Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Rome Temple

I am so excited for the groundbreaking of the Rome, Italy temple! This is very dear to my heart because my great grandfather, Phillipe Cardon was the first mormon baptized in Italy by President Lorenzo Snow. When I visited Italy a couple years ago, I visited the Piedmont Valley where in a very small city called Prarastino, I was able to see the house that my ancestors lived in. There are still many Cardon's that live in Prarastino, Piedmont, Italy and I can only hope that I can go back to Italy and spend time with my distant cousins and aunts and uncles.

President Monson says, "The ancient apostles Peter and Paul were missionaries here," he said. "Approximately 1,800 years later, in June of 1850, (Mormon apostle) Elder Lorenzo Snow and two companions, Elder Stenhouse and Elder Toronto, traveled to the valleys of the Piedmont Mountains in northeast Italy, where they began missionary efforts in this dispensation."

When I read this my heart was so full knowing that he spoke of my great grandfather and his beautiful family that sacrificed so much so that I, generations later, can have the gospel in my life. It is because of Grandpa Phillipe that my family is a part of this great plan of happiness.

After Phillipe and the majority of his family were baptized, they left their vineyard, family, and home to make the trek to Utah. Once in Utah they settled in Ogden, Utah (of all places where I currently live). This didn't last long though, they were asked to make the trek to Juarez, Mexico to spread the gospel. My brother, Steven, just returned from his mission 6 months ago from Tuscon, Arizona where he served in Pima, Arizona and Las Cruces, New Mexico. Phillipe's wife, Marthe (my gradma), is buried in Pima, Arizona and our distant relatives live in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Grandpa Phillipe is buried in Juarez, Mexico.

It is amazing to me that my brother was called by inspiration to an area where my ancestors lived and were buried.


http://www.bellasion.org/phoarc.html#Cardons

ksl.com - Ground broken for LDS temple in Rome