Today
was Remembrance Sunday. Sacrament
Meeting was basically a memorial service for soldiers past and present with a
gospel perspective of faith and hope for the future. They do it every year, and I love it. The entire country observes a
two-minute silence at 11:00 on the Sunday closest to the 11th of
November in remembrance of the soldiers who have fought to keep England
free. Maybe it’s because I’m
American and we’ve never really been that
threatened by a war on our soil, but the wars have always felt very distant to
me. It’s definitely different
here. The memory of both World
Wars is very real, as is the memory of those who fought and lost their lives in
those wars. There is great respect
and admiration reserved for the armed forces of Great Britain. The royals are expected to serve in the
military and maybe it’s that that gives it a feeling of importance that doesn’t
seem to exist in America. Whatever
the reason, there’s a sort of sacredness to it all.
Besides
the two minutes of silence, they all wear paper poppies in their buttonhole for
the few weeks preceding Remembrance Sunday. I think it’s absolutely lovely. The British Legion heads up the poppy brigade and the money
raised goes to help the veterans of Britain’s wars. They sit outside supermarkets, train stations, and on the
high street with their donation cans and boxes full of bright red poppies. This year, I went for the fancy £2
poppy pin to keep as a memento of one of my favorite British traditions. I’ll say one thing for the Brits; they
love their traditions. They might
not be as openly patriotic as we are, but when it comes to things like this, they
are all in. Everybody buys their
poppy and wears it proudly.
The
tradition extends to the schools as well, where our girls wear their poppies
pinned proudly to their blue school blazers. We also had a remembrance service on Friday where the whole
school gathered to ponder the sacrifice that has been given for their
freedom. As I watched them sitting
in absolute silence for two minutes, I appreciated the necessity of teaching
our young people the importance of sacrifice for the greater good. In a society where disrespect for
nearly everything is rampant and often glorified, it was refreshing to be
amongst young people who recognize that there are certain things that are
sacred and deserve our respect. It
restored a bit of my hope for the future of our world.
 |
| Tyne Cot Cemetery, Belgium |
 |
| Thiepval Memorial, France |
