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| The veiled Vestal Virgin, by the Italian Sculptor Raffaele Monti, is one of the most popular pieces of art at Chatsworth. Although it appears to be one piece of seamless marble, the Virgin is actually made up of four pieces fixed together. There are no other tricks here, everything else, including the magnificent veil, comes from the artist’s skill and technique. |
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| Sister Burkinshaw at the Chatsworth Chapel which is still used for special occassions such as family christenings. The gold statue in the statuary is entitled "St Bartholomew's Exquisite Pain" depicting the martyred apostle with his flayed skin and the curved flensing knife with which he was skinned. The painting above the statuary portrays the Biblical story of Doubting Thomas. It is believed that it was chosen as the ideal parable to match the family motto, Cavendo Tutus, meaning "safety through caution." |
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| The ceiling mural in the Chatsworth chapel of the resurrected Jesus with the angels. |
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| Bess of Hardwick, wife of William Cavendish and the builder and first owner of Chatsworth House. Cavendish was Treasurer for Henry VIII who used the money he made as Treasurer to buy the land and finance Chatsworth beginning in 1553. Bess was really the visionary who directed the building of Chatsworth House despite Williams death in 1557 and the house was completed in 1563. |
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| King Henry VIII, the benefactor who indirectly provided the financing for Chatsworth House through the remuneration of his Treasurer, William Cavendish. |
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| Panoramic view of the music room in Chatsworth House. Gilded leather lines the walls in this room. A violin appears to hang from a peg in the doorway which is a "trompe l’oeil" or painting that tricks the eye by artist Jan van der Vaardt. |
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| This is the state bedchamber of William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire and senior courtier to King George II. He took the bed in 1761 as a perk from the estate of King George II after the king died in that very bed. His wife Charlotte added the 17th century Brussels tapestries to the walls. |
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| Ceiling mural in the state bedchamber at Chatsworth House. |
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| Sister Burkinshaw near the bottom of the Oak Staircase with a wall of paintings of the Cavendish family. |
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| A broader view of the Oak Staircase with Cavendish Family paintings. |
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| The beautiful dome above the Oak Staircase which provides light for the Cavendish Family paintings. |
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| The Chatsworth House library with the first Axminster carpets (1830) which rivaled the French Savonnerie carpets. The 17,000 books in these rooms form part of one of the most significant private book collections in Britain. |
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| Sister Burkinshaw with the Steinway piano tucked into the corner of the library. |
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| Sister Burkinshaw in the Great Dining Room of Chatsworth House. The first dinner given in here was in 1832 and hosted for the future Queen Victoria who was 13 at the time for her first formal dinner experience. The room is still used today to host up to 40 guests. |
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| The east-facing back yard of Chatsworth House. |
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| Sister Burkinshaw in front of the Chatsworth water cascade, designed by Monsieur Grillet, a French hydraulics engineer with experience in decorative waterworks for Louis XIV of France, took two years to build and was completed in 1696. |
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| Sister Burkinshaw on the south side of Chatsworth House. The stairs in the distance figure prominently in the 2005 Pride and Prejudice movie. |
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| The south side of the Chatsworth House estate with the Emperor fountain, which also plays an important role in the 2005 Pride and Prejudice movie. |
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| As we were driving to Chatsworth House, we passed the 14th century Church of St Mary and All Saints in Chesterfield which caught our attention. Known for its twisted and leaning spire, an architectural phenomenon which has led to the church being given the common byname of the Crooked Spire, it is now believed that the twisting of the spire was caused by the lead that covers the spire because when the sun shines during the day the south side of the tower heats up, causing the lead there to expand at a greater rate than that of the north side of the tower, resulting in unequal expansion and contraction. However, among the townspeople, the well-established explanation (legend) goes that a virgin once married in the church, and the church was so surprised that the spire turned to look at the bride, and continues that if another virgin marries in the church, the spire will return to true. |
We close sharing a thought we gave at one of our temple preparation meetings.
Sister Becky
Craven in her October 2018 General Conference talk entitled “Careful or Casual,” said following:
“We are disciples of
Jesus Christ, and as such we are about elevating others, lifting them to a
higher, holier place where they too can reap greater blessings.”
“I also plead with you
not to be critical of others making this same journey. We are each in the
process of growth and change.”
This is illustrated by the following story:
When I was 18, as I was preparing to serve a mission, my
bishop called me to teach the Sunbeams. I had never before learned to love
others more than myself until I had served those children in such a simple
assignment. With time and patience I learned how to keep those seven children
in their seats and listening to a simple lesson.
One day I invited Mike to come to church and sit in
my class. Mike was my age but had stopped attending church completely by the
time he was 12. We had remained friends over the years as I had served as the
deacons quorum president, the teachers quorum president, and first assistant to
the bishop in the priests quorum. He had been the topic of many fellowshipping
discussions and was often part of my prayers as the years had passed. Once in a
while Mike would accept my invitations to come to an activity. It always
surprised me when he did, so I kept inviting him.
At that time, Mike had long, black hair and a beard. His
complexion was dark and pleasant. I don’t remember when I invited him to my
Primary class, but one day he showed up.
“Class, I would like to introduce you to my friend Mike,”
is how I began my lesson. “He is visiting us today.”
Mike sat next to me in front. The children sat in a
semicircle with their eyes fixed on him. They were much quieter than usual. I
was about five or six minutes into the lesson when one little boy got up from
his chair and walked across the room and stood directly in front of my friend.
The boy paused for a moment and then climbed onto his lap. I continued with the
lesson as I watched the two of them from the corner of my eye.
The boy sat looking into Mike’s face. Mike was quite
uncomfortable but did not interrupt the lesson or turn the boy away. The other
children watched the two of them for a few minutes.
Then one of the girls climbed off her seat and approached
Mike. I was intently interested in seeing how Mike would react and did not want
to instruct the two children to return to their seats. The girl stood with her
hand on Mike’s knee looking into his face.
Then it happened. The boy on Mike’s lap reached up with
both hands and turned Mike’s face directly to his. I stopped my lesson to see
what was about to unfold.
With the innocence of a child, he said to Mike, “Are you
Jesus?”
The look on Mike’s face was total surprise. It seemed, as
I glanced at the children’s faces, they all had the same question on their
minds.
Mike looked at me as if to say, Help, what do I say?
In a flash of inspiration, I stepped in and said, “No,
this is not Jesus. This is His brother.”
Mike looked at me as if in shock.
Then without hesitation the boy in Mike’s lap reached up
and wrapped his arms around Mike’s neck. “I can tell,” the boy said as he
hugged Mike.
The rest of the children smiled and nodded in agreement as
their simple question was answered. Mike blinked back the tears in response to
the love he felt from this small Sunbeam. The lesson went on, but that day the
teacher who taught the most was a three-year-old child.
Mike spent more
than a year getting ready to serve a mission. It thrilled me to learn that he
left for the mission field a few months before I returned. (Ken Merrell, “The Visitor,” May 2000 New Era)
Jesus taught “Whosoever
therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in
the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall
receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.” (Matthew 18:4-5)
President Monson
taught, “[People] need fewer critics and more role models to follow.” (Thomas S. Monson, “Anxiously Engaged,” Ensign, Nov.
2004, 56)
May we be more child-like
in our treatment of others. In the name
of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Cheers,
Elder and Sister Burkinshaw
