Somewhere, somehow, deep in my heart, it is deeply rooted just how thankful I am that my Mom and Dad decided to bring our family to Canada from Great Britain in 1952. I have always had a profound love for this country and cherished looking at pictures, notes and my parents love letters from the past. These keepsakes have always touched my heart, especially the swooning photos as they danced while doing the dishes together.
It appears my parents had a comfortable life with all the amenities of the day in England. During the Second World War, my Dad was an aircraft Inspector. He worked with a highly trained team in Baghdad while my mother and two brothers, Geoff and Derek, remained in England. I was born after the war. Dad’s job was to work quickly doing the mechanical work on airplanes as they landed, to ensure the engines were safe for take-off as the pilots flew off to fight the enemy and save Britain.
Each of those pilots placed their lives in his hands trusting the engine would perform as he gave the go-ahead. They raced down the runway for take-off into the great unknown and with the determination to fulfill their missions. Dad said he would await their return and how it really affected him how many didn’t come home again.
Mom kept things together while Dad was abroad. She said one of the things that really bothered her was the whistling bombs as you never knew where they would land. They couldn’t always get into the bomb shelter as sometimes there just wasn’t enough time to make a run for it. Then, she and the two boys would go under a huge, heavy, carved wood table.
They set their sights on Canada. Dad applied for a job in the aircraft industry in the city of Edmonton, Alberta, and he was accepted.
Our move to Canada
My parents were quite taken aback upon their arrival as they discovered Canada was not for the faint of heart. It was a rugged country with an entirely different lifestyle. It was shocking to see outhouses behind homes, and we had one as well. Water was brought in by truck and stored in a massive tank under the house. Mom was not impressed!
Mom’s brother’s family moved to Canada also, only to shortly return to England, as they weren’t happy. I can’t imagine how my parents felt about that. No other family came to join them.
They surely were inspired to come to this promised land. They learned to love Canada and they passed that love on to all three of their children and posterity.
That said, all three of us children have thrived along with our families. Not one of us has ever wanted to live anywhere else. All was well until I discovered a legal document that identified me as a “landed immigrant.” I soon had that changed, taking the oath of citizenship and becoming a Canadian citizen, and I have been delighted from that very moment.
Yes, I love all the fun things that go on during Canada Day: the food, and parades; the families and friends; but I always remember my parents for coming to Canada and deciding to stay. It is here, that I made the most important decision in my life. I became a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1974.
Coming to Canada has blessed me spiritually as well as physically
As I reflect on my family history, it was a blessed plan to come to Canada. All our lives changed. I met Earl, my husband. He introduced me to the gospel and together we enjoyed a remarkable life together living the gospel of Jesus Christ. In 1978 we drove 1000 miles, one way, from Kitimat, British Columbia to come to the Cardston Alberta Temple. We were sealed together for this life and for all eternity by Nyal A. Fletcher. We moved to the Cardston area due to the proximity of the temple and have been happy ever since.
We are each guided back to the Saviour if we heed the promptings. Often these guiding calls go back generations in a family. There are other places now with more temples of the Lord. Each of us will be beckoned in our own way and time, to come to the Lord.
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As a reminder from our President Russell M. Nelson:
“My dear brothers and sisters, here is my promise. Nothing will help you more to hold fast to the iron rod than worshipping in the temple as regularly as your circumstances permit. Nothing will protect you more as you encounter the world’s mists of darkness. Nothing will bolster your testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ and His Atonement or help you understand God’s magnificent plan more. Nothing will soothe your spirit more during times of pain. Nothing will open the heavens more. Nothing!” (Russell M. Nelson, “Rejoice in the Gift of Priesthood Keys,” Liahona, May 2024).