The London Temple is a temple of diversity. On a daily basis, the ordinances are performed in a variety of languages for our patrons . On Thursday evening there were five different languages at the veil and interestingly none of which were Portuguese. Often, a bus load of patrons arrives from another country. Last week was Belgium (French, Dutch and German speaking) and this week was Holland (Dutch speaking). The names are often the greatest challenge and we do our best, but it is not always easy. The bus from Holland included 50 patrons from four stakes in Holland and adjacent countries. Several are temple workers in Hague, but find it easier to come to London for a week to perform temple work for their families as they have limited workers in their temple and therefore are rarely able to do their own work. Hence another of the sacrifices made by those who serve in the temple. Fortunately, we can perform ordinances at the London Temple for our own family names by attending at a time other than our assigned shift, the workers in the Hague temple do not have that luxury.
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| We walk by these purple flowering bushes on the temple grounds each morning at about 6:00am. Because we are at 53.2734 North latitude, which is the same latitude as Edmonton Alberta Canada, the days are long in the spring and summer (15.5 hours summer solstice) and short in the fall and winter (8.5 hours winter solstice). |
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| The beautiful azaleas along our walking path on the London Temple grounds. |
Sister Burkinshaw's spiritual thought:
Elder Bednar taught, “Meekness is an attribute developed through desire [and] the righteous exercise of moral agency…” You will remember from his talk that the first two examples he used were of The Rich Young Man and Amulek.
In Alma 10:5 Amulek said, “I never have known much of the ways of the Lord, and His mysteries and marvelous power. I said I never had known much of these things, but behold, I mistake, for I have seen much of his mysteries and his marvelous power….”
I was raised with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and often, like Amulek, I have participated, gone through the motions, but not “seen His mysteries and His marvelous power”. Having the opportunity to work in the temple has changed me. It has given me a greater desire to understand, to study, to “SEE” His hand symbolically and literally in my life, in the life of my children and grandchildren, in the lives of temple workers and in the lives of the patrons. The temple patron experience videos (used for training temple workers) are stories of those who could easily be described in the way Elder Bednar described one who is meek. "....a distinguishing characteristic of meekness is a particular spiritual receptivity to learning both from the Holy Ghost and from people who may seem less capable, experienced, or educated, who may not hold important positions, or who otherwise may not appear to have much to contribute." As is shown in the temple patron experiences we can learn much from the Spirit and from others. Meekness is seen in those desiring to do the Lord’s work, understanding His work and choosing to do His work in His way.
Brother and Sister my prayer is that we will “see his mysteries and his marvelous power” in the work that transpires in the temple and in the lives of those who do that work. The Lord shows His hand often. I share with you an invitation given to us from President Eyring in 2007 when he suggested we ask ourselves this question and keep a written record of these experiences, “Have I seen the hand of God reaching out to touch us or our children or our family today?” I bear my witness of a loving Heavenly Father….
Elder Burkinshaw's spiritual thought:
Elder David A Bednar taught, “Meekness is a defining attribute of the Redeemer and is distinguished by righteous responsiveness, willing submissiveness, and strong self-restraint.” (“Meek and Lowly of Heart,” GC April 2018)
President Spencer W Kimball has always been an example of meekness. Whenever I feel that the Lord is asking too much of me, I am drawn to read from President Kimball's biography. Whether it was the death of his dear mother at the tender age of eleven, losing years of hard-earned savings in a bank closure the week before Christmas 1923, the self-confidence sapping loss of his voice from throat cancer, his years of excruciating heart disease and multiple surgeries, or the total disaffection of his oldest son and namesake, somehow after being reminded of President Kimball's trials, my challenges would seem greatly diminished.
In a BYU devotional given in 1955 (the year I was born) entitled “Tragedy or Destiny” then-Elder Kimball shared the perspective that sustained his meekness through the words of his cousin and Apostle Orson F Whitney, who likewise learned meekness in his own personal furnace of affliction.
Said Elder Whitney as quoted by President Kimball, “No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to our education, to the development of such qualities of patience, faith, fortitude and humility. All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we do so patiently, builds up our characters, purifies our hearts, expands our souls and makes us more tender and charitable, more worthy to be called the children of God. And it is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation that we obtain the education we came here to acquire and which make us more like our Father and Mother in Heaven.”
My we exhibit the defining Christ-like attribute of meekness through our "righteous responsiveness, willing submissiveness and strong self-restraint ...
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| More of the stunning azaleas on the London Temple walking path. We are told they have bloomed later this spring because of the unseasonably cold March weather. |
Our preparation day Monday was very rainy so we did our morning shopping and then went to a movie in East Grinstead. We arrived about 5 minutes before the movie was to start and the only tickets available were on the second row from the front. As we sat down in the already full theatre, we thought they had scheduled a temple worker activity and we had just missed the announcement. Everyone around us was white haired and totally enjoying chatting with each other. Perhaps we should have stood up and taught the Plan of Salvation and invited them all to be baptized - think of all the new patrons and workers we would have! :-) The movie, which had been recommended to us by another temple worker couple, was "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" taken from the book with the same title. We had never heard of the book, but will definitely read it after our mission. (Interesting side note: Guernsey is in the English Channel between England and France. Jersey island is south of Guernsey and we have a couple from Jersey who are periodic workers here at the temple. It is a four hour ferry ride for them to get to England and neither the ferry or the weather are very dependable.)
Story line for the movie/book: In 1946 a London-based writer begins exchanging letters with residents on the island of Guernsey which was German-occupied during WWII. Feeling compelled to visit the island, she starts to get a picture of what it was like during the occupation and learns how the people survived. The relationships developed from the "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" was instrumental in their survival.
The movie was very well done and a reminder of how important developing relationships with people can be. A study from the Harvard Medical School reports,
"Each January, most of us make a list of New Year's resolutions — maybe we want to strengthen our bodies, or our resolve to eat better, or the determination to quit smoking. As it turns out, strengthening your social relationships may be an effort worth adding to your list of New Year's resolutions — for the good of your health.
Social connections like these not only give us pleasure, they also influence our long-term health in ways every bit as powerful as adequate sleep, a good diet, and not smoking. Dozens of studies have shown that people who have satisfying relationships with family, friends, and their community are happier, have fewer health problems, and live longer.
Conversely, a relative lack of social ties is associated with depression and later-life cognitive decline, as well as with increased mortality. One study, which examined data from more than 309,000 people, found that lack of strong relationships increased the risk of premature death from all causes by 50% — an effect on mortality risk roughly comparable to smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day, and greater than obesity and physical inactivity." ("Can relationships boost longevity and well-being?")
The Church also weighed in on this issue in an editorial which shares:
"Life’s greatest joys and also its greatest sorrows come from the relationships we have with others. In fact, our existence is quite dependent upon this interaction with individuals and with groups of individuals.
Consider the finest relationship that you have ever had with any individual. To some degree it probably is or was marked by absolute honesty, open communication, acceptance of differing views without acrimony, little concern for pretenses and images, and an at-oneness that said you are or were kindred spirits. Hopefully, most of us have known the joy of that sort of relationship. It is a joy that is possible for all of us more frequently if we will but allow the pure love of Christ to permeate our lives and our associations with other people.
There are differences among us, certainly. Some of us are abrasive and unpleasant. We have cultural differences that are stumbling blocks. But the fact remains that the gospel is a universal; it is a binding thread that should knit heart to heart and soul to soul.
If we learn to look for the similarities instead of those things that set us apart, to live with the differences, and if we see the best in others rather than the worst, the result will be a spirit among the Saints that will bear solemn witness to the world that the Church of Jesus Christ is upon the earth." (Building Relationships, Ensign, July 1971)
The movie and the atmosphere of these older people, without cellphones or distractions, enjoying lively conversation before and after the movie provided a lot of food for thought. After the movie we picked up a pizza from Dominos, which is right next door to the movie theatre and headed back to the flat to finish preparing for our week in the temple.
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| This delicious dinner was prepared and brought to Sister Burkinshaw (and Elder Burkinshaw was also the beneficiary of his own plate) by her ministering sister, Rosa Jones who will soon complete her temple mission and return to her home in Toronto, Canada. Sister Jones lost her mother while on her mission and so will spend several weeks in the Caribbean, which is where she is originally from to take care of her mother's estate. An already cooked meal after a long week in the temple was heaven. |
One of the great blessings of temple work is working with the other temple workers and getting to know them at appropriate times in the temple and outside of the temple. There are nearly 40 couples and/or single sisters who live on-site and work in the temple in various capacities. This is a list of the surnames: Atkins, Balloch, Baum (recently released), Davies, Docherty, DuToit, George, Grice, Jones (Sister - returning to Toronto in June), Lee-Starr, Long, McCune (recently released), Miller, Rayton, Rogers, Whitehouse, Day, Dodkins, Doggett, Freeman (counselor and assistant matron), Guenther, Hardy, Harkness, Janda, Kelly, Lamoreaux, Linford (from Casper WY), Ludlow, McQuivey, Murdoch, Page, Parker, Peel (Counselor and Assistant Matron), Perry, Seaman (recently released because of illness, our prayers are with them), Thompson, Wade, Walters, Webb and Wolsey. And there are another 50 couples and/or single sisters who are periodic temple workers, similar to what we did at the Oklahoma City Temple. They receive a schedule at the beginning of each year and come on a rotating basis, these include several sealers. It is inspiring to learn of the sacrifices made by these members to be here working at the London temple.
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| The Crawley Stake Center where we attend the Crawley Ward with meetings beginning at 10:00am Sunday. |
Our church meetings at the Crawley ward are always very well done. Although we may be assigned to attend another local unit eventually, we enjoy the Crowley ward, which meets in the Stake Center. They will celebrate 40 years as the Crawley stake this month during their semi-annual stake conference on May 20th. We see many of the members at the temple and several of them work on the grounds, laundry, cafeteria and facility management group - they are wonderful!!
We finished our Fast Sunday with a break-the-fast dinner with the other temple workers, which was very popular because we all like to cook, eat and talk! :-)
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| The London Temple at night from the direction of the Lodge where our flat is located. |
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| The temple entrance which is on the side. The lower door on the right is the baptistry door. |
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| The front of the London Temple at night. |
Elder and Sister Burkinshaw
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