"If ye love me, keep my commandments"

Leona and Lou at the Frankfurt Temple

There are a few things which I must tell you that impressed me the most about our mission.

This kind of experience, shared with my beloved wife, enhances a marriage experience which had already exceeded my fondest expectations. But now we had much more uninterrupted time together than ever before. We had no telephone in our room, no truck or automobile, and no TV. I really didn’t think I could survive with no football games, no sports of any kind to watch. We had no news except once an hour over the Armed Forces Radio, and we missed it most of the time because we couldn’t stand to listen to the music that went with it!

Why was it so great? Well, we spent a lot of time talking and reading and visiting with our fellow missionaries. We read the scriptures more than we ever did before, and we did some writing in our journals and a lot of letter writing. Not having a car, we did a lot of walking. First, because we had to, to get groceries every day, almost; and walking was very interesting, because there were forests within a few blocks from everyplace we lived and the towns were also very interesting. We loved to see the beautiful homes and well-kept gardens and yards. Of course, it is always interesting to see the people.

At the temples in Europe, it is the five groups of people who are so terribly important: the full-time temple workers (the staff), the local temple workers, the local patrons, the groups of patrons who come in for the week, and the other temple missionaries. We had a special relationship with each group. It was only the temple missionaries from the US that we expected to be able to see again after our mission, and that was questionable for many of them.

The temple missionaries are mainly couples, but some singles. We found these to be great, and we did many things together, especially in Switzerland. We worked together in the temple, learning from the ones who arrived before we did, and teaching those who came after we arrived. We shared our testimonies, our birthdays and anniversaries, and our pictures from home. In Switzerland we would all take our tables and chairs to the apartment foyer and have a covered dish dinner on the holidays and we would sing and visit and have a good time for the evening.

Throughout our entire mission, I was constantly impressed with the theme of the two great commandments given several times in the scriptures, “to love God and to love our neighbor as ourselves.” As I was impressed with the constant flow of love among the missionaries and in the temple with the temple workers and patrons from Europe, I was desirous of being more like so many of these people that we met. I know that in order to improve anything, you need to be able to measure it to determine how to improve upon it; but how do you measure love?

The Lord said in John 14: 15, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” And in verse 21, “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me; and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.”

So, I need to live the commandments to prove my love for Christ and Heavenly Father – that is what we came to the earth for, anyway, so it’s no additional problem.

The Lord said to Peter in John 21: 15-18 three times: “Lovest thou me?” And the three answers were: Feed my lambs, Feed my sheep, Feed my sheep. So the other way to measure my love for the Lord is to serve his children. So, obedience and service are the things that we must measure to show improvement in loving the Lord.

Picture this

Some pictures of Mom and Dad's life in Germany:

 Leona - during a walk through the forest

The trees were huge!

Beautiful yard behind the house

"Toom" - a favorite grocery store within walking distance

Leona walking in the rain

Looks like a beautiful place to visit.

Communal Living

The Church has purchased a 3 story house [in Friedrichsdorf] that has been a single family home, but will be converted into missionary apartments.  Four couples will live on each floor sharing a bathroom and kitchen.

 

The new home in Friedrichsdorf, Germany

The transfer to Germany would provide many new experiences - including that of shared living quarters, with only a private bedroom.  Before the move, Dad made several journal entries expressing his reservations about living communally with comments such as "I just don't see how it can work!" or "We were glad to get the information, but a bit concerned about living with possibly 3 other couples in one house, sharing one kitchen.  Hope it has more than one bathroom!"

Kitchen shared by three couples and one single man

Community bathroom

The laundry room was in the basement

The "powder room" was curtained off in the laundry room . . . 

not much privacy!

The basement recreation room

 The view from their windows was picturesque

Although not ideal, the living arrangements worked out fine.  And as it turned out, their room was the best in the house - more about that later.

Home, Sweet German Home

 Butler's "apartment" - window on the second floor

We are finally in our apartment which consists of a bedroom about 13' x 17' and is on the second floor with a beautiful view of the homes and the forest.  We are in the only apartment that has a sink in it, so we have an advantage over the others.  Tom and Carol have brought us things like a crock pot, electric frying pan, and a small refrigerator so we can be completely independent of the [shared] kitchen except for washing dishes.  It is real nice to be able to cook and eat in our own room.

Multi-purpose kitchen area

We have two small tables and a little deal to set my computer and printer on.  so you can see, our room has all of the conveniences except the bathroom . . . Sharing is not too bad when we can wash, brush teeth, etc in our own room.

Creative storage solution - and yes, they had twin beds!

Living room window

 

 Leona with a Christmas doll

Journal keeping and letter writing

 

We really have as nice an apartment as any, and better than most.  We don't have enough room for everything, but we probably have too much.  We are in pretty good condition.  The room is getting to be very comfortable and will soon seem like "home."

Friendly Greetings

Frankfurt Temple

Friedrichsdorf, Germany

Shortly after being notified of their move to Frankfurt, Mom and Dad received the following letter of welcome:

24 February 1990

Elder and Sister Louis Edward Butler,

Sister Cannon and I want you to know how delighted we are that you have been transferred to work in the Frankfurt Temple, after the closure of the Swiss Temple.  We congratulate you for being worthy and willing to serve and know it will be a wonderful experience for you.  This letter is to welcome you and impart helpful information to you as you make preparations to come.

The Frankfurt Temple was dedicated September 1, 1987.  Our regular temple area includes all the stakes and districts of West Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Northern France, including Paris.  During the closure of the Swiss and London temples, the temple will operate in seven languages:  German, Dutch, French, English, Spanish, Portuguese and Italian.  Stakes will participate regularly in those language areas, including some American servicemen's stakes.      

We have learned to appreciate the lovely location we have in Friedrichsdorf, which is a small suburb connected to Frankfurt by a direct-line fast train.  In three to five minutes you can walk from the temple site to a grocery store, a bank, or a drug store.  The [Church materials] Distribution Center is nearby.         

On the temple property we have a guest facility that normally houses eighty-five temple patrons, however, during the closure of the Swiss and London temples we are increasing the hostel housing capacity to 208 people.  A villa has the apartments of the president and counselors, as well as some apartments for single sisters and couple missionaries.  In addition, we have leased three houses; the farthest away is only a ten minute walk from the temple.  These were former family houses, two of which can accommodate four pairs of missionaries.  The rent varies from 600 to 800 marks per month for couples to approximately 250 marks for singles.  These prices include an approximate heating cost. 

Total living costs per month are about 800 marks per person (1600 marks per couple.)  The exchange rate varies; lately it has been around 1.65 DM per dollar.

May we say again how delighted we are to welcome you to the House of the Lord and look forward to working with you here.

With friendly greetings,

Edwin Q. Cannon, Jr.

14 April 1990 (after arriving in Friedrichsdorf):

We really had a pleasant welcome from President Cannon.  He is so personable.

 The temple spire seen through the surroundings