Jubileum

Just a random beautiful flowers shot.....Spring is spoiling us for any other time of year!

Today is the very day....the ten year anniversary of the day the Copenhagen Temple was dedicated.  It is being called a Jubileum, meaning a commemoration or anniversary.

We left our apartment at 9 a.m. to attend the 10:00 session at the temple.  We stayed for the 12:30 session as well.  (I did the work for 2 different women, born in different centuries and countries, but both named Anna, like our little granddaughter.)  After a stop at the nearby church where a small distribution center is located, we went to the center to open it up for the stake YM/YW.  They were going to have a very large group do baptisms at the temple, but will divide it in half....with one half going to the temple and the other to the center...then switching halfway through.

We were grateful we didn't have to be there tonight....we are dragging.  We will be at the temple again tomorrow and then the center with the YSAs.  It is a daytime event, and I wonder if anyone will stay long at the center.  Since it is on the fourth floor, the afternoon sun beats into the sloped windows and superheats it.  There are air conditioners, but they take awhile to cool it down even a little.

We got home between 5 and 6, had dinner and had a conversation with David, our little grandson, and then Lia who has a new little one and a very active 2-year old (By the way....she has an article in the June issue of the Ensign and also the June issue of the Liahona on Italy.....you can access it online by going to lds.org).

In case you are wondering, yes....we are beyond grateful for the supreme blessing of being able to place a Facetime call, see our children and grandchildren in real time and talk with them....and not have long-distance charges.

After we finished our sessions in the temple, we went into the little reception room to retrieve our shoes.  We struck up and conversation with a sweet man.  We ended up talking to him for a half hour.

He is 88 years old and lives in Sweden with his wife.  Since they are in the Copenhagen Temple district, they make the trip over once a month.  He was unassuming and gentle and easy to talk with.  He spoke beautiful English.  The more we talked, the more we learned about him.

He is a sealer for the temple, and was there today to perform a live sealing....and who knows how many sealings for people no longer living.  He is in his branch presidency in Sweden, and his goal is to help it grow to the point that it will be a ward.  He was the temple president of the Stockholm Temple in 1994-97.  He has 8 children, all of whom live in Sweden.

He shared his conversion story....he was baptized on April 23, 1949.  He was 23, married with 2 little children.  He was kind of an atheist like his father.  At the time he was the president of a thousand-member organization.  One day his father called.  He had met two American Mormon missionaries, and wanted his son to meet with them...which he did.

He read the Book of Mormon and believed it to be true.  Although his father wasn't baptized, he was eager to see his son accept the gospel.  The son reasoned, "If the Book of Mormon is true, then Joseph Smith must have been a prophet."  He also thought through the idea that if God does exist, why wouldn't he reveal His will to prophets.

He made the decision to be baptized and said he believed the gospel was true....but, he said....NO ONE could say "I know it to be true."

"It is impossible to know."

Almost immediately after he was baptized, he was asked to give a 2 1/2 minute talk in Sunday School.  He stood and began speaking.  He heard himself saying, "I know this is the true church," and he tried to stop himself....but he couldn't because he realized that he really did know.

When we parted SK gave him a big hug and thanked him for talking to us. He had expressed himself so beautifully, and has a firm conviction that the Gospel and the Church are the greatest blessings to him and his family.

We just keep having these sweet experiences with remarkable people.  We briefly saw two of the young elders from our district....they were serving as hosts at the church by the temple for the temple exhibit.  I count them as remarkable.

If I had to say what I enjoy most about this mission, I would have a difficult time narrowing it down to just one...but right at the top of the list is the choice people we have met and continue to meet.  Those meetings are an almost constant source of strength and inspiration.

It looks like we'll be going to sleep tonight to the sound of rain.....ahhhh.