“Temples are unique among all buildings. … They are places of covenants and promises. At their altars we kneel before God our Creator and are given promise of his everlasting blessings” (Gordon B. Hinckley, Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley [1997], 632–33). Wherever we went, we found that temples are being built, temples that will lift the Saints of God and change the face of countries, whether in South America or throughout the world.” —Carol B. Thomas
Temple altars are where many of these special, sacred promises are made, and every altar is covered in beautiful, lovingly stitched lace.
I was married in the Salt Lake Temple, at one of these beautiful altars, and later, each of my children were sealed to my husband and me, kneeling at those same altars. When we couldn’t have biological children after our first daughter, we continued building our beautiful family of eight by adoption. One by one, each child that comes to our family is sealed to us at one of these altars, an ordinance that binds us together as an eternal family. It is my privilege and special gift to the Lord, to make altar lace for each of these occasions, and more.
Seven years ago when my daughter Carolyn passed away unexpectedly in her sleep from SIDS at the age of three months old, I had the privilege of making the lace for her to be sealed to our family. That experience was one of the ones I am most thankful for in this work. Temple sealings bring lost children home. What a blessing.
I’m currently working on altar lace for my last three daughters to be sealed on as soon as their adoptions are finalized. They love to see each stitch, full of love, made for them.
There are currently (as of 2014), 140 operating temples in the world, with 170 planned total in the next few years. Every year they announce and build more. It’s a beautiful work. Our families are worth it.
Altar lace, completed May 2009, donated to the Los Angeles Temple, of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints– with all my heart.
Examples of Completed Altar Cloth Laces:
Denver Temple: “Grand Reception” Altar Cloth Lace by Mary
Twin Falls Idaho Temple: Crochet Altar Lace by Kiren
Boston Temple: Crochet Altar Cloth Lace by Angela
Los Angeles Temple: “Pond Lily” Crochet Altar Cloth Lace by M.J. Stegeby
Boise Temple: Tatted Altar Cloth by Ann
Washington D.C. Temple: Tatted Oval Altar Cloth by Christy
Altar Laces in Progress:
Boise Idaho Temple: “Snowflake” Tatted Lace by Ann
Denver Temple: “Star” Crochet Lace by Heather
I am serving in church and i really want to make an altar cloth for our chapel.. do you send free patterns 🙂 thank you
When I am looking for a new lace pattern, I search for words like motif, crochet, lace, table runner, table cloth, etc. You can find free patterns online, pinterest has them, various crochet magazines on ebay and amazon have motif patterns. I’ve collected some of my favorite patterns and ideas here: https://www.pinterest.com/rockwoodfamily/crochet-lace/ , I hope that helps! there are a lot of really beautiful patterns out there.