of my younger brother, Eric—went to the new opened LDS Cebu Temple somewhere in the city. It was very entertaining and fascinating due to the fact that it is the most holiest place religion-wise. Plus, not to mention its magnificent interior (I would have taken pictures but  naturally it is prohibited).
When we arrived there, we were greeted by the so-called elders (or missionaries, either way) and referred us to the tour guide (which is also a church member). After that, we were led to video room inside a chapel (a block away from the temple) to give us a summary about LDS temples. Thankfully the video took only a few minutes so we were led directly inside the temple.
Nonetheless, I researched some photos of the interior of what the church's temple looks like, though this is the interior of another temple.

This is the Baptismal Font. The font sits on the back of twelve oxen which represent the twelve tribes of Israel. The baptistry is a replica of the "brasen sea sitting on twelve oxen" in the Temple of Solomon, as described in the Old Testament Book of Jeremiah. It is also used to perform baptisms by proxy for deceased relatives who didn't get the chance to hear the restored gospel. Yes, you heard that right, you can baptise your dead ancestors, even though they doesn't even know you.

And this is the Ordinance Room. The room's walls were painted manually by local painters and I bet it cost the church a lot of money (actually it is our money though, and we call it "tithings"). Back to the topic, in these rooms temple patrons attend worship ceremonies about our existence and Jesus Christ's salvation of humankind. These rooms are rich with symbolism. Like what I said before, some rooms are adorned with murals to represent the beginning of the Earth, back to the book of Genesis.

Who would have thought that temples have got a room for the brides? I really never thought! I simply thought temple marriage is just all about signing documents inside a sacred room. But this, this is magnificent! The tour guide said it is built specifically for the bride to dress, do her hair, makeup and groom herself for her sealing. Unfortunately, a bride's best friend could not assist her to attend her needs, since the temple has already prepared for that: temple matrons.

This room is called the Sealing Room. On the contrary to the traditional way of wedding, the bride needs not to walk down the aisle. Only the bride and groom and their family are allowed to get in the room. Whilst holding hands, the couple make covenants with God and each other to be faithful to each other and to God and to keep his commandments. If you had noticed, there are mirrors placed on the walls across each other. It is so that the couple can symbolically see the eternity of their marriage and of themselves.

The grandest room of all: the Celestial Room. If I were to judge, I think this is the best room in every temple, interior-wise. In fact, that hanging gems (I don't know if they're real, though) on the ceiling and the expensive looking flowers, furniture, and everything proves it. However, this is the most holiest place, so you actually cannot have a chitchat in this place. It's located on the top floor, and elevated higher than the other rooms to represent Heavenly Father's Kingdom. Spending time in the Celestial Room with husbands, wives and family members reminds us that as long as we keep our temple covenants, we will all be together as a family in Heavenly Father's Celestial Kingdom. There is no greater joy in the world than spending time in the temple with your family.

Just for the credits, I borrowed all of the photos and few sentences from Moroni10.com. All the photos were taken from various Mormon temples in the world. (Yes, whole wide world!)
I guess that is all. I'm a pretty much dead-tired bloke right now. Good night!