The Queen is Dead, Long Live the King

Queen Elizabeth II

Yesterday marked the end of the lavish and extensive farewell to Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-reigning British monarch in history. She was on the throne of England for 70 years. It's hard to imagine now that her predecessor King George III was the object of so much hatred and vitriol for the American revolutionaries, given the universal outpouring of love for her from all around the world. History is a cruel teacher sometimes, but all that is now seemingly forgotten in the annals of time.

In 2015, she became the longest-living monarch. She quipped that she had never aspired to that distinction. She died at age 96. There isn't anyone on earth, probably, who wouldn't like to believe she will be reunited with her king consort husband Prince Philip, who lived until he was 99 years old. Now they lie side by side in Windsor Castle. That thought persisted with me all week. Death comes to each of us, whether commoner, king or queen. One thing is certain - eternal life is linked inexorably to temple covenants, available to all, but only through authorized servants of God.

I served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in England from 1967 to 1969, and I have long been an admirer of the Queen. I taught many of her commoners while there. Some of them joined the Church, and all would eventually testify of the hope they discovered in the temple covenants available to them. I suspect the spirit world will be an awakening for her and for Prince Philip as they learn how they may indeed be linked eternally to each other through sealing ordinances if they desire it. 

So many of us are casual observers of the monarchy. Few people can even articulate what all the pageantry, symbolism and ceremonies are surrounding it. One commenter on my Twitter feed observed, "Nobody does pomp like the British." He is right. If it is simplicity you crave, don't look for it inside the dominion of the crown. 

I have also been pondering if enough time has passed in England for the subjects to have forgiven the treatment Princess Diana received at the hands of her husband, Prince Charles. Incompatibility and extramarital affairs brought their ill-fated marriage to divorce. It was a scandal only worthy of British royalty. Now after a lifetime of waiting, King Charles III ascends the throne. His son William and his two grandsons ensure the monarchy will live on into the future.

As I pondered the events in England, I found the timing of the announcement yesterday of the location of the new Heber City Temple to be perfect. We concluded our stake conference in Kamas on Sunday, and reference was made that no one yet knew the location of the new temple. We will be in the Heber City Temple district when it is completed, so naturally we have discussed its location with much anticipation for a year since its initial announcement. In the temple we perform proxy ordinances such as baptisms, initiatory, endowments and sealings for our kindred dead family members. It is a work that will be ongoing for generations to come throughout the millennium. It is in the temple we are promised we can be together as families forever, sealed and bound to one another into the eternities ahead. It is more than an idle thought for us, and it is more than speculative. It is a certainty with us if we are true and faithful to our covenants.