It has only been about 5 months since we returned from the London Temple but during our release interview, President Bell promised us that the short time we had to be with our family between missions would seem to be extended. And we were able to visit each of our children in their homes and we had lots of special experiences.
During that time, we celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary and since we had previously digitized most of our family photos, we prepared the following two minute history entitled "The Work of Eternity." The title was taken from a talk by President Dallin H. Oaks and highlights the importance of the family.
"The Work of Eternity" which is a summary of Elder and Sister Burkinshaw's first 40 years of marriage with song entitled "A Family is Forever" as the background.
Our mission call was originally to report to the MTC on Monday, March 16, 2020 for 10 days of training and then report to Temple Square on Thursday, March 26. However we counseled with President Craig G Fisher in November 2019 and determined that, having attended the MTC in April 2015 before our mission to Brazil, we could come straight to Temple Square. Further, because three of the five senior couples would finish their service on April 1, we should report as soon as we returned from our trip to Maui on March 10. In November, President Fisher asked us to work in the mission office but in February he advised that an additional couple would arrive in mid-March so he would need us to serve out on Temple Square instead. We see the Lord's hand in these changes as we describe our first days in the mission.
Our Mission Begins
We were able to move the belongings we brought from Oklahoma into our mission apartment (Brigham Apartments, 201 E South Temple) before our Maui trip and after we returned, we spent Monday, March 9 preparing our apartment and stocking it with groceries.
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| Temple Square and the Conference Center which constitute the major sites for the SLC Temple Square Mission. Starting at about 7:00 clockwise is the Salt Lake Tabernacle, the North Visitors Center, the Conference Center and the Salt Lake Temple. Not pictured is the Assembly Hall. We have Sister Missionaries in the Assembly Hall, Tabernacle, North Visitors Center and the Conference Center every day from 9:00am to 9:00pm seven days per week. The Salt Lake Temple is undergoing rennovations for the next four years. |
We reported on Tuesday, March 10 which was the second of three days of Zone Conferences. We spent the day on the 9th floor of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building (where we had held Jessica and Mike's wedding brunch back in 2002) receiving some great instruction from President and Sister Fisher and the Sisters who serve in the Temple Square Visitors Center Mission leadership on diverse topics such as health (no more shaking hands or even doing elbow bumps) and how to share the Gospel in a normal and natural way.
Here are two highlights from our day of training at the Zone Conference:
first, the opening hymn which was hymn #335 "Brightly Beams Our Father's Mercy". The hymn has a strong missionary message as it share these words:
1. Brightly beams our father's mercy from his lighthouse evermore.
But to us he gives the keeping of the lights along the shore.
2. Dark the night of sin has settled; Loud the angry billows roar.
Eager eyes are watching, longing, for the lights along the shore.
3. Trim your feeble lamp, my brother; some poor sailor, tempest-tossed,
trying now to make the harbor, in the darkness may be lost.
We also sang a 4th verse, which was written by President Fisher's father:
4. When you've helped him reach safe haven. When your lighthouse task is o'er.
Clap him firmly to your bosom. Ere he seek some distant shore.
Chorus: Let the lower lights be burning: Send a gleam across the wave.
Some poor fainting, struggling seaman you may rescue, you may save.
The second was a quote from Elder Jeffrey R Holland's April 2001 conference talk "Witnesses Unto Me" (a great missionary talk)
"Presidet Nelson told me once that one of the first rules of medical inquiry is 'Ask the patient where it hurts. The patient' he said 'will be your best guide to a correct diagnosis and eventual remedy.' If we listen with love, we won't need to wonder what to say. It will be given to us by the Spirit and by our friends."
It was a wonderful day of training and a great way to start our mission!
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| Elder and Sister Burkinshaw taking a selfie on Temple Square after our fist day of training. |
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| Zone Conference held March 10, 2020 in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. This is three zones North2, South2 and East2. Elder and Sister Burkinshaw are on the right. |
On Wednesday, March 11, we shadowed Elder Leon and Sister Marilyn Holland (Millville, UT - just south of Logan) and Elder Virgil and Sister Alice Steel (Santa Clara, UT - northwest of St George) as both couples were completing their missions on April 1, 2020. Our first experience was taking a tour of the Salt Lake Tabernacle attic. Some pictures and explanations follow:
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| In 1861 Brigham Young, who had been a carpenter, proposed a "turtle back" tabernacle with bandshell acoustics that could hold a large congregation. Henry Grow, trained in the Remington Company of Philadelphia's patented lattice truss technique for bridge building was engaged to build the Tabernacle designing a lattice truss roof. |
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| The Salt Lake Tabernacle during construction from 1864 to 1867. The finished Tabernacle stood 250 feet by 150 feet, was 75 feet tall at the roofline and possessed 44 stone pillars which were 24 feet high. Sixteen doors measuring 10 feet wide plus an additional four doors measuring 4.5 feet wide allowed the exit of 10,000 people in five minutes. The original building had an echo which made it difficult to hear speakers until a balcony was added in 1870 which brought capacity to 13,000. |
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| Sister and Elder Burkinshaw in the attic of the Salt Lake Tabernacle. Sister Burkinshaw wore pants that day (which are allowed in the mission) because we did have to climb several ladders to get to the attic. |
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| Note that the lattice trusses were actually sawed in an arch and were not "formed" and were pinned together with wooden pegs secured with wedges. Also note the rawhide wrapped around the timbers prevented incipient splits from cracking any further. Contrary to popular belief, nails were used to build the Tabernacle. Iron left behind by Johnston's Army in 1861 was used to form the tens of thousands of nails used in the construction. |
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| The 2004 renovation and seismic upgrade of the Salt Lake Tabernacle stabilized the oval-shaped structure by adding supplemental framing and reinforcing bars to walls and the roof. Along with generally refurbishing the interior, the basement offices and practice areas used by the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square were expanded. |
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| Sister Burkinshaw pointing out the counterweights (a wooden box full of rocks) used to for the window pulleys and sash lines which made summer ventilation easier. |
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| This is what the interior of the Salt Lake Tabernacle looks like today following the 2004-7 rennovation which provided much more leg-room. Today, the Tabernacle holds about 3,500 people compared to the 13,000 in earlier times. Elder and Sister Burkinshaw remember waiting in line at 4:00am on a Sunday morning to gain entrance to the October 1979 General Conference, then were were packed tightly sitting on very hard benches. |
Elder and Sister Holland showed us around the Assembly Hall and then at noon, we assisted in ushering visitors in to the noon organ recital. Afterwards, we were introduced to the tunnel system which joins the Assembly Hall, Tabernacle (including the Tabernacle Choirs offices, training rooms and wardrobe rooms) and the North Visitors Center.
The North Visitors Center was a trip down memory lane for Elder Burkinshaw, who served as a Wednesday evening guide on Temple Square from 1976 to 1979 while he was a student at the University of Utah. While most of the paintings from 40+ years ago remain in the North Visitors Center, they have been rearranged. One of the new paintings is an Carl Bloch original on loan from BYU.
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| The original painting entitled "The Birth of Christ" by Carl Heinrich Bloch is on display at the North Visitors Center on Temple Square. Elder and Sister Burkinshaw saw many of the other original Bloch paintings of the Life of Christ in Fredriksborg Castle in Hillerød, Denmark. (see Denmark blog post) |
We finished Wednesday with a lovely dinner at the apartment of Elder and Sister Hastings.
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| Elder Daniel and Sister Michelle Hastings (Minden, NV) who have been serving on Temple Square for 14 months invited us to dinner on Wednesday March 11. |
On Thursday, March 12th, we again assisted with the Tabernacle organ recital with Elder and Sister Hastings. After a late lunch at the Lion House, Elder and Sister Holland took us around the Conference Center. With the renovation work on the Salt Lake Temple scheduled for the next four years, which cuts Temple Square in half, the Conference Center has become the de facto Visitors Center. Since the beginning of 2020, all scheduled tours begin at the Conference Center. Here is the tour sequence and the additional exhibits that have been added to the Conference Center
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| The Conference Center with the sequence of exhibits for Visitors. |
- The tour begins in the Conference Center theater with a 17 minute film which introduces vistors to temples and provides background on the renovations to the Salt Lake Temple. The key message is that Temples are a place where members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints go to feel closer to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and connect with their best selves by striving to be more like them.
- The visitors then enter the Terrace level of the Conference Center where there is an 11 foot replica of Thorvaldsen's Christus (similar to but smaller than that in the rotunda of the North Visitors Center) where visitors can sit and ponder or take pictures. The key message is that members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints are Christians. We believe in and worship Jesus Christ and strive to be like Him.
- Visitors are next led into the Conference Center auditorium where they experience the largest forward-facing auditorium in the world with over one-million square feet and very comfortable seating for over 21,000. The pipe organ has over 7,700 pipes (which is fewer that the 11,500 pipes in the Tabernacle). The key message is that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints hosts their semi-annual General Conference in this auditorium to listen to modern day prophets and apostles.
- Next visitors have an opportunity to visit the Book of Mormon gallery on the Terrace level where there is a collection of Arnold Friberg’s original depictions of the events in the Book of Mormon. The key message here is The Church believes that Jesus Christ had prophets and apostles beyond the locations in the Bible; these paintings depict what we believe are some of the key events captured in the Book of Mormon that happened on the American Continent.
- At the balcony level, visitors can examine the cut-away model of the Salt Lake Temple (formerly located in the South Visitors Center) and they can observe the ongoing construction on the Salt Lake Temple across the street through the windows or on the outside deck. The key message here is The Temple is a sacred place where members can go to connect with Jesus Christ and feel His presence and peace in their lives. The Temple is not only a symbol of our connection to our Heavenly Father, it is a symbol of our devotion and an icon of the community.
- The final stop is the roof which provides one of the best views of the construction in the city. Vistors love the natural gardens that exist on the roof and the additional views of the city. The key message is that the roof is a garden sanctuary in a bustling city. Many people connect spiritually through nature. We recognize nature as a way to feel connected and grounded as well as appreciate the beauty God has created for us.
Thursday evening we were again invited to dinner with Elder and Sister Steel. Unfortunately we didn't get a photo of this event but we did have an opportunity to play the card game "Karma" where Sister Burkinshaw dominated (as usual!).
On Friday, March 13th, we started at the Teaching Center located on the fourth floor of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. We spent about an hour getting familiar with the electronic system that tracks requests on the ComeUntoChrist.org website and calls to the associated toll-free number. Then we began to follow-up with a few English and Portuguese requests for a Bible, Book of Mormon or a lesson via SMS texts. After the requesters responded with complete contact information, we scheduled in-home visits (with the missionaries in their local area) or on-line teaching sessions. There is a sign in the office showing the number of mission baptisms year to date (currently 121) from first contacts made either in person or electronically by the Sisters serving on Temple Square.
Photo of the Teaching Center
We again assisted with the Tabernacle organ recital at noon, this time with Elder and Sister Steel. We did not know at the time that this would be the last organ recital to be held at the Tabernacle until the COVID-19 endemic passes.
On Friday afternoon we had the opportunity to see a new film we hadn't seen entitled God's Plan which appears to teach similar principles as Man's Search For Happiness. It uses the same format of a growing family over the years and God's Plan further includes statements from The Family: A Proclamation to the World. It is very well done and is an excellent presentation for families visiting Temple Square as it is not available on the Church's website.
We walked over to the City Creek mall to run a couple of errands before returning to our apartment that evening and had our first "CRUMBL" cookie at Deseret Book - a cinnamon swirl which is a snickerdoodle with cinnamon on top and cream cheese frosting, it was amazing!! They make 5 or 6 different kinds of cookies everyday to tempt you back regularly - it could become an addiction.
Closing Temple Square and Change of Assignment
Just after we returned to our apartment, we were called back to the mission office with all the senior missionaries for a meeting with President and Sister Fisher. They had met earlier with Elder Christoffeson and shared the following information concerning Temple Square, which was posted on the Church's News Room as we were meeting:
"All public areas of the following Church-owned buildings on Temple Square will close, effective 5:00pm MDT today, Friday March 13. The closures will remain in effect until further notice: Conference Center, Assembly Hall, Tabernacle, North Visitors' Center, Family History Library, Church History Museum, Relief Society Building, Church Office Building, Beehive House, Church History Library."
We were also instructed that the Senior missionaries were not to have close contact with the young Sister missionaries i.e. no meetings, no apartment visits and strictly observe the 6 ft social distancing rule. We also learned that two of the proselyting couples who were scheduled to go home on April 1 would depart immediately (and two days later the other proselyting couple who was to serve until July were also released to return home) leaving us and the two office couples (one of which will be released on April 1). And the two new missionary couples that were to arrive this month had their mission calls deferred indefinitely. A graphic from the BBC of the effects of COVID-19 helped illustrate the concern for the older generation.
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| Graphic from the BBC showing the mortality statistics by age-group which highlighted the concern of church leaders for the senior missionaries. |
President Fisher smiled at us and asked how tough we were. We responded that we would serve in whatever capacity was needed. Thus, in an instant, our assignment was changed to serve in the office at least for this season of COVID-19 and perhaps for the duration of our mission. Had we reported at the original time, it is likely our mission call would have also been deferred. As it is, our office experience in Brazil will be brought to bear here.
The Friday meeting was followed up with a Saturday, March 14 early morning meeting for all missionaries in the chapel of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. This meeting was held with permission from the Area Presidency and was done in two segments to comply with the government mandate (at that time) for any meetings to be less than 100 people. Missionaries living in Brigham apartments (where we live) met at 7:30am for 45 mins. followed by those living in Deseret apartments meeting at 8:15am for 45 minutes. President and Sister Fisher instructed that with all the Temple Square buildings closed, only a few companionships would be assigned to key areas on the Square itself and in front of the Conference Center. Six of the sisters going home were asked to share their homebound testimonies about their missions since the traditional sacrament meetings where they would normally speak had been suspended. The Sisters who spoke did a wondeful job and shared inspiring messages as well as "tender mercy" experiences during their service on Temple Square. It was a reminder that the Lord is in the details of our lives. President Fisher offered the closing prayer during which he, through the keys he holds, invoked the Lord's blessing on all during this challenging time.
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| Ssiters in the Joseph Smith Building Chapel for our Saturday morning March 14th meeting. This was the first of many times they were instructed to sit only with their companion and to spread themselves out for "social distancing". |
Ensign Peak
After the Saturday morning meeting we had our P-day (office couples have Saturday P-day). We took our usual daily four mile walk and stopped at Einstein Brothers Bagels for breakfast and did some additional deep cleaning of our apartment before heading to Ensign Peak for a couple of hours. The hike to Ensign Peak is less than a mile although it is fairly steep. It was remniscent of our hike to Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh Scotland with John and Emily because of the strong winds. We can now say we stood where Brigham Young, Heber C Kimball and others of the early Apostles stood. In the October 2006 General Conference, President Boyd K. Packer shared the following about Ensign Peak in his talk "A Defense and a Refuge":
On July 26, 1847, their third day in the valley (the second having been the Sabbath), Brigham Young, with members of the Twelve and some others, climbed a peak about one and a half miles from where I now stand. They thought it a good place to raise an ensign to the nations. Heber C. Kimball wore a yellow bandana. They tied it to Willard Richards’s walking stick and waved it aloft, an ensign to the nations. Brigham Young named it Ensign Peak.
Then they descended to their worn-out wagons, to the few things they had carried 2,000 miles, and to their travel-weary followers. It was not what they possessed that gave them strength but what they knew.
They knew they were Apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ. They knew that the priesthood had been delivered to them by angelic messengers. They knew they had the commandments and the covenants to offer opportunity for the eternal salvation and exaltation for all mankind. They were sure that the inspiration of the Holy Ghost attended them.
They busied themselves plowing up gardens, putting up shelters against the winter soon to come. They prepared for others already on the prairie following them to this new gathering place.
A revelation, written nine years earlier, directed them to “arise and shine forth, that thy light may be a standard for the nations;
“And that the gathering together upon the land of Zion, and upon her stakes, may be for a defense, and for a refuge from the storm, and from wrath when it shall be poured out without mixture upon the whole earth” (D&C 115:5–6).
They were to be the “light,” the “standard.”
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| Sister Burkinshaw in front of the monument on Ensign Peak. |
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| The plaque on the monument at Ensign Peak which reads: July 26, 1847, two days after the Mormon Pioneers entered this valley, Brigham Young and party climbed to this point and with the aid of field glasses made a careful suvey of the mountains, canyons and streams. In the group there were Heber C Kimball, Wilford Woodruff, George A Smith, Ezra T Benson, Willard Richards, Albert Carington and William Clayton. Wilford Woodruff, first to ascend the peak, suggested it as a fitting place to "set up an ensign" (Isaiah 11:12). It was then named Ensign Peak. Subsequently the Stars and Stripes were raised here. |
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| Elder and Sister Burkinshaw with the Salt Lake Valley in the background from Ensign Peak. |
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| The Salt Lake Valley from Ensign Peak with a view of State Street and Main Street running all the way to the Point of the Mountain. |
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| A view of the east bench and mountains from Ensign Peak. |
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| A panoramic view of the Salt Lake Valley from Ensign Peak. Clicking on the picture will allow you to see an enlarged view. |
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| An explanatory plaque on Ensign Peak which reads: THE SUMMIT Before he left Nauvoo, Brigham Young said that Joseph Smith, the deceased prophet, had appeared to him in a vision and had shown him a place where the banner of liberty should wave. When he viewed this peak as he entered the Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847, Brigham reportedly said, "This is the place," adding "I want to go there." Two days later, still weak fom mountain fever, he insisted on climbing to the summit. Eight others made the hike with him where they spent several hours in prayer and counsel. They gazed over the valley and made plans for the new city. They wanted their new home to become the "ensign for the nations" of which Isaiah had prophesied in the Bible, hence the name Ensign Peak. No ensign or flag was flown on that occasion, but perhaps a yellow bandana tied to a cane, was waved as a symbolic gesture. Within a few weeks, an American flag was hoisted on the summit. |
The Mission Office
On Sunday, March 15, we began training in the mission office with Elder John and Sister Carolyn Naegle (St. George, UT) who will complete their mission on April 1, 2020. Sister Burkinshaw will take over Sister Naegle's role as the mission executive secretary, which is what she did for 18 months in the Brazil Vitória Mission. Elder Naegle serves as the mission fleet coordinator (10 minivans, 1 sedan for the APs and 1 SUV for the mission president) and the device coordinator (Samsung android cell phones) which will be new to Elder Burkinshaw. Elder Naegle taught both seminary and institute in CES and Sister Naegle taught computers in middle school so they are both very talented and well-loved by the Sister missionaries and Presidency. We'll get two weeks with them before the April 1 transfer when they return home. We will work with Elder Mark and Sister Julie Sheanshang (Pleasant View, UT - north of Ogden) who serve as apartment coordinator and supply coordinator respectively.
The mission office was recently moved from the basement of the South Visitors Center, which has been demolished as part of the Temple Square renovations. The office is now located on the ground floor of the Relief Society buiding which is very nice but has much less office space so there is still some optimizing to do.
On Monday, March 16, the Missionary Department announced some "Temporary Changes to Missionay Service" related to the COVID-19 pandemic. This triggered a host of requests from missionaries and missionary parents which resulted in early releases for Sisters who were to be released on April 1 and May 13. This deluged Church Travel and in consequence Sister Burkinshaw and Sister Naegle spent much time arranging travel itineraries as well as missionary release packets. Elder Naegle and Elder Burkinshaw went through the protocols on mission cars including written and practical driving tests to qualify Sisters to drive mission vehicles.
Monday evening, we had a final dinner for the senior missionaries as several couples were also being released early. The dinner was held in the Social room of the Brigham Apartments where Elder and Sister Burkinshaw live and was the last time the Social room will be open for the foreseeable future.
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| Elder Virgil and Sister Alice Steel who will be returning home to Santa Clara, UT (near St George) |
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| The senior missionaries in the Utah Salt Lake City Temple Square Mission. Starting clockwise from 5:00pm is Sister Mace (mission nurse), Elder Burkinshaw, Elder and Sister Sheanshang, Elder and Sister Hastings, Elder and Sister Steel and Elder and Sister Naegle. Not pictured was Elder and Sister Holland who were moving items to their home near Logan, UT. |
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| Another view of the senior missionaries in the Utah Salt Lake City Temple Square Mission. Starting clockwise from 7:00pm is Sister Mace (mission nurse), Elder Burkinshaw, Elder and Sister Sheanshang, Elder and Sister Hastings, Elder and Sister Steel and Elder and Sister Naegle. Not pictured was Elder and Sister Holland who were moving items to their home near Logan, UT. |
Earthquake On Wednesday morning, March 18, we were out for our usual 6:00am walk (east on South Temple from our apartment up to University Street at the west side of the University of Utah ~ 4 miles round trip). As we were walking back, we saw a number of people outside their homes and we started to get texts from the Sister missionaries. At 7:09am a 5.7 magnitude earthquake occurred with it's epicenter near Magna on the west end of the Salt Lake Valley. Fortunately our apartment did not lose electricity (but the Deseret Apartments, where the other half of the missionaries live, did lose electricity). We showered and dressed and walked to the office for the normal 9:00am start time.
As we were walking to the office in the Relief Society Building, we noticed that the Angel Moroni on the Salt Lake Temple looked different. We took the following picture.
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| Early Wednesday, March 18 Sister Burkinshaw pointing to the top of the Salt Lake Temple where the Angel Moroni had apparently lost his trumpet in the earthquake that morning. |
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| A close-up of the Angel Moroni without his trumpet. You can see in the first battlement on the left a small gold object which is where the trumpet must have landed. |
Fortunately there was no structural damage to any of the buildings on Temple Square or the Conference Center. However, there was structural damage to the Humanitarian Center, Deseret Manufacturing facility and Beehive Clothing manufacturing. These buildings, located on Salt Lake City’s west side, will remain closed until further notice.
The Only Thing Constant is Change
Thursday and Friday was another whirlwind of activity with new announcements from the Missionary Department resulting in additional missionaries to be released early requiring plans to get them to their homes in various parts of the world.
The Salt Lake City Temple Square Mission is unique because it is currently staffed by 206 missionaries from 37 countries (Albania, Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Cote d'Ivoire, Czech Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador. Fiji, France, French Polynesia, Germany, Honduras, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, South Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Tonga, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom (including Wales and Scotland), United States an Zimbabwe) and 32 states in the United States.
All the Sister Missionaries serve for 18 months but for two transfers (about 3 months) they serve in another mission in the United States or Canada. This is called their Outbound assignment. With the COVID-19 pandemic, those missionaries in outbound assignments have remained and those who would normally be moving to an Outbound assignment will remain in Salt Lake City for the time being. Thus there are currently 132 missionaries in Salt Lake City and another 74 in outbound assignments. Of course these statistics were for March 10, 2020 and the numbers will change as we iterim plans are made to protect the health of the missionaries.
Recent events bring to mind the Savior's words to his apostles in Matthew 24:7, 6, 14:
"...there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. ...see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. ...And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations;"
President Gordon B. Hinckley added additional context to the times in which we live when, at another critical time in history, he gave the following counsel:
"Are these perilous times? They are. But there is no need to fear. We can have peace in our hearts and peace in our homes. We can be an influence for good in this world, every one of us. Our safety lies in repentance. Our strength comes of obedience to the commandments of God." (Gordon B. Hinckley, "The Times in Which We Live", Ensign, November 2001, 55)
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