'I Like the Temple Because It Makes Me Feel Warm Inside.'

For many Connecticut Mormons, having a temple in Farmington will mean easier access to temple worship.

Here's what some local and state Latter-day Saints had to say about the Hartford area temple at a groundbreaking service Saturday.

• "I am so excited for the temple to be built in our hometown! The temple is a very special place to go.  I was married in the Boston Temple in 2006 for time and all eternity and have loved going up there since then but it has been hard to make time to drive two hours there and two hours back and think about what to do about the kids.  I know that when the temple is finished here my husband and I will be able to go more often since the drive will be 10 minutes tops!" ~Ashley McDermott, Farmington native

• "I can remember when I was in middle school and we would go on a temple trip to do baptisms for the dead with the youth 12-18 in our ward (congregation).  The closet temple then was Washington D.C.. We would have to drive all the way down there and do the baptisms and then stay the night and then drive all the way back the next day.  It was fun but we couldn't go that often.  Right now the youth in the ward can go more often to Boston but with the temple in Farmington it will be a lot easier." ~McDermott 

• "It means a lot because we've been waiting for the temple for so long.... We're blessed to have one so close to home to be able to do the Lord's work and to have one in the neighborhood." ~Jennifer Rynne, Windsor resident and Brookfield native

• Rynne and her husband, Darren got married in May and had hoped the Hartford area temple would be done, but they went to the Boston temple instead because it wasn't ready.  She said "the Boston temple was just as important to us, being the first in New England." 

• While Rynne wasn't surprised that Mormon President Thomas S. Monson came to do the dedication, but that it is rare. "We are blessed to have him here because he doesn't come to every groundbreaking," she said. Rynne sang in the choir at the ceremony, which was made up of invited church members from the New England and tristate area.

• "It is very significant. When my husband and I were married, we had to go all the way out to the Salt Lake temple because that was the closest one. Right now we attend the Boston temple. This will be an hour's drive from our house and will make things so many easier and so much nicer for us. I think it will maybe let other people know that we are Mormons and we live in the community and we're harmless." ~Lois Chrzanowski, Norwich Ward

• "It brings the peace and tranquility that you go to the temple for so much closer to you and it makes it so much more available. I can go there so much more often than having to spend and plan a whole day to get up to Boston and get back. And I'm able to plan to be able to become a temple worker and to volunteer inside the temple." ~Wendy Posner, Avon resident

• "I'm really excited for it." ~Kenyon Prenoveau, Harwinton resident and Goshen Ward member

• "I like the temple because it makes me feel warm when I'm around it. It's all white and you get to get sealed to your family in it and it feels good." ~Jeremina Prenoveau, Harwinton resident and Goshen Ward member

• "It's a place that we hold very sacred and it's an opportunity for us to perform sacred ordinances and grow spiritually. It's very nice to have it so close." ~Earle Stone, West Hartford resident and historian

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• Mormons Announce Groundbreaking Service for Farmington Temple
• A Look at the Mormon Temple Plans
• Mormon Temple Site Preparation Expected Soon
• Mormon Temple Hearing Continues Tuesday
• Mormon Leaders Discuss Temple, Church Service with Malloy
• Mormons Plan Temple in Farmington
• Mormon Official: Temple Would be a 'Place for Families'
• Mormon Temple Approved
• Mormons Present Plan For Temple to Zoning Commission