London England Temple!
Elder Tueller
A small peek of the temple grounds.
(Holiness to the Lord)In Institute awhile back, Sister Hepworth told us stories about people who lived near the Logan temple. Every time they said they were going to the temple, something would come up; the cows would get out of the pasture, the wagon wheel would break… and these good-willed people were then robbed of that opportunity. I have always remembered the following line in relation to temple time: “Drop your pails and run.”
We flew out of Dublin at 6:30 a.m. and arrived into London at 7:45 a.m. Words will do this no justice, I already know it. Stansted airport is 45 minutes from the city, so we took a train to the Untergrundbahn there—also known as the “Tube.” We tubed to a separate station, boarded a train, switched trains, then got a taxi, and found ourselves at the beautiful London temple. I had fair warning, I knew what was ahead in venturing there. Upon landing, however, I felt as if the adversary was attempting to thwart this plan, just as in the stories of those Logan temple-goers. Our bus reservation paper was lost, and there was no confirmation that we’d even booked one—thus, we had no way to get into the city. We bought train tickets which ended up being double the advertised cost (as promised, thanks Will). We had to buy tube tickets, then a separate train ticket, and lastly, a taxi. Combine all this commuting with rude, unhelpful servicemen and you get 7/8 people who lost the desire to make the journey to the temple. At one point, I thought I was going by myself. In short, the entire group wound up at the temple. J My heart was in constant prayer, and of course it all worked out. To combat the adversary’s distractions and problems, we were blessed with tender mercies: some exceptionally kind people and perfect timing lead us to the temple just in time.
Being there was out of this world. We opened with das lied auf Englisch “I Need Thee Every Hour,” and an opening prayer, which brought an incredibly strong spirit. We were then able to do baptisms in a gorgeous font. A temple worker explained that the smoky mirrors differed from those in the celestial room (which reflect eternity) by representing the deceased coming out of the “darkness” (hazy mirrors) and into the “light”—the large chandelier hanging above the proxy. I just wept as he explained it all to me, it was remarkable! We had a few family file names and an endowed male in our group who was able to baptize us. I thought it was such an amazing experience. All of the sacrifices were so worth it! Later on, every person commented on how great temple time was, even those who lost desire mid-way and were not so nice to me about it. I feel like this is so long and almost whiney, I would just like to say that I was so humbled in trying to make this happen, and dealing with all the hardships. I learned about commitments and how important it is to follow-through with them. I had asked each individual several times to make sure they were 150% interested; each was gung-ho, yet later some claimed to have no desire/ to not have known it was happening. Amid all of the complications thrown at us, all I could think about was “drop your pails and run.” The Lord prepares the way for righteous works to be accomplished.
Many apologies about this lengthy description—this is part of my testimony, and I don’t want to be ungrateful in not sharing what Heavenly Father blessed me with. Quickly: The London temple is the 2nd largest temple ground in the world—28 acres! I had no idea. After our appointment (and fabulous temple cafeteria food, holy! [pun?]), we went out to the grounds to photo machen. They are included. The best part: I was walking to where the cab would meet us shortly, looking down at the recent additions to my memory card, when I looked up and saw something that rocked my world. Elder Cade Rector Tueller stood peering at me through the glass door not ten feet away. Asljkfd! I know my jaw literally dropped, I spun around, and we met up to chat for bit. It was SUCH a sweet blessing to see him! I’d thought of maybe seeing him in the city, but never in such a remote, personal way. What a blessing! I still can’t even believe it! I smile just thinking about seeing my good friend, like it really happened. What! Ha. The weirdest thing is that he said he saw me from a ways away, and he knew it was me. Full heart and no words on my part. Heavenly Father is a smart guy, he knows just how to bless us. Sheesh!
In the 1700’s Guy Fawkes tried to bomb Parliament in England. However, he did not prevail, and was later executed. November fifth commemorates this day; there are festivities, parties, parades, and fireworks. After temple time and hostel-situating, we went to a park for, no joke, the best firework show I’ve seen in my entire life. It was RAD!
We flew out of Dublin at 6:30 a.m. and arrived into London at 7:45 a.m. Words will do this no justice, I already know it. Stansted airport is 45 minutes from the city, so we took a train to the Untergrundbahn there—also known as the “Tube.” We tubed to a separate station, boarded a train, switched trains, then got a taxi, and found ourselves at the beautiful London temple. I had fair warning, I knew what was ahead in venturing there. Upon landing, however, I felt as if the adversary was attempting to thwart this plan, just as in the stories of those Logan temple-goers. Our bus reservation paper was lost, and there was no confirmation that we’d even booked one—thus, we had no way to get into the city. We bought train tickets which ended up being double the advertised cost (as promised, thanks Will). We had to buy tube tickets, then a separate train ticket, and lastly, a taxi. Combine all this commuting with rude, unhelpful servicemen and you get 7/8 people who lost the desire to make the journey to the temple. At one point, I thought I was going by myself. In short, the entire group wound up at the temple. J My heart was in constant prayer, and of course it all worked out. To combat the adversary’s distractions and problems, we were blessed with tender mercies: some exceptionally kind people and perfect timing lead us to the temple just in time.
Being there was out of this world. We opened with das lied auf Englisch “I Need Thee Every Hour,” and an opening prayer, which brought an incredibly strong spirit. We were then able to do baptisms in a gorgeous font. A temple worker explained that the smoky mirrors differed from those in the celestial room (which reflect eternity) by representing the deceased coming out of the “darkness” (hazy mirrors) and into the “light”—the large chandelier hanging above the proxy. I just wept as he explained it all to me, it was remarkable! We had a few family file names and an endowed male in our group who was able to baptize us. I thought it was such an amazing experience. All of the sacrifices were so worth it! Later on, every person commented on how great temple time was, even those who lost desire mid-way and were not so nice to me about it. I feel like this is so long and almost whiney, I would just like to say that I was so humbled in trying to make this happen, and dealing with all the hardships. I learned about commitments and how important it is to follow-through with them. I had asked each individual several times to make sure they were 150% interested; each was gung-ho, yet later some claimed to have no desire/ to not have known it was happening. Amid all of the complications thrown at us, all I could think about was “drop your pails and run.” The Lord prepares the way for righteous works to be accomplished.
Many apologies about this lengthy description—this is part of my testimony, and I don’t want to be ungrateful in not sharing what Heavenly Father blessed me with. Quickly: The London temple is the 2nd largest temple ground in the world—28 acres! I had no idea. After our appointment (and fabulous temple cafeteria food, holy! [pun?]), we went out to the grounds to photo machen. They are included. The best part: I was walking to where the cab would meet us shortly, looking down at the recent additions to my memory card, when I looked up and saw something that rocked my world. Elder Cade Rector Tueller stood peering at me through the glass door not ten feet away. Asljkfd! I know my jaw literally dropped, I spun around, and we met up to chat for bit. It was SUCH a sweet blessing to see him! I’d thought of maybe seeing him in the city, but never in such a remote, personal way. What a blessing! I still can’t even believe it! I smile just thinking about seeing my good friend, like it really happened. What! Ha. The weirdest thing is that he said he saw me from a ways away, and he knew it was me. Full heart and no words on my part. Heavenly Father is a smart guy, he knows just how to bless us. Sheesh!
In the 1700’s Guy Fawkes tried to bomb Parliament in England. However, he did not prevail, and was later executed. November fifth commemorates this day; there are festivities, parties, parades, and fireworks. After temple time and hostel-situating, we went to a park for, no joke, the best firework show I’ve seen in my entire life. It was RAD!
2 comments:
London kicks a**. Wish I was there right now. It's a destination unto itself. I know a lady who was on the London Eye when it broke down. She was strandid at the top most position for over an hour ! People were having to urinate in emergency containers and they had to share emergency bottles of water. Nice huh? She survived to tell the tale.
T-dog. I'm so sorry we were such bums when headed to the temple. I'm SO grateful it worked out so splendidly. Its definitely one of my favorite experiences since I've been in Wien. You rock for figuring it all out for us!
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