On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, fighting ended on land, sea and air in World War I between Germany and the Allies (Britain, France, Russia, Italy and the United States). In honor of those who died in the line of duty, November 11 is celebrated in many of the Allied countries. While it is known as Veterans Day in the United States, here in the United Kingdom (and other Commonwealth Nations such as Australia, Canada, India, South Africa, etc.) it is called Remembrance Day.
Since this year is the centennial of the World War I Armistice, it has received additional attention here in England. The remembrance poppy has been displayed throughout the country and many people have worn them on their lapels or blouses. The remembrance poppy was inspired by the World War I poem "In Flanders Fields".
In Flanders Fields
by John McCrae
In Flanders fields the poppies grow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
The poem was written in 1915 by John McCrae, a Canadian physician who had volunteered for the infantry rather than medical corps. The day after presiding over a funeral service for his friend and fellow soldier, Alexis Helmer, who died in a chlorine gas attack by the Germans, he penned "In Flanders Fields." Less than three years later, John McCrae, worn down by years of war service, would die of pneumonia in January 1918 before World War I had ended..
Moina Belle Michael was an American professor and humanitarian who conceived the idea of using poppies as a symbol of remembrance for those who served in World War I. In November 1918, she wrote a poem in response to "In Flanders Fields" called "We Shall Keep the Faith".
We Shall Keep the Faith
by Moina Michael
Oh! you who sleep in Flanders fields,
Sleep sweet - to rise anew!
We caught the torch you threw
And holding high, we keep the Faith
With All who died.
We cherish, too, the poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led;
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies,
But lends a lustre to the red
Of the flower that blooms above the dead
In Flanders fields.
And now the Torch and Poppy Red
We wear in honor of our dead.
Fear not that ye have died for naught;
We'll teach the lesson that ye wrought
In Flanders fields.
On the morning of Remembrance Day, Sunday, November 11, 2018, Elder and Sister Burkinshaw visited the Brookwood American Military Cemetery in Woking a southwest suburb of London.
For Remembrance Day Sunday, November 11, 2018, members of the church attended Remembrance Day services in their various communities in the morning and at 1:00pm we had a one-hour sacrament meeting. Sister Burkinshaw accompanied several special musical numbers for the Remembrance Day sacrament meeting. One of the most touching numbers was a special British patriotic hymn called "I Vow to Thee My Country." The following video provides the song and displays the lyrics.
I Vow to Thee, My Country
by Cecil Spring-Rice
I vow to thee, my country, all earthly things above,
Entire and whole and perfect, the service of my love;
The love that asks no question, the love that stands the test,
That lays upon the altar the dearest and the best;
The love that never falters, the love that pays the price,
The love that makes undaunted the final sacrifice.
And there's another country, I've heard of long ago,
Most dear to them that love her, most great to them that know;
We may not count her armies, we may not see her King;
Her fortress is a faithful heart, her pride is suffering;
And soul by soul and silently her shining bounds increase,
And her ways are ways of gentleness, and all her paths are peace.
The final line of the second verse is based on Proverbs 3:17, "Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace" (KJV), in the context of which the feminine pronoun refers to Wisdom.
The British politician David Lloyd George is reputed to have said of World War I, "This war is the war to end all wars." World War I would result in the death of 10 million soldiers (6 million Allied soldiers and 4 million Central Powers soldiers) and another 8 million civilian deaths of which 6 million deaths were the result of war-related famine or disease. Unfortunately, it would be less than 20 years when World War II would erupt, tripling the casualties of World War I and bringing forth the weapon to end all weapons, the atomic bomb. "The war to end all wars" was obviously an illusion.
In his 1948 Armistice speech, General Omar N. Bradley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States made the following statement:
"With the monstrous weapons man already possesses, humanity is in danger of being trapped in this world by its moral adolescence. Our knowledge of science has clearly outstripped our capacity to use it. We have too many men of science; too few men of God. We have grasped the mystery of the atom and rejected the Sermon on the Mount. Man is stumbling blindly through a spiritual darkness while toying with the precarious secrets of life and death. The world has achieved brilliance without wisdom, power without conscience. Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants. We know more about war than we know about peace, more about killing than we know about living." (Omar N. Bradley, "Armistice Day Address," Boston, MA, November 10, 1948)
President Howard W. Hunter taught:
"The world in which we live, whether close to home or far away, needs the gospel of Jesus Christ. It provides the only way the world will ever know peace. We need to be kinder with one another, more gentle and forgiving. We need to be slower to anger and more prompt to help. We need to extend the hand of friendship and resist the hand of retribution. In short, we need to love one another with the pure love of Christ, with genuine charity and compassion and, if necessary, shared suffering, for that is the way God loves us.
"We need a more peaceful world, growing out of more peaceful families and neighborhoods and communities. To secure and cultivate such peace, “we must love others, even our enemies as well as our friends.” The world needs the gospel of Jesus Christ. Those who are filled with the love of Christ do not seek to force others to do better; they inspire others to do better, indeed inspire them to the pursuit of God. We need to extend the hand of friendship. We need to be kinder, more gentle, more forgiving, and slower to anger. We need to love one another with the pure love of Christ. May this be our course and our desire." (Howard W. Hunter, "A More Excellent Way", GC April 1992)
And so it is with renewed dedication to our sacred mission to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ that we continue our service here in the London Temple. As we covenant to keep all the laws, rites and ordinances of the Gospel as taught in the Temple, we bring peace to our hearts and peace to our homes. And eventually peace to all the world.
Elder and Sister Burkinshaw
Since this year is the centennial of the World War I Armistice, it has received additional attention here in England. The remembrance poppy has been displayed throughout the country and many people have worn them on their lapels or blouses. The remembrance poppy was inspired by the World War I poem "In Flanders Fields".
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| In honor of the 100th anniversary of the World War I Armistice, the subway sign at King's Cross / St Pancras Station was decorated with remembrance poppies. |
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| This photo shows some of the varieties of remembrance poppies that we have seen. |
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| A field of poppies in the West Flanders province of Belgium which is 90 km from Calais France, just across the English Channel from Dover. The poem "In Flanders Fields" images poppies springing up between the crosses marking graves of fallen WWI soldiers. |
In Flanders Fields
by John McCrae
In Flanders fields the poppies grow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
The poem was written in 1915 by John McCrae, a Canadian physician who had volunteered for the infantry rather than medical corps. The day after presiding over a funeral service for his friend and fellow soldier, Alexis Helmer, who died in a chlorine gas attack by the Germans, he penned "In Flanders Fields." Less than three years later, John McCrae, worn down by years of war service, would die of pneumonia in January 1918 before World War I had ended..
Moina Belle Michael was an American professor and humanitarian who conceived the idea of using poppies as a symbol of remembrance for those who served in World War I. In November 1918, she wrote a poem in response to "In Flanders Fields" called "We Shall Keep the Faith".
We Shall Keep the Faith
by Moina Michael
Oh! you who sleep in Flanders fields,
Sleep sweet - to rise anew!
We caught the torch you threw
And holding high, we keep the Faith
With All who died.
We cherish, too, the poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led;
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies,
But lends a lustre to the red
Of the flower that blooms above the dead
In Flanders fields.
And now the Torch and Poppy Red
We wear in honor of our dead.
Fear not that ye have died for naught;
We'll teach the lesson that ye wrought
In Flanders fields.
On the morning of Remembrance Day, Sunday, November 11, 2018, Elder and Sister Burkinshaw visited the Brookwood American Military Cemetery in Woking a southwest suburb of London.
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| Sister Burkinshaw at the gate to the Brookwood Military Cemetery. This cemetery has sections for American, Canadian and British Soldiers. |
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| Sister Burkinshaw in the Canadian section of the Brookwood Military Cemetery. In the background, you can see a crowd of people, dressed in their Sunday best, gathered for a Remembrance Day service. |
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| The American Battle Monument Commission is responsible for the maintenance of cemeteries worldwide for American soldiers. The Brookwood Cemetery includes 468 American soldiers who died in Great Britain or it's surrounding waters during World War I. The chapel wall includes the names of 563 American sailors whose graves are at sea. |
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| Sister Burkinshaw with the grave markers and chapel at Brookwood American Military Cemetery. |
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| "With God is their Reward" is the inscription inside the cemetery chapel. The names of the 468 Army soldiers buried on the grounds and the names of the 563 Navy sailors buried at sea are inscribed on the walls of the chapel. |
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| Brookwood American Cemetery Chapel. |
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| Elder Burkinshaw with the grave markers and chapel of the Brookwood American Military Cemetery. |
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| Beautiful Fall day at the Brookwood Military Cemetery with the columned monument to the soldiers missing in action during World War I. |
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| The road leading out of the Brookwood Military Cemetery, Woking, UK. |
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| The Addlestone Ward meetinghouse with the fence decorated with Remembrance Day poppies. |
For Remembrance Day Sunday, November 11, 2018, members of the church attended Remembrance Day services in their various communities in the morning and at 1:00pm we had a one-hour sacrament meeting. Sister Burkinshaw accompanied several special musical numbers for the Remembrance Day sacrament meeting. One of the most touching numbers was a special British patriotic hymn called "I Vow to Thee My Country." The following video provides the song and displays the lyrics.
I Vow to Thee, My Country
by Cecil Spring-Rice
I vow to thee, my country, all earthly things above,
Entire and whole and perfect, the service of my love;
The love that asks no question, the love that stands the test,
That lays upon the altar the dearest and the best;
The love that never falters, the love that pays the price,
The love that makes undaunted the final sacrifice.
And there's another country, I've heard of long ago,
Most dear to them that love her, most great to them that know;
We may not count her armies, we may not see her King;
Her fortress is a faithful heart, her pride is suffering;
And soul by soul and silently her shining bounds increase,
And her ways are ways of gentleness, and all her paths are peace.
The final line of the second verse is based on Proverbs 3:17, "Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace" (KJV), in the context of which the feminine pronoun refers to Wisdom.
The British politician David Lloyd George is reputed to have said of World War I, "This war is the war to end all wars." World War I would result in the death of 10 million soldiers (6 million Allied soldiers and 4 million Central Powers soldiers) and another 8 million civilian deaths of which 6 million deaths were the result of war-related famine or disease. Unfortunately, it would be less than 20 years when World War II would erupt, tripling the casualties of World War I and bringing forth the weapon to end all weapons, the atomic bomb. "The war to end all wars" was obviously an illusion.
In his 1948 Armistice speech, General Omar N. Bradley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States made the following statement:
"With the monstrous weapons man already possesses, humanity is in danger of being trapped in this world by its moral adolescence. Our knowledge of science has clearly outstripped our capacity to use it. We have too many men of science; too few men of God. We have grasped the mystery of the atom and rejected the Sermon on the Mount. Man is stumbling blindly through a spiritual darkness while toying with the precarious secrets of life and death. The world has achieved brilliance without wisdom, power without conscience. Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants. We know more about war than we know about peace, more about killing than we know about living." (Omar N. Bradley, "Armistice Day Address," Boston, MA, November 10, 1948)
President Howard W. Hunter taught:
"The world in which we live, whether close to home or far away, needs the gospel of Jesus Christ. It provides the only way the world will ever know peace. We need to be kinder with one another, more gentle and forgiving. We need to be slower to anger and more prompt to help. We need to extend the hand of friendship and resist the hand of retribution. In short, we need to love one another with the pure love of Christ, with genuine charity and compassion and, if necessary, shared suffering, for that is the way God loves us.
"We need a more peaceful world, growing out of more peaceful families and neighborhoods and communities. To secure and cultivate such peace, “we must love others, even our enemies as well as our friends.” The world needs the gospel of Jesus Christ. Those who are filled with the love of Christ do not seek to force others to do better; they inspire others to do better, indeed inspire them to the pursuit of God. We need to extend the hand of friendship. We need to be kinder, more gentle, more forgiving, and slower to anger. We need to love one another with the pure love of Christ. May this be our course and our desire." (Howard W. Hunter, "A More Excellent Way", GC April 1992)
And so it is with renewed dedication to our sacred mission to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ that we continue our service here in the London Temple. As we covenant to keep all the laws, rites and ordinances of the Gospel as taught in the Temple, we bring peace to our hearts and peace to our homes. And eventually peace to all the world.
Elder and Sister Burkinshaw
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