We got up early to make it for the 8 am session so as to leave some time to peruse the city before continuing on our way to Roma. We got in and were given first class service from a couple really adorable and pretty sisters. One was from Alberta, Canada. They were called to serve in the temple here in Switzerland but the country would only give them a 1 year visa, so they served for rest of their mission called time in New York and were ending in Switzerland. Pretty cool. We also were excitedly greeted again by the man we then knew as the temple president and he proudly announced the few details he’d learned from our brief encounter the previous evening to all around. He drew quite the little crowd. “Ooh the president is talking…who are those girls…they must be important…” haha.
For those of you that aren’t familiar with the LDS Church or it’s temples, allow me to explain on a very basic level that they are a very special place that we should all strive to be worthy of receiving a recommend to enter into. Within their walls we do special service for loved ones passed and make sacred covenant with God, who I most like to refer to as my Father in Heaven. A lot of people have been known to use the word “secret” to describe the temples and the things that happen inside them, but this is actually a very misleading adjective. The things of the temple are far from a secret. In fact, for those of you that are really curious, you can find the teachings and descriptions of ALL the covenants and ordinances that take place within the walls of the “mormon” temples inside the scriptures. Other resources are mormon.org and lds.org (menuàthe churchàtemples). There are also pictures! Pictures of both the outside and the inside of temples. And just for your info, there’s a room referred to as the “Celestial Room” in every temple. It’s the last room that you go into usually before you leave after serving in the temple. It’s always very beautiful and elegant and in every temple there’s slightly different styles and colors. It’s the most peaceful place that you can be IN THE ENTIRE WORLD and I mean that quite literally. The Switzerland temple has one of the most beautiful celestial rooms I have ever been in. If people only knew what they could be receiving if they would but add a habit of temple attendance in their lives (according to their ability—for example for me at home it’s like a 3-3.5 hour commitment depending on traffic, in Provo, Ut where BYU is it was like a 2-2.25 hour commitment, but then like for our stylish little roommates it was a Friday-Saturday commitment because they had to travel). I wish the blessings and experience of the temple upon every one of you. Nothing will make you more happy or lead you more surely to the path that God, the Eternal Father, would have you walk. He knows you just as well as I KNOW He knows me. He loves each of us, not as part of a whole, but as the individuals that I know He created us to be and He loves us for each of our individualities.
Amazing.
From there we headed back into Bern to explore. There is soooooooooo much to do in Bern! It’s amazing! If I wasn’t so set on taking my yet-to-have-met-uncle Babak to church that Sunday (the only opportunity to do so), we could have stayed in Switzerland much longer. For those future travelers reading this, if anything about Switzerland draws you, you have no idea! And as for everyone else, you should want to go there. Trust me. From natural beauty to historical intrigue, Bern, all of Switzerland actually, has it. I’m pretty sure I listed our sights of choice in a previous post. Worth it beyond reason, though I took the day a little more casually than Janise, but I think we both got what we needed…and maybe my need included a long overdue Starbuck’s Vanilla Bean Frappuccino.
On to Italia!!!!!
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