July 2019: Pioneer Day and Sheffield Park

As is tradition here at the London Temple, we celebrate Pioneer Day on the Monday before, which happened on July 22nd. Brother and Sister Littlefield from North Carolina brought a 10 year tradition with them and served sourdough pancakes complete with maple syrup, Nauvoo butter syrup, strawberries, blueberries and cream and they were delicious. We have included the recipe for the pancakes as well as the Nauvoo butter syrup and our traditional London Temple ordinance worker photographs on the East stairs. (The stairs will be replaced with granite stairs during the August shutdown).

Sourdough Pancakes (Seriously these are the best pancakes we have ever tasted - and we know pancakes!)
To make sourdough you need to have a starter. You can save a starter from a previous batch or you can make a starter each time pancakes are made. A starter will not last for a long time, so if you do not make pancakes every 2-3 weeks it is best to make a starter each time.

To make the starter:
I like to use bread flour. The British Strong Flour worked really well. The high level of gluten made the yeast work really well. In any case it must be all purpose flour.

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup water 
1 package yeast

Directions for starter:  Mix together in a small glass or plastic bowl. Cover with plastic wrap (cling film) or foil but don’t seal. Let it sit out at room temperature for 3-4 hours before you are ready to make the mix. It will get bubbly and it may thin out as it works.

To make the mix:
Make this the night before for breakfast or 5 or so hours before you want to eat in the evening. I have always thought it best to make it in plastic or glass bowl, not metal. I don’t know why except my mom told me that. Mom was usually right.

2 cups flour (see note about flour above)
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons sugar
2 cups of milk  (I have always used powdered milk and added water to make 2 cups, I had a failure once using milk, but I have also had successes. I have made it using Almond milk and it worked fine to make non-dairy pancakes)

Directions: Mix the above and add the starter. You can add about half of the starter or all of it to make a little more batter. Cover loosely with foil or plastic and sit out at room temperature until you are ready to finish the mix. This will grow, so make sure you have plenty of head space. I always like to set the container somewhere so if it overflows it will not hurt anything. 

To finish making the pancake batter:  *(If you want to keep a starter for the next time, remove about half a cup before you add the eggs and oil, place in a covered container, and keep refrigerated).
Now beat together 2 eggs and 4 tablespoons of oil and add to the mix.
Add 1 teaspoon baking soda to the batter and stir well.
The batter will rise a little as the soda reacts to make bubbles. Let it sit for a few minutes before cooking. Then spoon on a hot pan or grill and turn when bubbles form and a few stay open. Cook to golden brown.

This will serve about 4-5 people. For a large group you can multiply many times. But the starter does not need to be made larger. You can freeze leftovers and microwave to serve.


Nauvoo Butter Syrup
1 cup butter
1 cup buttermilk
2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon maple flavoring

Directions:
Bring first three ingredients to a boil for 2 minutes. Remove and add the remaining ingredients. Make sure it is in a large pot-- the soda will make it froth up. I have also used reconstituted butter milk powder and it tastes just as good. Serve on pancakes or waffles, it has a great caramel/maple flavor. YUM!

July 22, 2019 Temple ordinance workers photograph on the East stairs of the temple. From left to right and bottom to top by couples are: Linfords, Russ', Dodkins, Thompson's, Fitzners, Sharlands, Sister Haines, Sister Peel (President Peel was the photographer), Littlefields, Turners, Ruses, Davenports, Sister Docherty, Lloyds, Freemans and the Burkinshaws. President and Sister Otterson are front left.

The Sisters - Sister Burkinshaw is on the back row, maybe a little to close to Sister Freeman.

The Brothers - Elder Burkinshaw is should have switched places with President Otterson, but we don't make a habit of telling the temple president what to do or where to go (arr, arr).

Just added this one because of it's humor. Sister Burkinshaw didn't make it in time, but Brother Thompson (2nd from the right on the back row) stepped in for her--although he has a way better tan as they recently arrived from Arizona.

Sheffield Park

Sheffield Park Garden is an informal landscape garden in East Sussex, England. It was originally laid out in the 18th century by Capability Brown, and further developed in the early 20th century by its then owner, Arthur Gilstrap Soames. It is now owned by the National Trust.  The original four lakes form the centrepiece. It is particularly noted for its plantings of trees selected for autumn colour, including many Black Tupelos.  During World War II the house (privately owned) and garden became the headquarters for a Canadian armoured division, and Nissen huts were sited in the garden and woods. The estate was split up and sold in lots in 1953. The National Trust purchased approximately 40 ha in 1954, now up to 80 ha with subsequent additions. It is home to the National Collection of Ghent azaleas.

The park is about a 30 minute drive from the temple and a National Trust property so we drove on Preparation Day, July 29th for a look and were very impressed with what we saw. The pictures of course do not do it justice and we will definitely have to go back one more time before we leave to hopefully see the Fall colors. We also found a new dairy farm that opened an ice cream shop on the way home and that was delicious. They make the ice cream on site as well as sell milk. They also put hot fudge in the bottom of the waffle cone before they put the ice cream scoops on and that was amazing!

One of four lakes at Sheffield Park. This one had amazing lily pads. Lily pads provide an important hiding place for frogs, which are susceptible to underwater predators such as fish and water snakes. ... The shade also limits the growth of algae, which might otherwise bloom excessively, leading to decreased dissolved oxygen levels in the water. Water lilies were used to treat a variety of ailments. When mashed, the roots created a poultice that reduced swelling. These poultices were also used to treat reproductive problems in women, and also as a mouth rinse.

Giant Redwood/Sequoia tree. This tree is just a youngster at around 140 years old, as Sequoia ca live up to 3000 years. It is one of the tallest trees in Sheffield Park at over 30 meters and will continue to grow. This is the one tree in the garden that they encourage visitors to play on, Sister Burkinshaw elected to just have her picture taken with it.

Sister Burkinshaw in front of the Lake with the Sheffield House in the background. The house has been and remains today a private residence.

Elder and Sister Burkinshaw doing the selfie thing.

One of the larger lakes at Sheffield Park.

The bridge and water steps between two the lakes at Sheffield Park.

Sister Burkinshaw in front of another of the very large trees in Sheffield Park, this would be a great climbing tree.

Mission Call - As we have not quite decided where to retire and our belongings are safely stored away, we felt impressed to submit our papers to serve another mission - this time for a year. We requested the Family History Center in Salt Lake City as we are anxious to spend more time on family history research and Salt Lake had a lot to offer both in training and resources and good places to have lunch ;-). Our call came back to serve in the Salt Lake City Temple Square Visitors Center so we will have to spend our free time honing our family history research skills. We will however still be able to enjoy all the resources available in downtown Salt Lake City.

Temple Grounds and Temple Stories

For most of the time we have been here at the temple this area has been a construction site. The water boilers and piping which heats the temple had to be replaced and a project projects to take 3 months took over a year, in part due to the bankruptcy of the original contractor. The sod was quickly laid the first of June when heavy rain was forecast. As you can see the timing was perfect and grass and new shrubs have done very well.

The summer flower beds across from the new grass which have also done great this year because of all the rain we have had - very different than last summer.

The flower beds on the East side of the temple with the a view of the steps. The steps will be replaced during the August shut-down. They are made of sandstone and have not worn well. The new stairs will be granite.

We have submitted the following story to the Ensign magazine as it is quite remarkable. Brother Whitehouse told us this story on a van trip early in our mission and we had asked him if he would write it down so we could share it with our family. He was finally able to do so and gave it to us a couple of weeks. 

Ann Whitehouse's Miracle

by Jim Whitehouse

In the autumn of 2003, I was a detective in Special Branch, the Security arm of the British Police Force and Ann, my wife, was a supply teacher.  We lived in Chandlers Ford, Hampshire.  Our children were grown up, married, at University and College, and our daughter Sarah was serving a mission in the Belgium/Netherlands Mission.

Ann had visited her mother 150 miles away and I remained at home with our youngest son Edward who was attending college. 

About five in the afternoon, I received a telephone call from Ann’s mother.  Ann had collapsed and was in hospital. 

Eddy and I drove quickly to the Midlands to find Ann in Walsall Manor hospital barely conscious.  The doctors were hardly forthcoming, telling us that they were doing tests, but had no idea what was wrong.

We waited, and waited and waited.

Three days later, the situation had not changed.  The test results had either not come back yet, or were inconclusive. 

Five days later a unsympathetic doctor told me that my wife had terminal cancer of some sort and had but two or three days to live.  No kindness, no hope – just the facts and learn to live with it!

Almost forcibly I prevented her telling my wife there and then.  If she had to know, I would tell her. 

I asked, “Were all the test results in?”

“No,” she responded but it was a foregone conclusion.

I told her, “When all the results were in and it was a certainty, then I would tell Ann.  What tests were to come?”

She said, “Only the x-ray which would determine where the cancer was seated.  Any attempt at treatment was a waste of time and money.”

I said, “Where are the test x-rays held?”

“They are here, at the hospital but they are not easily interpreted.  A specialist will look tomorrow morning” she replied.

I was left alone.  Desperate I asked the nurses “Who is this specialist? Is he on duty?” By now it was seven-thirty in the evening. The nurse replied “It is Mr. ____ and by chance he is the duty specialist tonight.”

Eventually I found him and I badgered and browbeat him until he found Ann’s x-rays and examined them.

They were head-to-toe pictures from many angles and he slowly looked at them.  Then he looked at them again.  He looked a third time… then a fourth and a fifth time. He scrutinized the pictures, I scrutinized him through the glass of his office door

Eventually he mounted all the x-rays on viewers around his room and said, “Your wife’s problem is situated in her head, where it is attached to the spine.  Cancers cannot grow of themselves in the head.  They grow elsewhere in the body and are carried to the head.  She has some form of tumor, but there is absolutely no sign of its origin.”

I said, “So she has not got cancer then?”

“I cannot find one anywhere.” Was the reply

I asked, “So what is it?  Do we have hope?”

“I don’t know what it is.  I would not say hope but certainly a reprieve.”

From that moment on, things began to change.  Ann was transferred to one of the top neurological hospitals in the country…to die they thought…to live we hoped and prayed.

By some chance, the team treating Ann found a medicine that had a profound effect on her condition – steroids!  By law in the UK, doctors undertaking normal treatment are only allowed to small doses of steroids to a patient.  This is because of the dangerous side-effects the drug produces on the body.

Ann was given a large doses of steroids twice-a-day, by injection.  The reasoning was simple: Ann is going to die – very soon – so she would be dead before the side-effects could ever manifest themselves, but in the meantime, she would be conscious and have a better quality of life – for what was left of it.

Treatment continued and Ann remained conscious for longer and longer periods and after a while she could shower, dress and walk around the ward.

She remained in the Terminal Ward and it was heart-breaking each visiting time to see another empty bed, or miss a familiar face.  It was bad enough for Edward and me when we visited.  I shudder to imagine what it was like for Ann.

Whilst we were away, up in the Midlands it was Stake Conference and Edward was sustained an Elder.  We received the news by telephone and my elder son John and I ordained Edward to the Priesthood in the hospital next to Ann’s bed. 

Immediately afterwards, we administered to Ann in her hospital bed.  Edward anointed with his newly consecrated oil and John sealed the anointing and pronounced a blessing.  I took part but said nothing – I know what I would have said, but would it have been the will and word of the Lord?

John told his mother that she would recover, but the road would be long and hard. 

That is it, then!  

No problems now.  We know what is going to happen, do all that we can, trust in the word of the Lord and just endure in good works to the end!

We worked hard on that principle and Ann showed gradual improvement until after some weeks she was fit enough to be discharged. 

Overjoyed, we drove the 120 miles home.  The hospital had arranged a follow-up appointment at our local hospital that also had the reputation as a top neurological hospital.  All was going well.

Then, all reversed itself!  Two days before her appointment, Ann collapsed and was rushed into hospital again.  All the same tests.  All the same conclusions.  All the same predictions. 

The specialist took me to one side and told me they thought Ann had cancer, but they could not find it in her body.  Her condition deteriorated. They transferred her to a single room to die in solitary privacy (they said). 

I looked up what they told me Ann had in the local library.  There were eleven symptoms.  I asked for an appointment with the specialist

We met.  He repeated his diagnosis, with much regret and far more delicacy than the previous bearer of bad news. I told him I thought he was wrong.  He was taken aback but polite.  Why did I disagree with him?  Was I a doctor?  How did I know when he did not know?

Of course, I wasn’t a doctor, in fact I had given many doctors much work in my chequered past.  However, I was very good at reading and when he told me what he thought Ann had, I looked it up in the library and checked the facts.

He snorted, a little affronted, very well how many symptoms were there for the cancer Ann had (he thought she had)?

“Eleven”

“Oh! That’s right.  And...?”

“They are….” I reeled them off.

“That’s right too.”

Furthermore Ann has only four of those eleven symptoms.

Well yes, but the others could soon develop.

If they do, it will be very unusual according to the book I read.

Yes, well, we are conducting further tests and when we get the results, I will tell you.

He was not used to being questioned, especially not by an unqualified detective and was surprised I had taken the trouble to look it up.  He was even more surprised when I understood what I had read and looked for the signs in my wife.  Desperation?  No I am just that sort of person – never trust anyone and you will never be disappointed.  Anything else is a nice surprise.

A day later, further test results were in and whatever the doctors thought it was – it wasn’t.

More steroid treatment, more improvement, until one day Ann could go home.  There was a price to pay:

Insulin injections four times a day.  Steroid tablets twice a day, tablets to counter the effects of the steroid treatment four times a day.

In all twenty-nine tablets twice a day, four injections a day.  Little sleep, bedridden, nightmares when she did sleep, anxiety and boredom when she didn’t.

I would lie awake in the small hours listening to her breathing wondering if or when it might stop.  Often when I fell asleep, Ann would have nightmares kicking and screaming in her sleep, lashing out, fighting away who knows what demons – she hardly ever remembered her dreams on waking.

For eight years this continued, bedridden for many of them then wheelchair bound.  Regular visits to the specialist to hear the same old news: “You will never improve.  You will take steroids for the rest of your life.  Your life expectancy has been dramatically reduced by your illness,” and so on.

One bright, sunny, late spring morning, Ann was in very low spirits.  Bored to tears she was, in her word, “Fed up!”

Inspiration struck! “Let’s drive to the Temple.  We can’t go in but it will be a pleasure just sitting in the grounds.”

Off we went.  It was beautiful.  Flowers bloomed, the fragrance of freshly cut grass and bright sunlight restored our spirits. 

We stood at the foot of the entrance steps looking up and a worker, no - an angel, standing inside saw us.

“Are you members?”

“Yes”

“Do you have current recommends?”

“Yes”

“Well come on in”

“Well…”

In we went.  The questions were few but direct:  “Are you going to go on an Endowment Session?”

“Ann can’t – she cannot manage on her own.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that – we will help.  Come on, let’s get started!”

I don’t remember any of what transpired, but we did it.

At home that evening we agreed it had been a wonderful day.  There was a noticeable change in Ann.  We made a firm commitment to go on a monthly basis.  We aimed to never miss a month.  If we did then we made sure that we went twice the next month.  We found friends to go with us.  Always on a Friday evening, always the 9:00pm session. They supported us making sure that if we were down they lifted our spirits and our desire to go. Real friendship is like that.

Ann graduated from wheelchair to walking frame, walking frame to two walking sticks, two walking sticks to one and then to none!

Her medicine followed suit.  From injections to tablets, from steroids to steroid substitutes – each change of medicine followed with the cautionary, “This is the last change of prescriptions, and you cannot endure any lower dose!” 

But Ann did.  Lower and lower until there was nothing to take.  Patient discharge loomed larger on the horizon.  Loomed.  Came and went.

All of the time we kept up our monthly Temple visits each time becoming more sensitive to the Spirit, anxious to gain further light and knowledge – and we did.

Eager to repay the Lord for the blessings He showered upon us, we became periodic Temple workers.  In 2014, beginning in January, we worked one month at the London Temple, one month at home.  By August of that year, Ann wanted to work full-time and this we started in January 2015.  We have done so ever since.

Jim Whitehouse currently serves as an assistant recorder in the London England Temple and his wife Ann serves in the Temple Office.

In conclusion, we quote from President Russell M Nelson, who said:

“My dear brothers and sisters, construction of these temples may not change your life, but your time in the temple surely will. In that spirit, I bless you to identify those things you can set aside so you can spend more time in the temple. I bless you with greater harmony and love in your homes and a deeper desire to care for your eternal family relationships. I bless you with increased faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and a greater ability to follow Him as His true disciples.” (Russell M Nelson, "Let Us All Press On." General Conference, April 2018)

Elder and Sister Burkinshaw