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
-- Richard Nelson
