Sunday, January 17, 2016
Special Edition

I Love To See The Temple

Saan Käydä Temppeliin

We attended a North America SouthEast Area Conference today.  Broadcast via satellite broadcast to many church buildings throughout the southeast.  We attended in the Redwine Building in Peachtree City, Georgia.  (We are still here serving our mission as the Area Medical Advisor/Assistant to the AMA)

Conducting the meeting was Elder. L. Whitney Clayton, of the Presidency of the Seventy.  He was the first speaker.  He was followed by Linda S. Reeves, 2^nd counselor in the General Relief Society Presidency.  She was followed by Elder Ronald A. Rasband, newly called to the Quorum of the 12 Apostles.  He was followed by the concluding speaker Elder Robert D. Hales. 

While all of the speakers were very good, I was most impressed with the comments Elder Rasband had for us to ponder.  That was the meaning of the Temple in our lives and making it more of a part of our lives.  We live in tumultuous times, in these latter days.  We can find refuge by ‘standing in Holy Places’.  What are these Holy Places Elder Rasband asked us.  They are our Temples, Our Churches and Our Homes.  While he talked about each of these Holy Places, he spoke quite a bit about the Holy Temple.  As he was speaking, my mind was wondering the how important the Temple is to me and to us as an Eternal Companionship and an Eternal Family.

I reflected on some very specific incidences that have occurred for me as I thought about this. 

First, and foremost, our wedding in the Logan Temple on December 27, 1968.  Obviously a very important day for both Wayne and myself.  That goes without saying.

Fast forward to November 1972….the dedication of the Washington D.C. Temple.  We never thought we would live to see the day when we would have a temple so close to us here on the east coast!  We were witnessing a miracle for us easterners!  First temple east of the Mississippi River.

Fast forward to October 1993.  We were called and set apart as Washington D.C. Temple Ordinance workers.  We were thrilled and so excited.  Even though Wayne had not retired, he could spend his ‘day off’ working in the temple.  While we still have 2 children at home (Becky and Andy), they were old enough that I could work one shift a week to start with.

Fast forward to October 1995.  We have received a letter from the Temple President, President Bradley, asking us to please come to the temple on a Sunday afternoon so that we could meet with Elder L. Tom Perry, a member of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles.  It was with great anticipation that we awaited that special day.  We found ourselves, along with about 4 other couples who had been asked to come, very excited to be able to meet one-on-one with an Apostle of the Lord.  We were the last couple to meet with Elder Perry.  I sat on the ‘bridge’ of the temple while Wayne was interviewed by Elder Perry and President Bradley.  I was finally asked to join Elder Perry and President Bradley and Wayne in the President’s office so that I could have an ‘interview’ of sorts with all of them present.  I guess we must have passed the ‘test’ because Wayne had been extended the opportunity to be a Sealer in the Washington D.C. Temple by an Apostle of the Lord.  Elder Perry and President Bradley laid their hands of Wayne’s head and bestowed that privilege to him.  What a very humbling experience that was…..and still is.  After we finished with that, President Bradley asked if Elder Perry and Wayne could give him a blessing (he was dealing with some physical problems).  That was also a very humbling experience to witness something so special as that.

NOW, I want to point out some significant dates and events which involve the temple.  (At least significant and important to me!)

1)            March 3, 1995……While serving in the temple on this Tuesday morning, we received word that President Howard W. Hunter, our Prophet, passed away.  He had only served as the Prophet for about 6 months.  In his short term as Prophet, he stressed the importance of attending the temple.  How special it was to be in the temple when we received that word.  The temple seemed to have more patrons than normal that day.  I am sure President Hunter was very pleased with that!

2)            September 11, 2001….Who could ever forget that horrific day in our world history!  Such horrible news.  We were in the temple working that day as well!  It was also on a Tuesday!  I remember getting on the elevator in the temple when some patrons were talking about the attack in New York and that attacks were expected in Washington D.C. as well.  I remember talking with President Scholz, Temple President, as asking if the temple was going to have to close?  He said, ‘I don’t think so.  I am waiting to hear from Salt Lake City on that.’  I was actually serving part of the morning as a ‘greeter’ on the bridge….greeting patrons who were coming into the temple.  I remember so many of them saying that they were on their way to work in D.C. and were turned away from highways because of the attacks.  The roads were closing and D.C. was being evacuated!  We were wondering how we would get home that day after our shift finished about 1 p.m.  Several of the women who came in apologized because of the fact that they were wearing pants instead of their usual dress or skirt that they would wear to the temple.  I reassured them it was just fine.  They were not to worry.  We were grateful they were able to come to the temple and feel the peace that only the temple can bring.  As we headed home that day, the traffic was indeed horrible.  Everyone was trying to evacuate D.C.

3)            October 2 – 24, 2002…..The Washington D.C. Sniper incidence.  This dragged on for 3 weeks.  No one knew at the time just how many people were involved as the actual snipers but at least 12 people were shot and killed as they would go about their day doing just normal routine things……like filling up their gas tank at the local neighborhood gas station, getting groceries and putting them in their car, talking walks in their neighborhoods, etc.  Everyone was afraid to go outside at all because we never knew where or when the ‘D.C. Snipers’ would attack again!  Toward the end of this rampage, on a Friday morning, again while serving in the temple, we could hear helicopters flying in the area of the temple.  We wondered what might have been happening outside with the sniper events.  We later discovered that another shooting had occurred not far from the temple and another victim had been shot and killed.  Interestingly, we thought we ‘might’ be safe up in Brunswick where we lived.  It turned out that the 2 snipers were caught at a rest stop just a few miles from our home on Highway 70 between Frederick and Myersville, Maryland! 

4)            June 2009 – May 2011……quite the opportunity for us.  We had been asked to serve a Temple Mission in the Helsinki Finland Temple.  We were very excited about that opportunity to serve in such a wonderful country.  Wayne had actually served there as a young missionary from 1962-1965 (2 ½ years).  And now he was getting to go back again and serve.  I learned to LOVE the people and country and the temple in Helsinki!!  How very grateful we were for that opportunity!

And, by the way!  While we were serving the Finland Temple, we had the great privilege of having the Area Presidency and other special guest attend the Helsinki Temple!!!  We were thrilled when we were asked to Follow and Officiate the session they would be on.  The witness couple was Elder and Sister Rasband.  Also in attendance and sitting on the front row was Elder L. Tom Perry!  Very special indeed for us.  

5)            August 23, 2011…..we had returned from our mission to the Finland Helsinki Temple.  Once we returned from our mission, Wayne was reactivated as a sealer in the Washington D.C. Temple.  Good friends of ours in the church, Steve and Leslie McGowan in our home ward, had their daughter being sealed in the Washington D.C. Temple.  They asked Wayne if he would perform that sealing.  He was happy to do that.  The ceremony had finished and the bride and groom had just gone outside for the usual foto-taking!  I was standing on the ‘bridge’ talking with President and Sister Colton, previous Temple President and Matron.  All of a sudden we felt the bridge swaying and I saw something very large come crashing down from the top of the temple to the ground just outside the bridge.  It turned out that it was part of one of the spires that broke off the of the towers on top of the temple and crashed to the ground.  Several of the spires broke off.  When it was determined that it had been an earthquake, President Earl C. Tingey, current Temple President, had the security gates lowered so as for no one else to come in the temple until the damage could be determined.  In spite of the extensive damage done to the temple, we were able to keep it open and operating.  Damages would be repaired over the next several years.

These are just a few of the highlights of things that have happened over the past 20+ years of our being workers in the Washington D.C. Temple.  Our life continues and we hope that means our temple experiences will also continue.  Stay tuned!

We LOVE the temple and all that that entails and means to us.  We feel so blessed to have a temple so close to us as we continue living here on the east coast!!  Not only at our home in Maryland but the temples which are close to us here in the North America SouthEast as we continue to serve our Medical Mission:  Kentucky Louisville Temple, Tennessee Nashville Temple, North Carolina Raleigh Temple, South Carolina Columbia Temple and Georgia Atlanta Temple.