Fire Alarm, Again? 31 May 2014

Well, it wasn't us again, but it is a story:
Saturday at the temple is different as both shifts of workers overlap to accommodate the large crowds that come.  We left last night about 10 p.m., and reported at 10:10 a.m. this morning for preparation meeting - only it was delayed.

We woke up to bright sunshine, the first since last Sunday.  It was wonderful to see.  We had breakfast, did some housekeeping chores, and readied ourselves, and were out the door to the temple. As we walked down the stairs of the lodge, we could see the car park (parking lot) was full, including vans and one tour bus.  The unusual sight was lots of people dressed in white in the car park walking back and forth to the visitor's center.  We continued out the door and into the car park, wondering what was going on when we began to recognize the people as temple workers.  We met up with some to get details.  Apparently two fire alarms went off about 1/2 hour beforehand and everyone had to evacuate the building.  They were in various white attire according to what they had been participating in when the alarm sounded.  The fire engine was on its way and we were to stand clear.  While waiting two more tour buses pulled into the car park loaded with patrons.  The crowd of people continued to increase in size as more and more came to the temple, either as a patron or a worker.

Situations were described by various workers:
1.  Sister Strong was changing clothes when the alarm went off.  She was in the parking lot dressed in white with orange shoes on and her purse in hand.
2.  Sister Parkinson had gone to the locker room to get her sweater when the alarm went off and she had her purse with her.
3.  Sister Adler, in her strong Welsh accent said she had this thought when she saw the crowd of people dressed in white:  "The angels have come to take me home!"
4.  One brother in the crowd was dressed in a white jumpsuit with a towel wrapped around him.

It wasn't long before we were given clearance to enter the temple.  The fire engine did not show up.  It was thought the fire was in the air conditioning and the engineers had deemed the building safe.  We all went in; those who had been in were trying to get back to where they had been.  Our shift changed into white and then waited while they sorted out where we would hold our preparation meeting.  A room was decided on and we met briefly for prayer and instructions in working with the adjusted schedule.  It was amazing how efficiently both workers and patrons adjusted and it wasn't long before things were running smoothly.

The day progressed well with plenty to do.  It was neat to have the temple full and patrons participating in the various ordinances.  Before we knew it, it was 3:30 p.m. and time to go.  Dad had late door duty and was there until 6:45 p.m.  The last session ended at 5 p.m., and there was a late sealing after that.  I spent my time in the reading room until he was home.  We missed the Saturday session of stake conference due to his lateness which caused us to miss the minibus.  When we exited the temple, the clouds had gathered and the sunshine was gone once more.