I'm grateful for the opportunity to speak today
regarding the topic assigned to me,
the importance of Temple attendance. Brothers
and Sisters, throughout our lives we are
blessed with spiritual experiences, some of
which are very sacred and confidential, and
others, although just as sacred, are meant to
be shared.
Last summer my family had a spiritual experience
that has had a lasting and profound impact on us,
one we feel must be shared. It's a message of love.
It's a message of regaining perspective, and
restoring proper balance and renewing priorities.
In humility, I pray that I might, in relating this
story, give you a gift my little son, Brian, gave
our family one warm summer day last year.
On July 22nd I was en route to Washington, D.C. for
a business trip. It was all so very ordinary until
we landed in Denver for a plane change. As I
collected my belongings from the overhead bin, an
announcement was made for Mr. Lloyd Glenn to see the
United customer service representative immediately.
I thought nothing of this until I reached the door
to leave the plane and I heard a gentleman asking
every male if they were Mr. Glenn. At this point I
knew something was wrong and my heart sunk.
When I got off the plane a solemn-faced young man
came toward me and said, "Mr. Glenn, there has been
an emergency at your home. I do not know what the
emergency is, or who is involved, but I will take
you to a phone so you can call the hospital.
My heart was now pounding, but the will to be calm
took over. Woodenly, I followed this stranger to a
distant telephone where I called the number he gave
me for the Mission Hospital. My call was put through
to the trauma center where I learned that my
three-year-old son had been trapped underneath the
automatic garage door for several minutes, and that
when my wife had found him, he was dead. CPR had been
performed by a neighbor, who is a doctor, and the
paramedics had continued that treatment as Brian was
transported to the hospital. By the time of my call,
Brian was revived and they believed he would live,
but they did not know how much damage had been done
to his brain, nor to his heart. They explained that
the door had completely closed on his little sternum
right over his heart. He had been severely crushed.
After speaking with the medical staff, my wife
informed me that our Bishop and hometeacher were
there and were waiting for the doctors to give them
the go ahead to administer to Brian. She sounded
worried, but not hysterical, and I took comfort
in her calmness.
The return flight seemed to last forever, but
finally I arrived at the hospital six hours after
the garage door had come down. When I walked into
the intensive care unit, nothing could have prepared
me to see my little son laying so still on a great
big bed with tubes and monitors everywhere. He was
on a respirator. I glanced at my wife who stood and
tried to give me a reassuring smile. It all seemed
like a terrible dream.
I was filled in on all the details and given the
guarded prognosis. Brian was going to live, and
the preliminary tests indicated that his heart
was okay - two miracles, in and of themselves. But,
only time would tell if his brain received any damage.
Throughout these seemingly endless hours, my wife
was calm. She told me that the Bishop had given
a blessing so powerful and so reassuring that she
felt that Brian would eventually be all right. I
hung on to her words and faith like a lifeline.
All that night and all the next day Brian remained
unconscious. It seemed like forever since I had left
for my business trip the day before. Finally, at two
o'clock that afternoon, our son regained consciousness
and sat up uttering the most beautiful words I have
ever heard spoken. He said, "Daddy, hold me," as he
reached for me with his little tiny arms.
By the next day he was pronounced as having no
neurological or physical deficits, and the story
of his miraculous survival spread throughout the
hospital. You cannot imagine our gratitude and joy.
As we took Brian home we felt the unique reverence
for life and love of our Heavenly Father that comes
to those who brush death so closely. In the days that
followed there was a special spirit about our home.
Our two older children were much closer to their
little brother. My wife and I were closer to each
other, and all of us were very close as a whole
family. Life took on a less stressful pace. Perspective
seemed to be much more focused, and balance much
easier to gain and maintain. We felt deeply blessed.
Our gratitude was truly profound.
Almost a month later to the day of the accident,
Brian awoke from his afternoon nap and said, "Sit
down, Mommy. I have something to tell you." At that
time in his life, Brian usually spoke in small phrases,
so to say such a large sentence surprised my wife.
She sat down with him on the bed and he began this
sacred and remarkable story.
"Do you remember when I got stuck under the garage
door? Well, it was so heavy and it hurt really bad.
I called to you, but you couldn't hear me. I started
to cry, but then it hurt too bad. And then the 'birdies'
came."
"The 'birdies'?" my wife asked puzzled. "Yes," he
replied. "The 'birdies' made a whooshing sound and
flew into the garage. They took care of me." "They
did?" she asked. "Yes," he said. "One of the birdies
came and got you. She came to tell you I got stuck
under the door."
A sweet and reverent feeling filled the room. The
spirit was so strong and yet lighter than air. My
wife realized that a three- year-old has no concept
of death and spirits, so he was referring to the
beings who came to help him from beyond the veil as
"birdies" because they were up in the air like
birds that fly.
"What did the 'birdies' look like?" she asked.
Brian answered, "They were so beautiful. They were
dressed in white, all white. Some of them had on
green and white, but some of them had on just white."
My wife thought this was intriguing because Brian had
no clue what the color green was.
"Did they say anything?" "Yes," he answered. "They
told me the baby would be all right." "The baby?" my
wife asked, confused. And Brian answered, "Yes, the
baby laying on the garage floor." He went on, "You
came out and opened the garage door and ran to the
baby. You told the baby to stay and not leave."
My wife nearly collapsed upon hearing this, for she
had indeed gone and knelt beside Brian's body, and
seeing his crushed chest and unrecognizable features,
and knowing he was already dead, she looked up around
her and whispered, "Don't leave us, Brian; please stay
if you can."
As she listened to Brian telling her the words she
had spoken, she realized that his spirit had left his
body and was looking down from above on this little
lifeless form. "Then what happened?" she asked.
"We went on a trip," he said, "far, far away." He
grew agitated trying to say things he didn't seem
to have words for. My wife tried to calm and comfort
him, and let him know it would be okay. He struggled
with wanting to tell something that obviously was very
important to him, but finding the words was so
difficult. Finally, his eyes alighted on the picture
of the Oakland temple that hangs in the room and he
ran to it. "I went there!" he shouted. "There, Mommy,"
he pointed to the temple. "And I went to other ones
like this. There are lots of them. They are everywhere,
and I went to some of them with the 'birdies'. We flew
so fast up in the air."
To which my wife said, "That's one of the temples."
"YES! YES!" he shouted. "I went to the temples."
"They're so pretty, Mommy," he added. "And there are
lots and lots of 'birdies' in the temple. Lots of them
are in cages and they want to get out, but they can't
by themselves. They need us to let them out of the cages.
Mommy, I have to go to the temple and let them out.
They are so sad and they need me to let them out. Mommy,
you have to go there now and let them out. And Daddy
too. And everyone. We have to let them out of their cages."
My wife was stunned. Into her mind the sweet spirit
enveloped her more soundly, but with an urgency she
had never before known. She thought of the spirit world,
the spirit prison to those who have not had saving
ordinances done, and she knew that such spirits were
relying on us to do these ordinances for them.
Brian went on to tell her that the 'birdies' told
him that he had to come back and tell everyone about
the temples and the 'birdies' in their cages. He
said they brought him back to the house and that a
big fire truck, a little fire truck, and an ambulance
were there. A man was bringing the baby out on a
white bed and he tried to tell the man that the baby
would be okay, but the man couldn't hear him.
He said the 'birdies' told him he had to go with the
ambulance, but they would be near him. He said it was
so pretty there and so peaceful, and he didn't want
to come back.
And then the bright light came. He said the light was
bright and so warm, and he loved the bright light
very much. Someone was in the bright light and put
his arms around him and told him, "I love you, but
you have to go back. You have to play baseball, tell
everyone about the temples, and slay the alligators."
Then the person in the bright light kissed him and
waved bye-bye. Brian got in the ambulance with two
of the 'birdies'. The ambulance doors closed after
the people got in, and he said, "Then I saw my beautiful,
beautiful 'birdies' waving bye-bye. Then whoosh,
a big sound came and they went into the clouds."
The story went on for over an hour. He taught us
that the "birdies" are always with us, but we don't
see them because we look with our eyes, and we don't
hear them because we listen with our ears. But, they
are there, and you can only see them in here (he put
his hand over his heart). They whisper the things
that help us do what's right because they love us so much.
Brian continued, stating, "I have a plan, Mommy.
I have a plan. Daddy has a plan. Everyone has a plan.
We all must live our plan and keep our promises. And the
'birdies' help us do that 'cause they love us so, so much."
In the weeks that followed, he often came to us and
told all, or part it again and again. Always the story
remained the same. The details were never changed or
out of order. A few time he added further bits of
information that clarified the message he had already
delivered. It never ceased to amaze us how he could
recall such detail and speak beyond his ability when he
spoke of his "birdies."
Everywhere he went, he told total strangers that they
had to go to the temple. Surprisingly, no one ever
looked at him strangely when he did this. Rather, they
always got a softened look on their face and smiled.
Needless to say, we have not been the same ever since
that day, and I pray that we never will be. My wife
and I have gone to the temple repeatedly since then,
always Brian is waiting to hear how many "birdies"
set free each time we go.
Brothers and Sisters, of all the messages Brian could
have brought back, he brought this one – We must go to
temple and free the "birdies." I testify that the
things I have shared with you today are true. They are
sacred worth. They are of eternal consequence to us
and to the spirits who await the work only we can do
them.
May we all go to the temple and free the "birdies" -
this truly is the Lord's work and His glory, to bring
pass the immortality and eternal life of man. I leave
with this message in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
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