Program originally aired on KSL Radio on April 29, 2001.
Host: Doug Wright
Doug: Today on the program I'm very pleased to have Chad Hawkins here with us. And it was several years ago at a remote broadcast that we did during the conference season that I first met Chad and had the opportunity to experience his work and appreciate it. As a matter of fact, as I was telling you Chad, that in my mom's front room we have a picture of the Portland Temple hanging there. And it has just been a joy to experience and appreciate your art over the years. And we welcome you to Everyday Lives, Everyday Values.
Chad: Thank you very much. I'm happy to be here.
Doug: There is a brand new book that we are going to be talking about called The First 100 Temples. And for those who are familiar with Chad's work you know what a treat we're in for. But for those who are not familiar with the work, lets get a little more background on you. I was thinking about that as we were talking about doing the program today. I know you as an artist. I've met you several times before. But I'm not really sure if I've heard the whole story how all of this actually started. You showed me a beautiful picture of the Salt Lake Temple a moment a go and said that is how the temple pictures kind of started. But take us back maybe even before that. This gift of art, where did it come from?
Chad: It came from, I don't know where it came from but I've most certainly always had it. I've always loved to draw and paint and do whatever I could when it comes to the arts. I often look back at what my parents gave me, one of my favorite gifts ever was when my mom and dad bought me a large school-sized chalkboard, mounted it on the side of the wall and as other toys came and went I always went back to that chalkboard always trying to draw masterpieces on the side of the wall. And that has always been my favorite thing. I always think that is when I really learned to love to draw, learned to appreciate different things is trying to create new fun images on this chalkboard.
Doug: When did you first realize this might be your, I don't know if calling is too strong a word or profession, but when did you think that you could maybe do this?
Chad: You know Doug, my whole life drawing and painting has always been a hobby. And it has always been so much fun that I thought drawing and painting could never be a career because it is a hobby. How can you make a career built around something that you love so much?
Doug: Yeah.
Chad: So honestly, I never took it seriously enough to pursue it as a career. I always wanted to be a dentist of all things. And I've always loved the sciences and I've always thought how great it would be to be a dentist someday. And I thought perhaps my artwork could get me through dental school and help pay the bills along the way. And so I started drawing these temple drawings originally to help finance my LDS mission. And then I came back home and there were more temples being built and I thought, I want to continually draw the temples and do the best I can so I drew more temples. And with that goal in mind being a chemistry and zoology major that someday I want to be a dentist. And as I was applying to these different dental schools a friend of mine came up to me and said, "Chad, who are you to bury your talent?" He said, "If you go into the medical profession you won't be able to dedicate your life to the arts and who are you to bury this talent that God has given you?" And those were some harsh but loving words I think and I've been grateful for those words ever since. Because it was at that point my wife and I discussed, "You know, honey, this really is a love of mine. There is nothing else I would rather do. And I could see possibly the opportunity to make it as a career." And so I went from doing everything I could do to be an A student and getting the best grades I could to entering into the Fine Arts department at Weber State where grades really don't matter and it is just your portfolio that matters. And talk about a new way of thinking.
Doug: Yeah, oh yeah compared to the sciences.
Chad: Exactly right. And so now I'm just concentrating on creating a solid portfolio and then I pursued drawing temples and trying to keep up with President Hinckley. And even though I have been working as hard as I can work I am still far behind.
Doug: How did your folks and those who taught you and mentored you, how do they feel about this decision to become an "artist"? I can remember when I broke it to my family that I was going to become a radio person they looked like I just kicked them. "But you have so much potential." But it was, you know art is beautiful, I don't know what I do.
Chad: Well with the artist, being an artist there is always a word that comes before the phrase artist and that is "starving". And so when I decided to let everybody know that hey I want to be an artist, self-employed and choose that as a profession and that is how I want to provide for my family, I got some people questioning my decision. But I thought I could do it and I've been working hard at it. And I had, before making that decision I have a B, C and D plan in case my A plan doesn't work. And thank goodness my A plan has been working.
Doug: Back to one thing you said, and I have several friends who did turn their hobbies into their professions and sometimes a little bit of a love for the hobby as it becomes the meat and potatoes, as it becomes the means to put food on the table, sometimes it loses a little of its luster. Has art, has this gift of yours, is it still as fun?
Chad: That is a great question. I appreciate you asking it. The answer to that is yes, partly because I love so much what I do. I think it is everybody's dream to be able to wake up in the morning and want to get out of bed and jump out of bed. And that is how it is for me. And I think that is a blessing and I'm grateful for it. I love to get up in the morning and just get busy, get drawing and creating new, beautiful images. But it is not only because I love to draw and create and design images, but I always keep in mind what I'm drawing. It is not just a drawing, it is a drawing of a house of the Lord. And to me that takes on a whole entirely new meaning of drawing or painting. I never forget for a second what I am drawing. I don't treat this drawing as an illustration or an architectural rendering perhaps, I always keep in mind that I am drawing the house of the Lord. I try to prepare myself for that and I try to make an environment suitable for such a creation.
Doug: We'll take a break. We'll be right back here on Everyday Lives, Everyday Values.
Doug: The title of the book is The First 100 Temples. Chad S. Hawkins is here with us on Everyday Lives, Everyday Values. I wanted our listeners to get to know you a little bit better. Now I want to talk about the reason we are here. And I am so excited. Lets talk about the drawings that you do of temples right now. I mentioned the one that I gave my mother. She has had this hanging in her room now for I don't know long and didn't notice in the tall pines to the left of the picture as you look at it of the Portland Temple that there is to me what was very clear, especially once you pointed it out to me, a very clear image of Christ in the pines. My mother has had this in her home now for five years and didn't see it. And when I pointed it out to her it just made the picture that much more special. You put all kinds of wonderful things in these pictures.
Chad: That is half the fun of what I do. I don't merely draw a building or the temple but I always have so much fun working into the drawing or painting a hidden spiritual image. And that is one of the reasons why I like to visit the temples prior to drawing them. I'm not drawing from postcards or photographs that someone has sent me, but I am drawing from my own photographs, my own reference material and while I am onsite I always ask the local members what is one of the most favorite things that you like about your temples appearance and its grounds and the setting? And while I was in Portland everybody kept commenting to me, "Chad, we love how the Portland Temple sits among those beautiful tall, green lush trees. And I heard that so many times I realized in my drawing that I really do need to emphasize the trees with the Temple. And it is a beautiful setting. And so with that in mind I drew the temple, the tall trees and using the trees once again I hid a full length figure of the Savior to the left of the temple looking down upon his house.
Doug: On the cover of this brand new book that we'll all be enjoying very soon, it is the Nauvoo Temple, which I think is spectacular. And you were pointing out to me some of the things. Do you mind? Can we share some of that?
Chad: Lets do it.
Doug: When people look at the cover of this book, and you've been back there even though the temple is not completed, you have been back there and again tapped into that spirit, talked with the local people. What are we going to look for in this particular drawing?
Chad: In this painting there, this painting was one of the most special drawings of the temple or paintings that I have ever done because of the historical nature of the original Nauvoo temple. And now this amazing event that President Hinckley has announced that we will have the new rebuilding of the Nauvoo temple. So I likewise wanted to make this painting extra special. And when President Hinckley announced the building of the temple he quoted, "he said that he wanted to rebuild the Nauvoo temple as a memorial for those original Saints who built the first such structure along the banks of the Mississippi". And so with that phrase in my mind I thought, "How can I make my painting a memorial or a tribute to those wonderful, faithful members of long ago?" And so with that in mind I decided to hide the Prophet Joseph Smith among the trees to the right of the Temple. And I chose the Prophet Joseph because he helped with his own hands, helped build the original Nauvoo temple to a certain point. And then he was martyred not far from Nauvoo in Carthage. And so I chose to hide the Prophet Joseph in the picture. His upper body is depicted here. He is holding the Book of Mormon and looking over at the temple. And he is not only in the painting but I also depicted the Nauvoo Temple in the painting as it would appear in the month of June, the month he was martyred. And it also depicts the exact time of his martyrdom, late in the afternoon at 5:16 p.m. The sun is setting in the west, casting long shadows across the ground and the clock on the tower reads 5:16 p.m.
Doug: Right.
Chad: And so that is how I intended it to be a small tribute to the Prophet Joseph.
Doug: I so appreciated you pointing this out to me and, how many people catch these images without you kind of guiding them into them?
Chad: Great. Well, I think people who know my work they recognize the temple and then the next question is "What do you have hidden in this one?"
Doug: Right, right.
Chad: And that is always a fun question to answer but if they don't see it, if they buy it for just the temple, in a way that is a compliment too, because it is the temple that is the focus of my art. That is the important part. We should have temples in our homes. And so that is just fine. And if it takes your mother five years to find the hidden image in the Portland Temple, heck that is a compliment as well because I don't want these hidden images to be distracting but I want them to enhance the overall image.
Doug: Right. Now lets talk about these 100 temples within this book. Do we start with the Kirtland Temple, does it go through in order?
Chad: Exactly, exactly. It starts with Kirtland and Nauvoo so it actually has 102 temples. But today if you were to look in the Almanac it only talks about 100. We start technically with St. George because that one that is still being used today.
Doug: Now, all of the drawings, how many of them will be images that we are familiar with that we have seen before, versus that are brand new and maybe only for the first time appear in this book?
Chad: There are about 30 images that I have drawn in the last maybe six months. And so although they are available as prints, they are still really, really new. They are primarily for this book project and so this project does depict well over 77 images.
Doug: Boy, you have been busy.
Chad: Busy, non-stop for several years.
Doug: For those of us who work in the news media, and most Latter-day Saints are very familiar that there was some controversy around the Boston Temple, even getting it built and there is still a little left to be seen and I love the picture that you showed me of the Boston Temple.
Chad: Right.
Doug: Because we see what it very well may look like sometime.
Chad: Exactly. I wanted to draw that temple prior to its dedication but yet at the same time I wanted to kind of wait and see what the court decides. Are we going to have a spire or not? And so I thought, well I don't want to procrastinate drawing the beautiful temple any longer, so I kind of made the spire actually the hidden image. And so it just depicts what it looked like when it was dedicated but it also depicts what the Temple will look like someday with the spire.
Doug: It is so interesting because we talk about some images, you can spot other images and sometimes you almost need to be guided into. But that is the first thing that I looked at. And when you said, "Look" I had already seen it. And it is great because we have the best of both worlds. We have the temple as it is right now and then we also have the way we hope it eventually will look. Text in the book? I think of your great art. Did you also write the text?
Chad: I wrote the text. But you know what, I've never thought of myself as an author but this book was relatively easy to write because I am not the one telling the stories. I go out, I interview these wonderful, incredible people and they will tell me all of the events that transpired on these temples around the world. And I just quote them directly, I am letting them tell the story because I don't want to lose anything with interpretation.
Doug: Right. Where did this idea come from to actually put all of this together into a book?
Chad: It wasn't my idea. Not at all. Associated with these drawings a blessing in my life has been being a part of literally hundreds and hundreds of firesides for stake events, youth conferences around the country and in different countries even. And at the close of these firesides discussing the research that I have uncovered on this project. I literally would have ten or more people come up to me each time and say "Chad, where is this written? Where can I research this or where can I read this?" And I would always say, "Well it was really just from an interview I had. And you can call me and I can give you bits and pieces here and there." But I heard so many people come up to me and say, "Chad, you need to compile these into a book."
Doug: Right.
Chad: And for many years I thought about that possibly some day but I never knew how to organize it into one volume. Do I treat it just as the Utah Temple book or the West? I didn't know how because they are always building and announcing new temples and I didn't know how to organize it. So when the prophet announced we will have 100 temples I thought, that was my answer. And I thought I would write a book about the first 100 temples.
Doug: Whenever anybody works on a project there are things that are easier and things that are more difficult. As you tried to come up with a painting and really bring to life these temples on your pages, were there any that were perhaps a little more difficult or easier than others?
Chad: Yeah, definitely. When you talk about difficulties drawing these smaller generation of temples, the temples are relatively simple to draw. But to draw them and glorify them and make them as fascinating and interesting as possible, that is where the challenge began. Because the temples, like I mentioned, many of which are identical and so to separate them from each other I really had to emphasize their landscape. Some have a unique hill behind them or beautiful trees surrounding them or a fountain or a fence or the monument sign out front or stain-glassed windows. So therefore that was part of my goal of visiting the temples is to find out what makes this temple unique, both in the temple, the angle, the landscape, the buildings around it if in a downtown setting. And then to make all these temples unique highlighting their most interesting parts.
Doug: I wish we had more time. It is so much fun to talk with you Chad. I always like to ask this of artists and that includes writers, musicians and those who actually do put their art in beautiful paintings as you do, what they hope will come of their art. And as the writer of the book, as the illustrator of this book, what do you hope people get from this?
Chad: That is a relatively easy question for me to answer because it has been the whole purpose of me creating these drawings from the beginning. And that is what President Howard W. Hunter said. He wants us all to become "a more temple-attending and a temple-loving people". That is the purpose of this book. Because we're all familiar with stories surrounding the Salt Lake, Logan, St. George and Manti, these earlier temples, amazing, testimony-building experiences that remind us that this really is the work of the Lord. He wants it to get done and he is a part of this work. Well those exact same stories are endless with all of the temples around the world, whether they took 40 years like the Salt Lake, or six months like some of these smaller temples. There are inspiring stories that we can benefit from and learn from about all of the temples. And that is what I'm trying to introduce to everyone who reads this book so that we can be a more temple-attending and temple-loving people.
Doug: Chad, one final quick note we ought to make on the book. At the very, very end it is almost like temple trivia. Maybe you can tell us what this feature of the book is.
Chad: It is. That is exactly what it is. But I avoid the word trivia because to me there is nothing trivial about temples. And as I have researched these temples, interviewed people, every once in a while someone would make a comment to me and say, "You know Chad this is the only temple that," or "This is the first temple in which" and I would always make a note of that. And I've made a list of all of these, I have about 150 different temple facts at the end of the book that are just unique and fascinating. For example, "Which temple is the only temple to have five spires?"
Doug: Which one?
Chad: That would be the Oakland temple. And one thing that is interesting is "How much gold do you think is required to cover a seven foot statue of Moroni?" Have you ever thought about that?
Doug: No, how much?
Chad: An ounce and a half.
Doug: I've always heard they can hammer that out fairly thin.
Chad: Exactly. It is so malleable and thin that only an ounce and a half of this thin gold-leafing is required. "Which temple has a lock of Joseph Smith's hair in the cornerstone?"
Doug: I don't know.
Chad: That would be the Cardston, Alberta temple. "Which temple has the largest temple district?" Hong Kong. "Which temple was built upon an ancient Viking burial ground?" Stockholm, Sweden. "Which temple was the first temple to be built out of an already existing structure?" Vernal, Utah.
Doug: Right, right.
Chad: This is a neat one. "Which temple has an actual Walt Disney film clip of a cartoon movie that they made in its cornerstone?" And that is the Orlando, Florida temple. When the temple was dedicated the Walt Disney Company dedicated a little tiny film animation of Pinocchio depicting the Jiminy Cricket figure and that is placed in the temple's cornerstone and they chose Jiminy Cricket because he represents conscience and the conscience is always trying to make Pinocchio tell the truth and become "a real boy".
Doug: That is amazing. Chad, again just fascinating. I'm looking forward to the book. The First 100 Temples by Chad Hawkins.
Everyday Lives, Everyday Values is sponsored by KSL Radio and Deseret Book, committed to providing books and other quality products that strengthen individuals, families and our society.
Program originally aired on KSL Radio on August 11, 2002.
Host: Doug Wright
Doug: Welcome to the program today. We are going to talk about a brand new book that is called Youth and the Temple by Chad Hawkins. What You Want to Know and How You Can Prepare as you get ready to go to the temple. What a pleasure to have you back with us, Chad. As I mentioned, I have been a fan of yours from the first day I met you many, many years ago, and it's been fun to watch the things that you've been able to do and the things that you've accomplished and now this brand new book. Welcome to the program.
Chad: Well, thank you very much. It's great to be back on your show, and it's good to see you again.
Doug: I have to tell you this. When I went back to Nauvoo for the dedicatory process of the temple back there-this is going to sound almost ridiculous-but when I stood there in front of the temple, I went, "Yeah. It looks pretty much like the way Chad drew it."
Chad: Good. That's good to hear.
Doug: It's interesting that my memory of the temple wasn't the old photographs, it was your rendition. And when you came out with that beautiful book that focused on the 100 temples, that was the memory I had. That was the impression that was left in my mind was your rendition of the temple.
Chad: Well I appreciate you saying that. That's a high honor. I painted that picture, specifically, about two years prior to that temple's dedication. I had to use the architectural blueprints and the landscape plans. It was a whole in the ground when I painted it. And so during the process of their building it, I always hoped that they wouldn't change things from the plans because as long as they stayed on course then my oil painting would have been accurate.
Doug: So many people are familiar with you because of these beautiful, beautiful paintings of the various temples. And there is a new one that I am looking at right now not only on the cover of the book, but you brought in a placard of it, and it is gorgeous of the Salt Lake Temple. Tell us about this one. I understand you painted that one specifically for this book.
Chad: I did. The title of the book is Youth and the Temple, so I thought, "What could I do to enhance this book's cover?" And I've always wanted to paint a picture of the Temple Square at daybreak in the springtime. I thought, "Wouldn't that be appropriate to depict Temple Square-and the temple being the focus-at daybreak?" A dawning of a brighter day and just kind of the early morning hour, and the season of spring might be an appropriate theme for a book on youth.
Doug: For those who are fans of your work, they know that often-if not always-often there is a hidden image. I've told the story before about one that I bought for my mother.
Chad: Right.
Doug: I finally had to point it out to her, and then she was just flabbergasted that she had never noticed it. Where is it in this picture?
Chad: In this one-this painting is based upon the Prophet Joseph Smith's first vision. I read the account, pondered it, prayed about it. And the account talks about the young boy prophet kneeling in a grove, and he describes the first vision as the light descending upon him. The light was brighter than the noonday sun. It was an early morning, beautiful clear spring morning, and so all of these elements are depicted in this painting. It's a spring scene, clear sky. The sun is just rising, and it's descending upon Joseph Smith, which is the hidden image. He is looking into the light of the sun, and the sun represents the vision that he is witnessing. And there, if you'll look carefully, you'll see the prophet looking into the light with his arm slightly shielding his eyes. And he is the hidden image.
Doug: You know, once you point that out I can see it, but it took me a minute to get this one.
Chad: Right. Well, as always, I hope the temple is the focus of my art.
Doug: Absolutely. It's gorgeous. And, by the way, if you're looking in the future at that, it's the southeast tower of the temple right down there in the foliage. And there, once you identify it, it is just crystal clear. Let's focus on the book, Chad, and then maybe we can talk a little bit more about what you're working on. And I'm curious to look back on some of the-the temple book, for example, and how it's doing. But, Youth and the Temple, I couldn't help but notice the dedication. And the dedication here in this book is for your children.
Chad: Absolutely.
Doug: "Dedicated to my children as they prepare for the temple." The temple is an interesting thing to prepare for in that there is much that we can talk about, but there are some things that really aren't for public discussion outside of the temple walls.
Chad: True.
Doug: It's an interesting challenge, I think, that church members have to prepare youth for the temple given some of the sacred restraints that are there.
Chad: Right.
Doug: How do you deal with that in the book?
Chad: Well, I agree with you wholeheartedly, Doug. As I wrote this book, I did so prayerfully and with great reverence for the sacred topic, the House of the Lord. And much of the book-or, I was very careful to include many of the quotes from the brethren, the apostles, the prophets, quoting them on the most sensitive topics so that I am not publishing something that's never before been published. But rather on the most sacred ordinances and sacred topics, they have previously been published. And I'm not explaining my views of the ordinance, for example, but rather I am quoting a prophet who has explained, for example, what the endowment is. And Doug, it's surprising how much of the temple can and ought to be discussed. When I was a young man, I asked a family member, out of curiosity, I said, "So, what do you do inside of the temple?" And he said to me, he was acting all surprised, and he said, "Chad, don't you know you're not supposed to ask that question?" And so, growing up I never again asked that question, because I didn't want to do anything wrong. But, Doug, there really are-most of the temple, actually, can and ought to be discussed with reverence to prepare the youth for the temple.
Doug: I think it's been great-and I know this has gone on to one degree or another for a long, long time-but I think, particularly in the latter, modern era of the restored gospel the temples have been so open. And I think particularly in recent years have been so, everybody is encouraged to go through, and much of the explanation is given on the tour to anybody.
Chad: Absolutely. Good point. We live in a season of historic building of latter-day temples. They are coming closer to the people. And as the temples are being prepared for the members, the members should be prepared for the temples, including younger-aged members. We should all be preparing for the temple.
Doug: I can remember that same feeling that you had when I was younger. I didn't get quite, maybe, the shutdown that you did but close. You know, it's just something you don't discuss. So many of us were raised wondering, "Good heavens, what does go on?"
Chad: Exactly. When I was a young boy-I'm the youngest in my family-and as my older brothers and sisters were being married in the temple, there was Chad sitting on the steps of the temple waiting for the ceremony to take place. They'd all come out, and I'd be part of the photographs at the end, but that was just about it. And so, as a youth I was being sent the message that the temple is for adults, adults only. Don't ask about, just wait and be patient, and someday you'll get your turn. And that's not the case.
Doug: Right. When we come back, I want to talk about a favorite chapter of mine. It's chapter two, and it's "Youth Who Have Participated in Temple Building." And I love the way you have gone through and talked about the specific temples and the different involvement. So, we'll do that when we come back. Chad Hawkins is our guest, Youth and the Temple is the title of his brand new book and on the cover is that beautiful rendition of the Salt Lake Temple.
Doug: Youth and the Temple: What You Want to Know and How You Can Prepare is the title of the brand new book that we are discussing with Chad Hawkins, he has been a guest before. Chapter two-I got a real kick out of chapter two as I perused the book. Tell us what we're going to find here.
Chad: All right. Chapter two talks about the youth who have participated in temple building. It's been a great blessing in my life to visit most of the temples-not all of them, but I'm been to most-and as I go, I research about what makes every single temple unique from all the others. And so often the architect, the temple president, or those who have been involved in some way will anxiously tell me stories about how the youth in their temple district actually help build or assist in the temple construction in some way. And so, I gathered a lot of these stories, and the stories are linked with their appropriate temple drawing so the pages look as good as they sound when you read them. But a lot these stories that I've researched through the years are in this book. And my intent in placing them in the book is not just for entertainment. But hopefully when they read about these great stories, hopefully it will encourage the youth to never take the temples for granted.
Doug: Right. I got a kick out of the Spokane, Washington Temple story. It's just very simple, it was on May 22, 1999. Forty Aaronic Priesthood young men from Spokane's East Stake were given a wonderful honor and responsibility, and they helped uncrate the oxen for the baptismal font, for the baptistry.
Chad: Right.
Doug: And it's just something that simple, but yet that meaningful.
Chad: They'll never forget it.
Doug: Oh, they'll never forget it. What a great memory, and what a great part of the legacy of temple building.
Chad: They uncrated the oxen and then they carefully, obviously, carried the oxen in and helped maneuver them into position.
Doug: Exactly. We were talking during our break a little bit about what can be told, and there's a whole chapter in the book devoted to that, preparing young people and letting them know what is going on and what they can expect. Maybe you can address that for us just briefly and some of the things that are openly discussed and told to people who are curious and want to know.
Chad: Well, one thing, I relied on the expertise of a temple president. He was a president of the Bountiful Temple. And I asked him, I said, "What do you talk to the youth about as you speak with them as they come and prepare for the temple?" And from this interview I related a lot of his amazing advice, inspired advice, on what he gives to the youth on preparing for the temple. And he explained thoroughly what you can expect on your very first temple visit. How when you walk in the doors, you show your temple recommend. How someone is there from every step of the way to show you and guide you and assist you. There's nothing to be-definitely you wouldn't be afraid of anything, but it's just a wonderful, harmonious event that coincides with the rest of the gospel.
Doug: I think that's important for many people to understand that there are very friendly brothers and sisters to help you through every step.
Chad: Absolutely. Put your mind at ease. Relax and enjoy your experience.
Doug: As far as the temple marriage-for many people they're a little older when they finally get there. For many of the young men and women in the church, they will have gone through the temple prior to going on their missions. But for those who are curious-and I think that many people who listen to this program on Sunday morning anticipating the various programming that follows-maybe some have never been to the temple. Some, maybe, are not members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. And I know the temple marriage is of great curiosity. And I know sometimes when people who have not obtained their recommend or maybe are not members of the church when they find themselves as you did sitting on the outside wondering what's going on. What can we tell them about temple marriage?
Chad: Temple marriage is your crowning experience within the temple. When I went through the Las Vegas Temple I was actually, at the time I was dating my wife-to-be. And we went through the Las Vegas Temple with her parents, and the temple president took us in the sealing room of the temple. And he knelt us down at the altar-this was all a surprise to me-but he knelt us down and taught us something very significant and important about the temple's sealing rooms. He said, "The room that we're in right now is very symbolic and important. If you look on one side of the room."-of course we looked into those mirrors that reflect on seemingly forever-he said, "That represents our premortal existence." Then he said, "Now look into the mirrors of the other side of the room." And he said, "That represents the eternities. See how it seems to go on forever? That represents the eternities. And now here we are in this little room in between the premortal experience and the eternities." And all of a sudden that large room seemed very small and insignificant. And he explained that that room represents our second estate, or the short time that we are here on the earth. And he said, "I want you always to remember that every decision you make while you are here on the earth will have a dramatic impact on where you will be through the eternities." And keeping that in mind, it helps put my priorities in order. Sometimes when I have important decisions to make, I step back and I think, "Boy, you know, whatever decision I make, for good or bad, will have an impact on where Chad's going to be through the eternities." And so when it comes to an important decision like temple marriage, it's a decision you want to plan on now, prepare for it. And don't wait for that day someday to make that goal, but make the goal now and start working towards it, and it'll be one of the highlights of your life.
Doug: Chad Hawkins is our guest. Youth and the Temple is the title of the new book from Bookcraft that we are talking about. We'll come back and continue our conversation. Chad, you and I have talked about this before, but I'd like to address it again. With your great gifts in bringing something so visually to reality for many of us in your paintings, which do you enjoy more, the writing or the painting? Because it's all intermingled here. We'll talk about that when we come back.
Doug: Chad Hawkins is our guest. Youth and the Temple is the title of his brand new book, and before we took the break-you know for many of us, we would just be so grateful to even have a fraction of the gifts and the skills that you have when it comes to painting. And now your writing skills also becoming more and more evident every time I see you and talk with you. Which do you enjoy doing the most, the painting or the writing that associates with it?
Chad: I like to do the writing because I love creating projects like that. I like to do the writing that can be linked to my artwork. But, first and foremost I will always be an artist. I graduated with a bachelor of fine arts degree from Weber State, and so I'm primarily an artist. Absolutely.
Doug: Yeah. We were talking a little bit, again, during the break-and I always want to make sure that the best of our conversation doesn't happen off air and it happens on air. You mentioned the language of the temple is addressed in this book and how important that is as well.
Chad: Right. I remember as a missionary-I served in Germany-and I remember frequently older men would come up to me and say, "Why should I call you an Elder?" And that is simply, obviously he didn't understand why I was calling myself an Elder, of course. And perhaps some parents have had the awkward or kind of humorous experience in their family when they go to the temple, and they tell their children that mommy and daddy are going to go and do sealings. Well, the child my wonder, "Well, mom and dad, are you going to do walls and floors next?" if they don't understand what a sealing is. And so, in a section of my book, there is a section called, "Understanding the Language of the Temple" which talks about, it defines covenants, degree of glory, keys-a key to us would mean something different than, perhaps, to a nonmember.
Doug: Right.
Chad: Vicarious. What's the difference between a sealing and the sealing power? All of these are defined carefully, and they're not my definitions, they're the definitions of the brethren.
Doug: Again, I think that's important to underscore in case somebody has just tuned in. This isn't basically the temple of the gospel according to Chad. This is your compiling the collective information and words of prophets and the brethren who truly have taught and understood this from the pulpit.
Chad: And what I'm bringing to this book is-in addition to those quotes and teachings of the prophets-I am throwing in my stories that I've gathered from around the world. If I'm talking about temple worthiness, then I share stories of temple worthiness from youth around the world that support the teachings of the prophets. And temple marriage-it's not just why we should get married in the temple, but I also share many, many stories about how youth around the world are preparing for the temple. And so it's fun.
Doug: Unfortunately, our time is rapidly slipping by. And I like to give this opportunity to artists and to musicians and everybody who appears on this show. This is dedicated do your children. Ultimately, what do you hope that your kids and other kids who read it-families who share it in family home evening-what do you hope that people get from your book?
Chad: Thank you for asking. In the first couple pages I wrote, "Dedicated to my children as they prepare for the temple." It wasn't until I became a dad, holding my son, Jacob, my first born for the very first time, holding him in my arms that I realized, I thought I knew. But it wasn't until that time that I realized the importance of families being sealed as a family. To know that my little boy, Jake, is sealed to me. We are now an eternal family as long as we honor and keep our temple covenants. I just hope that-the purpose of this book is for those who read it, that they won't just think that the temple is for the adults and for other people besides yourself, because it is for the youth. The temple can be a strong power for the youth. It can bless their lives as they prepare for it, but it can also give them great joy if they keep the commandments and keep in mind that their bodies are temples. And there are many things the youth can do on a daily basis to prepare for that wonderful and glorious day.
Doug: Chad, I so appreciate you joining us here on the program. And just a final quick question-I'm always curious to find out what you're working on next. What is underway? I know you're a busy dad and artist and writer, but what's on the docket now?
Chad: Well, I'm working on a project right now for Deseret Book, once again, and here again I will be writing it and illustrating it. It's a book that's still in the beginning stages, so I don't know if Deseret would want me to elaborate too much on the details, but it's different from-it doesn't have a temple theme, but it's going to be another book for youth and the children. And hopefully the text and the art will intrigue them, and it comes out in the spring of next year.
Doug: I do have to ask with all of the temples being built and dedicated around the world, are you keeping up? Do you have a rendition of them all?
Chad: I don't. I haven't drawn them yet-I'm getting behind. President Hinckley's building them faster than I can draw them, but I have about 80 done so far.
Doug: That is amazing, just amazing. Chad, again, thank you for joining us. And for our listeners, the title of the book is Youth and the Temple: What You Want to Know and How You Can Prepare.
Chad Hawkins is our artist and author, and it's published by Bookcraft.
