The First Temple in the Pacific Northwest Turns 40 Years Old

Well, the Seattle Temple officially "celebrated" its 40th year in operation since its dedication in November 1980.  There was a special devotional held last Sunday, November 15, with many special speakers, musical numbers and President McMullin who serves as the Temple's 14th President, concluding the meeting with his remarks.  It was broadcasted online in the appropriate 2020 fashion and seemed to carry a special spirit throughout the meeting even though few were present in the stake center.  It was interesting to hear about the history of the Church in the Northwest from the Temple Recorder, Richard Pedersen.  His historical remarks regarding the temple construction and how the temple has since become a light to this whole region, warmed our hearts.  There were messages on the blessings of doing temple work, and special stories of how names were found so that temple work could be done.  I believe I can speak for everyone who tuned in to the broadcast last Sunday that testimonies were strengthened about the importance of temple work and family history.  We are thankful to have a Temple in Seattle to bless our lives with its divine purposes.  This scripture below was one that I heard during the broadcast and it seems to resonate with all who come to understand the importance of this work that goes on inside Temples. Which is, to perform ordinances of salvation and exaltation for those who have passed on from this life.  To learn more about temples if you are unfamiliar, click Here

And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse. 

Malachi 4:6  

Enjoy some recent Autumn pictures from the temple grounds I took in remembrance of the 

40 year Anniversary of this Magnificent Ediface:

 

What's Blooming in August?

 The Temple is nearing Phase 2 reopening, which seems to feel more like closed than being open, but progress is good.  This year has been an interesting one and we all keep wondering what the future holds for life and getting back to normal.  We don't know what next year, and the year after that will be like, but it is nice to be around things here at the grounds that continue to operate as normal.  The plants and flowers continue to bloom, as long as there is sun, water and soil to grow in.  The challenges of this year may be just be beginning or we may be on the rebound after the tidal wave, but the garden stays constant and unchanged.  This pandemic has created a few "silver linings" for us all-- it has forced us to wander out in nature and enjoy this beautiful earth a little more.  Due to countless cancellations and closures to activities around the world.  Another reminder that God is constant, a Creator of life, and all things in this beautiful earth.  There is so much to explore and learn in this life.  So get outside in nature, find a garden or plant one yourself and escape to something that remains constant and unfettered by the pandemic!

Here are some pictures of the gardens here at the temple this summer, Enjoy!

Fountain Miracle

Recently, we had a special thing happen regarding our fountain project.  The story is written below by Richard Nelson, who works as as Senior Gardener for the Seattle Temple Grounds.

Miracle at the Seattle Temple

Over the past several weeks we have been struggling to repair and upgrade the lighting in the fountain, under the lead of Lonnie Startin, the Temple Electrician. We removed the old wiring from all the conduits, but then the last wire seized up inside the conduit. We couldn’t get it to budge. Several Men were on one end playing tug-a-war, but the snag won. After applying lubrication, and heat, we then hooked it up to a vehicle, not only did it not move an inch but the electrical cable snapped. Fortunately, the break occurred outside the conduit with just enough cable left for one last try. That was about 3 weeks ago. Since then we tried every conceivable method to extract this wire. We all have been praying over the past few weeks for inspiration, and help. Finally, on Tuesday, six of the temple staff teamed up, determined to conquer this adversity. As we contemplated our last and final strategy, I stepped away to say a personal prayer. I prayed from “my have to”. Not my want to, or need to, but my have to, with every fiber of my being that the Lord of Host would manifest his great power and might, that we might be able to make these grounds such that would glorify him. I said “the Brother of Jared said unto mount Zerin remove and it was removed. And thy own Son said, ‘if we had the faith of a grain of a mustard seed, we could move mountains’. All I’m asking is that we move this cable.”

One last mighty pull. The order was given, “Go get the tractor”. There was zero margin for error. The danger here is, if the wire breaks again, we are sunk. Those fountain lights would not get power and this would not be fitting for the House of the Lord. We all gathered together there in the middle of the fountain and united in prayer. Lonnie Startin prayed a powerful prayer of mighty faith. I did bring the tractor, but I also thought it more prudent to use a come-along, so as to give us more control. We hooked the come-along to the hitch of the tractor and the other end to the cable. What happened next? We witnessed the hand of God. As I worked the lever of the come-along, I kept waiting to feel resistance from the cable. There was none. I even had to hold my other hand under the come-along to keep it from sagging under its own weight.

Dear Reader, I testify to you, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, that some unseen power was pushing that cable out. When the end of the cable cleared the conduit, out gushed a fair amount of water that was above the obstructing portion of the wire. This is significant, for it reveals that the wire was so tight inside that 30-foot-long conduit that the rain water that had accumulated above the bound-up wire over the past several weeks couldn’t even get out, yet it moved this time as easily as water through a pipe.

-- Richard Nelson

Middle of May

We are middle of May and the flowers are planted, and fountain light project is about finished.  We have had a mixture of rain and sun so it hasn't put a damper too much on our projects.  As things slowly start to open, we are on the ready to have the temple open at a moments notice.  We are assuming it will take a little while longer for temples to open in Washington, but our hope is that day comes sooner than later!

Here are some pictures of the Grounds Projects we have been up to this week:

We had a group lunch with "10 people" so it worked out and we had a good time.  It is crazy to hear how everyone's life has been changed through this world-wide pandemic

Irrigation Leak number 100 and counting... (just kidding... but really we have had a lot of leaks this year)

Fixing irrigation by the fountain

Irrigation Maintenance sometimes requires the removal of plants or other objects to find the problem

Irrigation problem solving: trying to get 3 lines to all come together in a deep hole, on the same plane, same angle made for some head scratching as we worked it out.  We are having lots of issues with the irrigation as the system continues to age.

We cleaned our shop up after it started gathering too many plants, wet suits, dirty tools, etc.  We have made some extra room for our equipment by building a hard canopy that will be really nice to have.  See the picture below

New Canopy on the right

'Beni Maiko' Japanese Maple

We added a Japanese Maple 'Yatsabusa' to the Northeast section of the temple lot.  This is one of my favorite trees.  It only grows a few inches per year, and has a bonsai look to it.

Richard soaked from the sudden rain/hail storm, zach is prepping to go out in the storm

We had a "gulley-washer" of a rain/hail storm last week.  Spring always brings out the craziest weather patterns

Flower Planting started last week, we were glad to get our flower order even though the company we ordered from changed our order last minute

We are close with getting the fountain lights done.  Almost both sides have been back filled.  Still working on getting a stuck wire out of one conduit. Frustrating

Flowers All Planted, close to 140 Flats... multiply by 18 per flat equals a lot of plants

This will be the Coleus Bed.  We love how they perform in this area.  I will have to get a picture in 3 months and put these side by side.