Sitting Under the Old Oak Tree

We took this picture while sitting under what is known as the David O. McKay oak tree. 

President McKay picked the site for the temple and dedicated it after it's completion in 1958. 

President McKay took interest in one particularly beautiful oak tree, believed to be about 450 years old.  He asked that it be preserved.  There is a plaque on the tree with the following inscription.

The David O McKay Oak: 

"Giving beauty and inspiration

Great strength and stability

Reaching toward heaven

Responsive to God's sunlight

Casting friendly and comforting shade

Gentle in its contribution to mankind

Unmoved in disturbing winds

To be remembered"

So, obviously, we have arrived safely at the London Temple.  

It has been a very busy week and a half!

Packed up and ready to go!

All set for 13 hours of flying.

We arrived on time in Tampa Bay, grabbed a bagel and boarded British Airways for Gatwick Airport.

Excited...not for the long trip, but for our arrival in London.
We look excited!  After 9 hours on this plane we did not look so fresh.

President and Sister Freeman (second counselor and assist to the matron) met us at the airport.
They are so very kind and loving and also so very proper.
It was a little cloudy and cool, but the fresh air felt great.

It is only a few miles from Gatwick Airport to the London temple.  

Riding on the left-hand side of the road is a bit unnerving, but I'm sure we will get used to it.
The roads are very narrow with high hedges on both sides.  

The Freeman's showed us to the Accommodation Center where we will be for probably a
couple of months before a flat becomes available in the Lodge.

They provided us with some lunch, snacks and this note and left us to unpack and settle in.
                     

This is our room.  Very nice actually.  The Accommodation Center is for the patrons that
come to the temple and missionaries waiting for their flats to be ready.
It has lots of rooms (62) and is always very busy. Patrons here are very surprised to hear
that all temples don't have patron housing like this.

This is the view we have out the window, the temple is right there!

We unpacked and tried to find places for everything and had a nap.

Jet-lag, yup, jet-lag is real, or as Sis Freeman calls it let-jag.

We arrived at 8am, but Arizona time that was midnight.

At 4pm the Turners took us to the store to do some grocery shopping in East Grinstead at a store 

called Sainsbury. It is a nice store, but it is going to take some time getting used to all the 

metric, brands, and the different names they call certain things.

On way home we stopped at Harbour Fish & Chips and had a delicious fish & chips dinner.

Sunday morning was church. 

Monday we went with the Davenports (who have a car) to Chartwell.  

It is a country house near the town of Westerham, Kent.  For over 40 years it was 

Winston Churchill's home.  He bought the property 

in 1922 and lived there until shortly before his death in 1965.  

The grounds and gardens are beautiful with many azaleas and rhododendrons blooming.

The home is large and spacious and he had a studio where he painted. Churchill loved to paint.
"When I get to heaven I mean to spend a considerable portion of my first million years in painting." 
--Sir Winston Churchill

  

    

We are on shift B.  There are two shifts, A and B. They alternate working mornings with afternoons.

Our shift this week is 9am to 2:45pm, Tuesday to Friday, Saturday 8am to 3pm.

We started Tuesday morning in the temple with President and Sister Otterson (Temple president 

and matron) greeting us, showing us to the ordinance worker dressing room and taking us to preparation meeting.  After the meeting we were set apart as London Temple Ordinance Workers.

We spent the remaining of the day learning our way around and the procedures for this temple. 

Each day has gotten better as we are learning our duties.

Everyone is so kind and friendly, and we are enjoying the British sense of humor.

Wednesday we did some laundry after our shift. 

This is the building where the laundry is and,

this is the view out the window from the laundry room.  That is the temple spire with the Angel Moroni atop. Where else?  We don't know, it's pretty amazing.

There is a temple van that goes to East Grinstead on Thursdays and takes missionaries shopping.  

I went to PoundSaver (dollar store) and the grocery store.  It is still a challenge to find things 

I am looking for and what the substitution might be.  Two things we recognize, Hellman's mayonnaise and Heinz ketchup!  The fruit is divine!
So sweet and delicious, grapes, blueberries, strawberries. 

This temple is very busy, with just a few workers.  There are very few district (they call them periodicals) workers. Pres Otterson said the temple could not run without the missionaries.
There are several couples that are from England and one couple from New Zealand.
 Friday the temple was especially busy.  We are amazed at these dedicated Saints.
They come for days at a time and spend all day in the temple.  As our room overlooks the
temple,we are able to watch the people coming and going and walking the grounds and taking pictures...couples, youth, families with children. It is a very busy place.
We love these people and have had some amazing experiences with them inside and outside the temple. Already on more than one occasion I have been told that the card a sister was doing
work for was her mum or grandmum. They are so faithful.  We can learn a lot from them.
They are so grateful for us and what we are able to do for them.  It is very humbling.
Friday was again a very busy day.  We think the mornings may be a bit more busy
than the afternoons.  The Burkinshaws had us over for dinner. We had Chicken Kebad's from Lingfield Fish & Chips, yummy!

Saturday is a longer shift, 8am to 3pm for us this week, next week it will be 10am to 5pm.  

And you guessed it, it was very, very busy.  We are finally not making too many wrong 

turns in the temple and enjoying the work very much.

On this past Sunday we attended the Crawley Ward.  It is about 1/2 hour away 

and is a nice size ward. The temple van takes those who do not have cars to the 

Crawley Ward each week.

After church the Davenport's had us over to dinner.  They have moved out of the
Accommodation Center and into their flat this week.  It is very nice. It is so fun to be here serving with them...friends from our Nauvoo mission!

We had a fireside Sunday evening.  The Temple Choir sang, there were a couple of solos 

and a violin number.  The music was beautiful.  There were also quotes read from
 prophets about temples and temple work.

"The temple is the House of the Lord.  The basis for every temple ordinance and covenant--the heart of the plan of salvation--is the Atonement of Jesus Christ."
--Russell M Nelson

We have a testimony that temples are where we can bind our families together.
We are so grateful to be here.  We are loving it!

This past Monday was a bank holiday and the temple is open in the morning on bank holidays.

The Accommodation Center is buzzing with people and families.  It starts a week of school 

holiday as well so there are lots of families here for I guess most of the week.

 This is a view out our other window.  You can see the new hedges they are planting and the 

Lodge in the background.

We worked 8am to 2pm and then headed on the train to London. A bunch of missionaries 

were going together to see Les Miserables at Queens Theatre.  It was good to be with

 people who knew where they were going so we could sort of learn the trains.

We walked around Chinatown, these are the Muellers in front.

 We walked to Leicester Square where this statue of William Shakespeare is, walked 

around the M&M store and ate dinner at Shake Shack.

After dinner we stopped and had a Bubblewrap.  Yummy gelato in a bubble cone.

These guys are making our Bubblewrap. Really delicious!!

Then it was to the theatre.

 

It's a beautiful theatre and and the show was fantastic.  The music and talent was top notch.

Amazing Blessings From Rome

There have been so many amazing, inspiring visuals from the Rome Temple Dedication 

we wanted a place to save them.  This seemed like an appropriate place.
Our testimonies of our Savior Jesus Christ have been strengthened by seeing and reading
about the historic events that happened at the Rome Temple Dedication.

Every member of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, dressed in white temple clothing, posed for an iconic photograph in the Rome Italy Temple Visitors' Center in Rome, Italy on Monday, March 11, 2019. Front center are President Russell M. Nelson and his counselors in the First Presidency, President Dallin H. Oaks and President Henry B. Eyring. Also included are members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles: President M. Russell Ballard, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Elder David A. Bednar, Elder Quentin L. Cook, Elder D. Todd Christofferson, Elder Neil L. Andersen, Elder Ronald A. Rasband, Elder Gary E. Stevenson, Elder Dale G. Renlund, Elder Gerrit W. Gong, and Elder Ulisses Soares. Photo by Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News.

There are only a few times in history when the entire senior leadership

 of the Church have been together outside of Utah, the most recent being the 

Nauvoo Illinois Temple dedication in 2002.

As part of this historic gathering of living prophets and apostles in Rome, 

each shared a personal witness of Jesus Christ 
and the Restoration of His gospel in our day.

President Russell M. Nelson

More than two thousand years ago, our Savior Jesus Christ ministered to the world, establishing His Church and His gospel. He called Apostles and gave them the decree to “go ye therefore, and teach all nations.”

In our day, the Lord’s Church has been restored. The Savior stands at the head of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As modern-day Apostles of Jesus Christ, we share the same message today that Apostles shared long ago—that God lives and that Jesus is the Christ.

As one of His special witnesses, I testify that because the Savior offered Himself as the infinite Atonement, you and I have the opportunity—the privilege—to be forgiven when we repent. We can also turn to Him for healing of our hearts, for strength when we are weak, and for help to do things we simply cannot do on our own. He taught us how to love, how to pray, how to endure. There’s no trial we can endure that He doesn’t know about. He gives each one of us hope.

I am honored to be included among the many who teach and testify of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Savior of the world, and He has given us an example by which we can live.

Because of Jesus Christ, we can have access to power sufficient to deal with the burdens, obstacles, and temptations of our day. He delivers us from physical and spiritual death. I love and testify of Him.

President Dallin H. Oaks

As modern-day Apostles, we testify of Jesus Christ, the Lord God of Israel, the Light and Life of the World. He is the Savior, whose atoning sacrifice opens the door for us to be cleansed of our personal sins so that we can be readmitted to the presence of God. He is the Savior, whose atoning sacrifice redeems us from death and opens the door to eternal life.

Apostles have the calling and ordination to be special witnesses of the name of Christ in all the world, but the duty to witness and testify of Christ at all times and in all places applies to every member of the Church who has received the testimony of the Holy Ghost.

Let each of us be bold in following the example of the Lord’s prophet, President Russell M. Nelson, in declaring that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world who delivers us from physical and spiritual death.

President Henry B. Eyring

I add my testimony to the witness shared by President Russell M. Nelson. I am a witness of the Resurrection of the Lord as surely as if I had been there in the evening with the two disciples in the house on Emmaus road. I know that He lives as surely as did Joseph Smith when he saw the Father and the Son.

This is the true Church of Jesus Christ. We will on the Day of Judgment stand before the Savior, face to face. It will be a time of joy for those who have drawn close to Him in His service in this life. It will be a joy to hear the words “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.” I so testify as a witness of the risen Savior and our Redeemer.

President M. Russell Ballard

When the Savior originally charged His Apostles to “Go ye into all the world,” His Church was very small. Today our labors are greatly enhanced by airplanes and remarkable technology that stretch the reach of our ministry to the farthest parts of the world.

I know through experiences too numerous and too sacred to discuss that this is the Savior’s gospel. He stands at the head—holy, divine, supreme; full of power, majesty, grace, and truth. He lived for us and He died for us because He loves us. I love Him more deeply and powerfully than I can find words to express.

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

In a world of unrest and fear, political turmoil and moral drift, I testify that Jesus is the Christ—that He is the living bread and living water—still, yet, and always the great shield of safety in our lives, the mighty stone of Israel, the anchor of this, His living Church.

I testify of His prophets, seers, and revelators, who constitute the ongoing foundation of that Church and bear witness that such offices and such oracles are at work now, under the guidance of the Savior of us all, in and for our very needful day.

Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf

In our day, God has called a prophet to help us understand His will for us. President Russell M. Nelson is the Lord’s prophet today, and he teaches and testifies of Jesus Christ, who stands at the head of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

As the Apostles Peter and Paul were called to “teach all nations” in ancient times, so are we privileged to do the same today. The Savior and His gospel are the same “good news” proclaimed then and now. No matter our struggles, His light can bring hope, happiness, and healing to each of us.

Elder David A. Bednar

I declare my apostolic witness that God lives and Jesus is the Christ, our living Redeemer and Savior. The heavens are not closed. God speaks to us individually and to the world through the authorized leaders of His latter-day kingdom on the earth.

On a future day, “every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess” that Jesus is the Christ. On that blessed day, we will know that He knows each of us by name. I witness and promise we can come to know Him as we exercise faith in, follow, serve, and believe Him.

Elder Quentin L. Cook

I love the Savior and I bear my witness that Jesus Christ atoned for our sins. May we all recognize and give thanks for the incomparable gift of life we each enjoy and for the breath that He lends us daily.

I testify that President Russell M. Nelson was foreordained and has been prepared his entire life to be the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Lord’s prophet for our day. Guidance for the Church as a whole comes only to His prophet. We are blessed as we heed his counsel.

Elder D. Todd Christofferson

I express my own witness that Jesus of Nazareth was and is the Son of God, the very Messiah of ancient prophecy. He is the Christ, who suffered in Gethsemane, died on the cross, was buried, and who indeed rose again the third day. He is the resurrected Lord, through whom we shall all be resurrected and by whom all who will may be redeemed and exalted in His heavenly kingdom.

Elder Neil L. Andersen

What a blessing to be led by a prophet of God! For more than 94 years, President Russell M. Nelson has strengthened his love for the Savior while disciplining his life, cultivating his intellect, and expanding his spiritual gifts. The words he speaks are true.

I, too, know for myself of the living reality of the Resurrected Savior. Because of Him, we will live again. He is central to all human history. As we come unto Him, He heals us from our sins and the wounds of the heart. No effort to increase our faith in Him is in vain. I love Him.

As His servant and Apostle, I give my sure witness that He lives and guides His holy work upon the earth today. I testify that He will come again in clouds of glory to reign forever as the King of kings.

Elder Ronald A. Rasband

Jesus Christ is our great Redeemer and Savior. He watches over us. He cares for us and stands by us.

The Savior manifests His will to the Church through President Russell M. Nelson. What a marvelous gift.

The Lord’s hand is guiding us. He is in the small details of our lives as well as the major milestones. I pray that we will reach out and take the Savior’s hand that He is extending to us.

I know that Jesus Christ lives; I love Him, and I know with all my heart that He loves each of us. He is our great Exemplar and the divine leader of all of our Father’s children.

Elder Gary E. Stevenson

I know President Russell M. Nelson is the Lord’s living prophet and His mouthpiece for all mankind living today. I echo his words and add my own testimony of God the Father and of Jesus Christ’s role as our Savior and Redeemer. Heavenly Father sent His Son to the earth to atone for our sins. Jesus Christ lives and loves us, as evidenced by His sending prophets in our day to lead and guide us back home to Him.

Elder Dale G. Renlund

As an Apostle of Jesus Christ, I too testify that He lives. He loves you. He wants nothing more than for you to find real, enduring happiness. The covenants and ordinances available in the temples of our God are the purest source of that joy. Come to His holy house and let Him help you find that peace and joy.

Elder Gerritt W. Gong

Our Lord Jesus Christ is indeed King of kings and Lord of lords, Savior and Redeemer of all mankind. Our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, personally came to restore the gospel and the Church in these latter days. What a blessing and invitation for each individual and for all generations of families in every nation, kindred, tongue, and people! We can each feel Their love and hope for each family member, one by one, family by family, as part of temple promises of joy, healing, forgiveness, and covenant belonging in time and eternity.

Elder Ulisses Soares

I stand as a witness, with ancient and modern apostles and prophets, to testify that Jesus is the Christ. He took upon Himself all our pains and sicknesses. He stands ready to help—to help each of us—with every burden.

I also know that President Russell M. Nelson is the prophet of God in our day. His counselors in the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles are also, in fact, prophets, seers, and revelators. They represent the Lord Jesus Christ and have the right to declare His mind and will as it is revealed to them. I testify that there is safety in following their counsel.

Wives of members of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. From right to left, they are 

Wendy L. Nelson, Kristen M. Oaks, Patricia T. Holland, Harriet R. Uchtdorf, Susan Kae Bednar, 

Mary G. Cook, Katherine J. Christofferson, Kathy W. Andersen, Melanie T. Rasband, 

Lesa Jean Stevenson, Ruth L. Renlund, Susan L. Gong and Rosana F. Soares. 

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