On Sunday May 23rd, 2010 the Gila Valley Temple was dedicated by President Thomas S. Monson. Hailey was so excited to be able to have President Monson in Safford. She had been praying each night that he would be able to come and that she could see him. She would ask that he would be able to travel safely in his airplane.

The night before it was the Youth Temple Cultural Celebration. Mark participated as a leader and was able to hear President Monson speak to the youth before the performance. Ashley, Hailey and Audrey went to the stake center where they watched the performance on the big screen. Hailey liked all the dances the youth performed and she was really excited to see the prophet speak. However, she was a little sad that she did not have the chance to see him in person and meet him like she thought she would.

Mark came back late from the performance and Hailey was so tired that she fell asleep at the church before it was over. Mark had decided to get up early with Hailey and see if they could catch a glimpse of the prophet the next morning at the cornerstone ceremony before the first dedication.

They arrived at the temple at about 7:35 and were excited to wait for the prophet. While waiting outside the gate of the temple they were both excited to see Elder Holland and President Eyring walk into the temple with their wives. The excitement was mounting while they waited and watch as each car drove up. Finally the car with the prophet was parked in front of the temple and President Monson got out of the car. Mark lifted Hailey up and she was able to finally see him.

President Monson asked, “Who is this pretty girl”. He then reached out his hand and took Hailey’s hand . He gave her a hug and held her by him as he continued to talk with the other people close by. He told her “You have such a pretty dress. Yellow is my favorite color.”

When we asked Hailey how she felt when she saw the prophet she said, “I felt kind of good inside. I felt the Spirit. It felt like, like I don’t know. I was happy. He said that yellow was his favorite color and that made me kind of smile a little bit. He gave me a hug and I felt like I was in the temple. I was really excited. I thought I was too little to go to the dedication.”

We didn't get any good picture of Hailey with President Monson, but we found one on the internet of her sitting with the other children during the cornerstone ceremony. She's the one raising her hand.