We have finished 2 weeks training the in the baptistry and enjoyed it very much.
We love to see the youth and new members come in and bring their family names with them.
We are still loving the gardens around the temple.
They are in full summer bloom and it is beautiful.
I love riding the train to London, and my husband loves to take me!
This is our train station in Lingfield. A 5 minute taxi ride from the temple.
Cute little station. On the way home we have to cross over the tracks on this bridge.
On our P-day, July 15, we rode the train to
Victoria Station and had lunch at the station.
Then we started walking in the direction of the river.
We had no plans of where to go specifically.
We just went, and walked, and had a great time.
We came across the Westminster Cathedral.
It is the largest Catholic Church in England and Wales.
The baptismal font.
There is a side chapel dedicated to the Catholic martyrs of the English Reformation.
They were put to death for exercising their priesthood.
Our walk then took us to Westminster Abbey.
We got in the queue for a couple minutes, then once again thought we should come
back when it is not summer and the height of the tourist season.
Walked across the street to Parliament Square Garden.
Saw Churchill...
and a great view of the Abbey.
It was then onto the River Thames. We love being by the water. It kind of reminds us of
how much we enjoyed the Mississippi River when we were in Nauvoo. We found a
bench and enjoyed watching the boats on the river and the people passing by.
We were sitting right next to the Battle of Britain War Memorial.
The Churchill quote on it is "Never was so much owed by so many to so few".
He was referring to the Royal Air Force in a speech he gave in 1940.
The monuments friezes are cast bronze and very interesting and beautiful to look at.
Across the street is New Scotland Yard.
No Sherlock Holmes sightings however.
We then walked across the Thames on the Westminster Bridge.
This is the South Bank Lion at the Westminster Bridge.
He is very old.
He was made in 1837 to put atop of the Red Lion Brewery.
He weighs 13 tons and is made out Coade stone and at the time was painted red.
The building was torn down in 1949, but the Lion was saved by request of King George VI.
This plaque is on the base.
He really is rather lovely to see.
Then we rode a bus back to Victoria Station.
We have found a place we love to go across from the station,
Sir Simon Milton Square has lots of restaurants and cafes.
Right now the weather is so beautiful we stop and get a drink at
Ole & Steen, an amazing Danish bakery and sit outside.
We then had nachos at Greenwood Pub, and then it was back home again,
rested and ready for another week in the temple.
On July 22 we had a Pioneer Day pancake breakfast.
The food was delicious and the program was great.
This is our temple presidency and their wives; Freeman, Otterson, and Peel.
In the pioneer program President Otterson spoke about his and Sister Otterson's
experience in 1997 with the Sesquicentennial Commemorative Pioneer Trek.
President was working for the Church Public Affairs department in SLC.
He covered the 3 month trek and his wife, our Matron, walked 1100 miles in 3 months as
part as the trek. We felt the spirit as we listened to experiences of the
pioneers and as we contemplated those who went before us.
Brigham Young, known as the lion of the Lord because of his bold personality, led the
Saints from Nauvoo on February 4, 1846. They arrive in the Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847.
They had such great faith. We are indebted to them for having such courage and conviction
to be baptized, receive their temple blessings, remain strong and travel west to establish Zion.
We took some pictures of the men.
And some of the women.
We then went out and had some pictures taken of the group on the stairs of the temple.
President Peel took the 'official' group pictures, these are a couple we took.
First, again the brothers.
Then this one of the brothers taking pictures of the sisters.
The sisters.
Our group photo.
After breakfast and pictures we hopped on the train and headed into London.
We went to South Kensington to the Victoria & Albert Museum.
It is a huge museum. It is the world's largest museum of art and design and sculpture.
It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.
They have lots and lots of exhibits; over 12 acres of exhibits.
There is a Chilhuly right at the entrance.
There are sculptures...
and so, so much more.
We walked and walked through a lot of the exhibits.
Even silver lions.
We also saw one of Queen Victoria's diamond and sapphire tiara.
On the way back to the tube, we walked through the cafe's in
South Kensington. Lots of great places to eat.
We had a bocadillo at Zorita Hacienda. Yummy!'
It was a Spanish sandwich with cheese and this delicious black pig meat.
The conference talk we have been focusing on in our preparation meeting
for the last couple weeks is 'Hearing His Voice' by Elder David P Homer.
It is so important that we are listening to impressions from our Heavenly
Father through the Holy Ghost. And then we must choose to follow Him.
The more diligently we seek His voice, the easier it becomes to hear.
"For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children
of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little
and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my
precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they
shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I
will give more; and from them that shall say, We
have enough, from them shall be taken away
even that which they have." 2 Nephi 28:30
Elder Homer said, "Halting between two opinions brings no direction Convenience rarely leads to things that matter. Fixation on a single voice or issue can impair our ability to see. And relying solely upon our own thinking can lead us into a hyperintellectual stupor of thought. If we are not careful, the wrong voices can draw us away from the gospel center to places where faith is difficult to sustain, and we find little more than emptiness, bitterness, and dissatisfaction."
We have found a place we love to go across from the station,
Sir Simon Milton Square has lots of restaurants and cafes.
Right now the weather is so beautiful we stop and get a drink at
Ole & Steen, an amazing Danish bakery and sit outside.
We then had nachos at Greenwood Pub, and then it was back home again,
rested and ready for another week in the temple.
The food was delicious and the program was great.
In the pioneer program President Otterson spoke about his and Sister Otterson's
experience in 1997 with the Sesquicentennial Commemorative Pioneer Trek.
President was working for the Church Public Affairs department in SLC.
He covered the 3 month trek and his wife, our Matron, walked 1100 miles in 3 months as
part as the trek. We felt the spirit as we listened to experiences of the
pioneers and as we contemplated those who went before us.
Brigham Young, known as the lion of the Lord because of his bold personality, led the
Saints from Nauvoo on February 4, 1846. They arrive in the Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847.
They had such great faith. We are indebted to them for having such courage and conviction
to be baptized, receive their temple blessings, remain strong and travel west to establish Zion.
President Peel took the 'official' group pictures, these are a couple we took.
First, again the brothers.
The sisters.
After breakfast and pictures we hopped on the train and headed into London.
We went to South Kensington to the Victoria & Albert Museum.
It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.
They have lots and lots of exhibits; over 12 acres of exhibits.
We walked and walked through a lot of the exhibits.
It was really fun. There is such a variety we didn't get tired of it, every
room had something new to explore.
South Kensington. Lots of great places to eat.
It was a Spanish sandwich with cheese and this delicious black pig meat.
The conference talk we have been focusing on in our preparation meeting
for the last couple weeks is 'Hearing His Voice' by Elder David P Homer.
It is so important that we are listening to impressions from our Heavenly
Father through the Holy Ghost. And then we must choose to follow Him.
The more diligently we seek His voice, the easier it becomes to hear.
"For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children
of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little
and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my
precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they
shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I
will give more; and from them that shall say, We
have enough, from them shall be taken away
even that which they have." 2 Nephi 28:30
Elder Homer said, "Halting between two opinions brings no direction Convenience rarely leads to things that matter. Fixation on a single voice or issue can impair our ability to see. And relying solely upon our own thinking can lead us into a hyperintellectual stupor of thought. If we are not careful, the wrong voices can draw us away from the gospel center to places where faith is difficult to sustain, and we find little more than emptiness, bitterness, and dissatisfaction."