Richard Walker - House of Learning

Walker, Richard, 1937

House of learning : getting more from your temple experience / Richard

and Kathleen Walker.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-60641-101-8 (hardbound : alk. paper)

1. Mormon temples. 2. Temple work (Mormon Church) 3. Temple

endowments (Mormon Church) I. Walker, Kathleen, 1939 II. Title.

BX8643.T4W35 2010

264'.093dc22 2010011131

Printed in the United States of America

Worldcolor, Fairfield, PA

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

To the thousands of temple workers in the Salt Lake Temple who labored with us, and whose lives of dedication and devotion were an inspiration to us.

We will always remember you and be grateful for your example of lovingkindness.

Introduction

Our lives together began on January 31, 2004. We had both lost our spouses some years previously and had come together with a bit of resistance and some trepidation. Forty years of prior marriage, family, career, Church experience, and unique circumstances had brought to each of us a fulfilling and rich life. And so when our circumstances changed and we found ourselves single, we were a bit baffled as to what our future would be. But the Lord saw fit to move us forward, and we were introduced to a new life that brought us together.

We spent the first eighteen months redefining that life, accommodating change, getting to know each other, blending ten children and forty grandchildren. We were assembling a new future. We were so different, and yet so alike.

~

Richard: My father died just three days before my first birthday. My mother, thirty years old, was left with four young children. On that dark day in June, everything in the life of my family changed. I grew up without a father and with a mother who worked day in and day out to keep our little family together. I missed having a dad, but I came to idolize my mother. And it was my mother who first instilled in me the idea that the temple was a special place.

When we were children we had a Saturday routine. We would get up, laboriously clean the house, and get ready for Sunday. When our chores were completed, we were anxious to get to our play activities. Our mother, on the other hand, would go into the bedroom, pull out a little suitcase, and take it to the ironing board, where she would meticulously press some white clothing. She would then leave the house and go to the temple. We found this so puzzling and hard to understand. We knew she was exhausted from her week of work and her responsibilities at home. We wondered what could possibly have motivated her to go to the temple when she could be home taking a nap or doing something for herself. This became a point of curiosity to me and I determined that someday I would find out why... and I did!

Kathleen: When I was sixteen I had occasion to participate in a wedding that was held in a beautiful Protestant church in downtown Salt Lake City. It had all the elements of a storybook eventthe preacher in his robes, red carpet down the aisle, rose petals, ring bearer, organ music, and all the rest. I loved it! I felt just like I had stepped into the middle of a romance novel. I was so caught up in the enchantment of it that I began to feel sorry for myself. I will sacrifice such grandeur, I thought, because I will be married in the temple. Woe is me!

It was just a few weeks later that the Los Angeles Temple was dedicated. Because my father had an assignment associated with that event, we made a family trip of it. It was the first time I had ever been in a temple, and I shall never forget the feelings that washed over me when I entered that holy edifice. I stood at the foot of the beautiful sweeping staircase that graces its foyer, and it looked to me like it was coming straight from heaven. All my romantic notions of a wedding returned as I envisioned myself gliding down that staircase, enveloped in love and beauty. But even as I stood there, I knew what I was feeling was more than just romance. It was a feeling of being drawn to heaven, and I was quite overcome with deep gratitude and resolve that someday I would be married in such a place. I think it was then that the temple began to find a place in my heart.

~

From those early experiences in our youth, there was born in each of us a deep feeling about the temple. We knew it was special. We knew it was good, and we knew that someday we wanted to be a part of it. And so when we came together, the temple was already an important part of our lives. We didnt know then, however, that it would at some point consume our lives.

After eighteen months of marriage we began to talk about how we could render full-time service in the Church. It was about this time that the unexpected call came for us to serve as president and matron of the Salt Lake Temple.

~

Richard: I had been serving as an ordinance worker for three years and so I was somewhat familiar with the procedures and responsibilities that came with such a calling. However, I soon came to realize how very little I knew.

Kathleen: I was a little concerned about the calling. I thought that the only thing a sister did in the temple was stand around in white, looking lovely and pointing out directions. I soon came to realize that ignorance is bliss.

~

With great feelings of inadequacy, we began our service as the president and matron of the Salt Lake Temple on November 1, 2005. It was as if we had stepped onto a bullet train moving at high speed. We worked as we had never worked before. We had challenges we had never had before. We had demanding hours and consuming responsibilities, as never before. But we also had the most beautiful, inspiring, and edifying experience of our lives. We worked alongside the most dedicated and spiritually committed people that could be found anyplace in the Church. We learned and laughed and loved. And we felt our lives change on a daily basis.

Almost immediately we both came to understand that the Lord governs His holy house and there is so much to learn under His tutelage. The great key is to gain understanding of the spiritual meaning of the symbolic teachings of the temple. Consider the Saviors parablesthe process of understanding them comes with continuous study, pondering, prayer, and deep searching. Only then can we grasp the spiritual meaning of the parables. So it is with the temple. Understanding its spiritual meaning begins with a personal desire and preparation of our lives to receive through the Spirit.

We also came to understand that the temple is all about our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. It is truly the Lords spiritual university on earth. It teaches us the plan of happiness and opens the gateway to eternal exaltation, which cannot be obtained without the covenants and blessings of the temple.

When we were called to this assignment, we were told that this would be the crowning experience of our Church servicenever before and never again would we do anything that would compare with it. So true! When you spend most of your time in the house of the Lord, your life changes.