Words cannot express how much I love working at the temple. I know that there are thousands of people around the world who also work in the temple, so I know it isn't some kind of exclusive opportunity, but I sometimes feel like the experiences I personally have in the temple are unique only to me. With that, I've had touching experiences, and spiritual ones, and I've made a lot of life-long friends, but I think the emotion that I experience the most in the temple is joy. Like, pure, unadulterated joy. And happiness. And surprisingly, a lot of laughter.
I want to record something that happened this past week. I have retold this story three times now and each time, I have had tears streaming down my face from laughing so hard, but I'm sure it will lose something in just the words, but I'll do my best.
So before each and every shift, there is a training meeting. It doesn't matter how long you've worked at the temple (and believe me, the pros complain unceasingly about sitting through training)--you will be trained. And the same as what's happening with the programs of the church, things are constantly changing in the temple. In the old days, every single word had to be perfect, and patrons were expected to be as well to a certain extent. No colored hair was allowed, or pretty dresses, and the workers had to have everything memorized before they could even interact with the patrons. Nowadays, it's all about the comfort of the patrons, and making sure that their temple experience is as comforting and loving as can be.
With that, we were receiving training on "the veil" this past week. I've already sat through this training, but again, there's always something to learn. The Doots (President Doot was the one to seal Mark and Allison) were leading the training, and the Doots are my favorite pair in the temple presidency. They are a bit younger than the other two couples, he has a Master's in piano, and they are just a bit more modern in how they act and what they share. They also are the most focused on the spiritual side of everything.
So Sister Doot was teaching all of us that the veil experience is the crowning moment of the endowment ceremony. That when people think of the ceremony, they think of the veil, and it should be a sacred experience between the patron and the Lord. When I've been waiting in the wings for a session to end and to walk in to help at the veil, I've always been struck by how much secular conversation happens amongst the workers. If nothing else, I've always worried that patrons in the session can hear the talking. I guess I'm still new enough in the temple that I still think I should talk in hushed tones. So with Sister Doot, she took the reverence model to a whole new level. She told us that we should be waiting in the sealing room, praying to be an instrument in the hands of the Lord in helping the patrons. That we, as workers, should basically be invisible except to help when needed or necessary.
I did mention in the training that it's sometimes hard for me not to touch patrons (we aren't supposed to interfere with their experience). Sometimes, I can feel how nervous and stressed they are at the veil, or I can sense how hard they are trying to remember everything, so that when they are done, I naturally just give them a little touch on the shoulder or back and smile at them to let them know how well they did. Sister Doot very lovingly told me that if the Spirit inspires me to do that, go with it. She's not the veil militia :-)
So I happened to be assigned to name issue (before the endowment session) that evening, and then I had an hour to work in the initiatory booth, and then I was to help at the veil.
For some reason that I can't explain, patrons become very very chatty with me in the temple. It doesn't matter what I'm doing, they start sharing all kinds of details of their lives with me, and the name issue booth is no exception. I need to check their name off the list first, and that will incite all kinds of conversation, and sometimes, as I'm pulling back the curtain to enter the booth, they're still sharing things about their lives with me. As much as it shouldn't be happening, I really love it.
This past Thursday, I had a very Latina woman come through. She was no taller than five feet, she had jet black hair, and a very thick accent, and we had a good laugh over how the temple had interpreted her last name when she had called in to make a reservation. Her surname was "Turbides", and they had typed up "Talbot". But she was so darling, and when she gave the full name of the person on the card, I did my best to repeat it with her thick, Mexican accent. I could tell she appreciated it.
Another woman who came through was there with her mother and sister. She seriously looked like "Link", the video game character. She had red, bushy, long hair with random tiny braids, and her outfit looked like it was cut from raw leather, even the boots! She was very quirky in how she acted and looked at me, but she was very sweet.
So I get the name distributed, work in the initiatory booth, and then head over to the second endowment room to wait to go into the veil. I was alone and did everything that Sister Doot told me to do. I took a moment and said a little prayer. And when I went out in the hall, Sister Doot was standing there, praying as well. The matrons aren't usually involved in the veil process, so I wasn't sure what was happening, but I just waited reverently.
So we went in, and along with the veil director (our coordinator, Sister Greve, who was Glo's temple worker escort) came Sister Doot. And they both stood off to the side. I knew then that we were being watched for how we performed at the veil.
The first patron came through, and she needed a little bit of help but no big deal.
I then turn around to welcome the next patron, and I see my little hermana walking towards me...and she sees me as well. Her face breaks out into a great big smile, she waves this big wave to me, and in full-voice says, "HELLO!"
Oh my gosh, I wanted to die. There's Sister Doot, and this veil experience is not at ALL solely between this hermana and the Lord. So I gave her a little wave back, said a quiet but smiley "hello" and welcomed her to the veil.
Oh my gosh, she absolutely amazed me in how she could say almost the entire veil ceremony by herself when she doesn't quite have a grasp of the English language. I mean, I rarely find anyone who goes through the veil without some kind of help. She did need help though on the final name which I gave her.
And when she was done, and the Lord's hand was stretched out to take her through the veil, she turned to me with a huge smile on her face and said, "OH THANK YOU!" She didn't care at all about the Lord waiting for her. Her eyes were on ME!
I seriously wanted to die, but if given the opportunity, I would have just busted out laughing. It was the perfect example of the exact opposite of what I had just been taught!
So I saw her through the veil and took a deep breath. I turned around for the next patron.
And there was Link.
And she was skipping up to the veil.
And as she got close, she took one last hop up to the veil, looked me in the eyes with the biggest smile, and said (again in full voice), "HI!"
I'm sure the other workers that day earned "A"s on their deportment, but believe me, my performance definitely brought us down to a solid "C". I didn't know whether to laugh or cry as Sister Doot stood there watching us.
I breathed a sigh of relief that there were no other patrons after her ;-). I took my cards and walked over to Sister Greve who wouldn't even make eye contact with me! Me, who is Sister Greve's star pupil ;-)
When I finally got outside of the actual temple, all the laughter came out. It was, by far, the funniest shift I've ever worked at the temple.
So fast forward two days, and we were back, working our once-a-month Saturday morning shift. Sister Lund is another assistant matron, but she's much quieter than the other two, and every time she comes up to me, she has to look at my name tag. So on my schedule was "INT", and looking at the key at the bottom of the page, it said "Interview with President or Matron". Oh boy. I wondered if my experience preceded myself.
But no. Sister Lund is just trying to get to know the workers which I really appreciate (I was just saying to John that I don't know her at all or have any connection with her). So we sat down for a good 30 minutes, and she listened to anything I wanted to say.
I told her about my life, and about John's life, and how we have really had to create our own family relying on the Lord and to some extent, the bad examples of our own parents. I then told her how happy I was to work in the temple, and she mentioned that it's a great place to find peace. I went a step further and told her that I thought there was a kind of divine happiness and joy to be found there that can't be found anywhere else.
And then I told her the story of the veil.
And I kid you not, as we sat there in the bride's room, having our little tete-a-tete, she was grabbing Kleenexes to catch the tears rolling down her cheeks, and I was grateful the door was closed because we were literally hooting through our laughter. It probably goes down as one of the best times I've had in the temple, and it cemented the fact that I have made some lifelong friends there.
As a side note: President Lund had pulled me in to talk to me right before the interview with Sister Lund, and he wanted to tell me how much they appreciate John and me working in the temple. He told us that we have learned everything so quickly (we're trained in everything in less than six months), and we consistently show up for each and every weekly shift. And he told us how touched he was to see us in the temple last Saturday morning, as patrons, with our kids doing sealings. I don't know how he found out that we were there, but he knew about it, and he just kept using the word "impressed".
I want to record something that happened this past week. I have retold this story three times now and each time, I have had tears streaming down my face from laughing so hard, but I'm sure it will lose something in just the words, but I'll do my best.
So before each and every shift, there is a training meeting. It doesn't matter how long you've worked at the temple (and believe me, the pros complain unceasingly about sitting through training)--you will be trained. And the same as what's happening with the programs of the church, things are constantly changing in the temple. In the old days, every single word had to be perfect, and patrons were expected to be as well to a certain extent. No colored hair was allowed, or pretty dresses, and the workers had to have everything memorized before they could even interact with the patrons. Nowadays, it's all about the comfort of the patrons, and making sure that their temple experience is as comforting and loving as can be.
With that, we were receiving training on "the veil" this past week. I've already sat through this training, but again, there's always something to learn. The Doots (President Doot was the one to seal Mark and Allison) were leading the training, and the Doots are my favorite pair in the temple presidency. They are a bit younger than the other two couples, he has a Master's in piano, and they are just a bit more modern in how they act and what they share. They also are the most focused on the spiritual side of everything.
So Sister Doot was teaching all of us that the veil experience is the crowning moment of the endowment ceremony. That when people think of the ceremony, they think of the veil, and it should be a sacred experience between the patron and the Lord. When I've been waiting in the wings for a session to end and to walk in to help at the veil, I've always been struck by how much secular conversation happens amongst the workers. If nothing else, I've always worried that patrons in the session can hear the talking. I guess I'm still new enough in the temple that I still think I should talk in hushed tones. So with Sister Doot, she took the reverence model to a whole new level. She told us that we should be waiting in the sealing room, praying to be an instrument in the hands of the Lord in helping the patrons. That we, as workers, should basically be invisible except to help when needed or necessary.
I did mention in the training that it's sometimes hard for me not to touch patrons (we aren't supposed to interfere with their experience). Sometimes, I can feel how nervous and stressed they are at the veil, or I can sense how hard they are trying to remember everything, so that when they are done, I naturally just give them a little touch on the shoulder or back and smile at them to let them know how well they did. Sister Doot very lovingly told me that if the Spirit inspires me to do that, go with it. She's not the veil militia :-)
So I happened to be assigned to name issue (before the endowment session) that evening, and then I had an hour to work in the initiatory booth, and then I was to help at the veil.
For some reason that I can't explain, patrons become very very chatty with me in the temple. It doesn't matter what I'm doing, they start sharing all kinds of details of their lives with me, and the name issue booth is no exception. I need to check their name off the list first, and that will incite all kinds of conversation, and sometimes, as I'm pulling back the curtain to enter the booth, they're still sharing things about their lives with me. As much as it shouldn't be happening, I really love it.
This past Thursday, I had a very Latina woman come through. She was no taller than five feet, she had jet black hair, and a very thick accent, and we had a good laugh over how the temple had interpreted her last name when she had called in to make a reservation. Her surname was "Turbides", and they had typed up "Talbot". But she was so darling, and when she gave the full name of the person on the card, I did my best to repeat it with her thick, Mexican accent. I could tell she appreciated it.
Another woman who came through was there with her mother and sister. She seriously looked like "Link", the video game character. She had red, bushy, long hair with random tiny braids, and her outfit looked like it was cut from raw leather, even the boots! She was very quirky in how she acted and looked at me, but she was very sweet.
So I get the name distributed, work in the initiatory booth, and then head over to the second endowment room to wait to go into the veil. I was alone and did everything that Sister Doot told me to do. I took a moment and said a little prayer. And when I went out in the hall, Sister Doot was standing there, praying as well. The matrons aren't usually involved in the veil process, so I wasn't sure what was happening, but I just waited reverently.
So we went in, and along with the veil director (our coordinator, Sister Greve, who was Glo's temple worker escort) came Sister Doot. And they both stood off to the side. I knew then that we were being watched for how we performed at the veil.
The first patron came through, and she needed a little bit of help but no big deal.
I then turn around to welcome the next patron, and I see my little hermana walking towards me...and she sees me as well. Her face breaks out into a great big smile, she waves this big wave to me, and in full-voice says, "HELLO!"
Oh my gosh, I wanted to die. There's Sister Doot, and this veil experience is not at ALL solely between this hermana and the Lord. So I gave her a little wave back, said a quiet but smiley "hello" and welcomed her to the veil.
Oh my gosh, she absolutely amazed me in how she could say almost the entire veil ceremony by herself when she doesn't quite have a grasp of the English language. I mean, I rarely find anyone who goes through the veil without some kind of help. She did need help though on the final name which I gave her.
And when she was done, and the Lord's hand was stretched out to take her through the veil, she turned to me with a huge smile on her face and said, "OH THANK YOU!" She didn't care at all about the Lord waiting for her. Her eyes were on ME!
I seriously wanted to die, but if given the opportunity, I would have just busted out laughing. It was the perfect example of the exact opposite of what I had just been taught!
So I saw her through the veil and took a deep breath. I turned around for the next patron.
And there was Link.
And she was skipping up to the veil.
And as she got close, she took one last hop up to the veil, looked me in the eyes with the biggest smile, and said (again in full voice), "HI!"
I'm sure the other workers that day earned "A"s on their deportment, but believe me, my performance definitely brought us down to a solid "C". I didn't know whether to laugh or cry as Sister Doot stood there watching us.
I breathed a sigh of relief that there were no other patrons after her ;-). I took my cards and walked over to Sister Greve who wouldn't even make eye contact with me! Me, who is Sister Greve's star pupil ;-)
When I finally got outside of the actual temple, all the laughter came out. It was, by far, the funniest shift I've ever worked at the temple.
So fast forward two days, and we were back, working our once-a-month Saturday morning shift. Sister Lund is another assistant matron, but she's much quieter than the other two, and every time she comes up to me, she has to look at my name tag. So on my schedule was "INT", and looking at the key at the bottom of the page, it said "Interview with President or Matron". Oh boy. I wondered if my experience preceded myself.
But no. Sister Lund is just trying to get to know the workers which I really appreciate (I was just saying to John that I don't know her at all or have any connection with her). So we sat down for a good 30 minutes, and she listened to anything I wanted to say.
I told her about my life, and about John's life, and how we have really had to create our own family relying on the Lord and to some extent, the bad examples of our own parents. I then told her how happy I was to work in the temple, and she mentioned that it's a great place to find peace. I went a step further and told her that I thought there was a kind of divine happiness and joy to be found there that can't be found anywhere else.
And then I told her the story of the veil.
And I kid you not, as we sat there in the bride's room, having our little tete-a-tete, she was grabbing Kleenexes to catch the tears rolling down her cheeks, and I was grateful the door was closed because we were literally hooting through our laughter. It probably goes down as one of the best times I've had in the temple, and it cemented the fact that I have made some lifelong friends there.
As a side note: President Lund had pulled me in to talk to me right before the interview with Sister Lund, and he wanted to tell me how much they appreciate John and me working in the temple. He told us that we have learned everything so quickly (we're trained in everything in less than six months), and we consistently show up for each and every weekly shift. And he told us how touched he was to see us in the temple last Saturday morning, as patrons, with our kids doing sealings. I don't know how he found out that we were there, but he knew about it, and he just kept using the word "impressed".
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