APRIL BENTLEY BULLETIN BLOG
Happy Birthday two dear one year olds: April 14th Josinette's
April 23rd Francesca's
Saturday it was our turn to open the temple at 6:00 a.m. When we arrived about 5:45 we found President and Hna. Treto already there, as well as two of our faithful temple workers. Our 7:00 session was filled with local people. By the 8:30 session the buses had arrived from Victoria and Vales and we had to set up all the folding chairs we had to squeeze everyone in. The baptistery was overflowing with eager youth. I was especially touched by two of the young people. A sweet girl in a wheel chair and a blind boy who were there with their friends to serve in the House of the Lord.
There was a beautiful bride and groom, and a family who had come to be sealed. The family had an interesting story. While they were getting their paper work taken care of I greeted the couple, Hno. Y Hna Cruz, who had come with them as their “acompanantes” (I can’t remember the word we use in English). I asked them if they were relatives. “No, we are their Home and Visiting Teachers.” I learned that the family had been inactive members of the Church for many years, but they continued have contact with the Church through the Cruz.’ Visits. As the family returned to activity the bishop called the Cruz’ to teach them the Temple Preparation Classes, and now they were accompanying them to the temple. What a testimony of the power of Home and Visiting teaching. The couple’s 13 year old son and 9 year old daughter were also there to be sealed to their parents. The girl had a lovely dress her mother had made for the occasion. Hna. Esparza called me to look at it as there was a very, very pale cast of pink in the shimmer of the skirt material. I was reminded of my experience Thursday night. Another family had come to be sealed with a 15 year old girl who had saved her money to buy a lovely white dress for the occasion. It had short sleeves and came just below her knees and Pres. Treto had told her she could not wear it. When I learned of the situation, this sweet girl was nearly in tears. I visited with her and offered her one of our dresses with long sleeves and skirt, but she wanted to wear her dress. Fortunately, I had just had three darling bolero jackets made for our brides. With one of these, and long white stockings she was covered from head to toe in white and tears were replaced with smiles, and a happy memory of her first temple experience. Kathy Barnes Walker’s words rang in my mind, “Better a broken rule than a broken heart.” (Kathy is Pres. Hinckley’s daughter and the Matron at the Salt Lake Temple), Our 9 year old got to wear her dress too.
Our young bride and groom were radiant. He was a returned missionary and all of his family were there. In fact, it was a day of double rejoicing for his parents as his younger brother was entering the temple for the first time before leaving this next week for his mission in Tuxla Guiterez. The bride’s family are not members of the Church, but the groom’s mother accompanied her, and the obvious love between them reminded me of Ruth and Naomi.
When I was giving the name for our 10:00 session a sister broke down and began to cry. I hugged her and told her that after the session if she wished to talk to me I’d be available. Two hours later she found me and through her tears she told me that her x-missionary husband who she had been sealed to and was the father of their two young children, had been excommunicated last Sunday and had abandoned the family. What can you say to someone whose heart is broken? I just listened and cried with her. Another woman asked me what last name she should use in the name booth, her maiden name or the name of her husband, the father of her children, who had just divorced her. Such heartaches.
The Esparza’s son and daughter in law with their darling 9 month old baby came to pick up their parents and I got to hold little David. It felt so good to hug this sweet baby and think about our five little ones born last year. I’m so grateful for our web cam and Vonage phone that keeps us in close contact with the family.
This being the last Saturday of the month Pres. and Hna. Moss were going to come at the 2:30 session with the missionaries who were ending their missions. Carol had spoken with me earlier and we had made arrangements for her to come in the morning to be baptized and do the initiatory work for the mother of one of her missionaries who had died just a year earlier while he was serving in the mission field. What a privilege and blessing it was for me to officiate in English with the assistance of Hna. Perez sealing in Spanish, as this mother received her preparatory ordinances. Carol then took this mother’s name (Silvia Romero Acosta) through the session in the afternoon. As they were leaving she introduced me to the son, dear Elder Aguilar. There was no doubt in any of our minds that his mother was in attendance and had accepted the work done on her behalf.
Bro. and Sister Rollins from Layton had come to pick up their son as he ended his mission. Sister Batt (she and her husband serve in the mission office) told me of the touching scene when Elder Rawlings saw his parents for the first time on the temple steps. They ran to each other and embraced and he exclaimed “You came, you really came!” That was a “heart camera” moment. Although it was our turn to leave the temple early we had stayed so that we could be there to take these three American women through the veil in English.
When we finally turned off the lights and locked the doors of the temple we had been there for 12 hours. It sounds like a long time, but the hours always fly past when we are serving the Lord in His house
