Southall

On Friday September 11th, we visited Southall, which is the Indian community in London. We visited one Sikh temple and two Hindu temples and learned a lot! Here is a write-up I wrote on my experiences:

Southall expanded notes

Sikh Gurdwara Temple (Gurdwara Singh Saba):

· To pay respect, we were required to cover our heads with a scarf while in the temple

· In the Grand Hall, we walked up a long aisle, put a small contribution in a box, and then touched the floor to pay respect to the book. We then sat down cross-legged on the floor and just meditated for about 15 to 20 minutes.

o It is disrespectful to turn your back towards the book while sitting.

· There were people of all ages there; a few children, middle aged and elderly, all come to pay respect to the book.

· There are 8 rooms, all with a book inside with people reading.

· Some were wearing traditional Indian clothing while others just wore modern casual clothes.

· Sat sri Akal- how to greet

· Sikhs believe in one God

· Chaur Sahib- white feather they wave over the book; in India it is hot and dirty so the feather cleans the air around the book. Now it is done as a sign of respect. They treat the book like a king.

· Counterpart- nonstop reading of the book; takes about 3 days straight.

· Scriptures are just held in the temple; you can have a whole book in your house but it is a very big commitment. You must treat it the same you would in the temple. Most keep the book in 2 halves.

· 5 k’s- comb, bangle, hair, undergarments, knife

· Don’t cut hair or beards; wear a turban

Many beliefs that the Sikhs have are very similar to our Mormon beliefs. They believe in one God just like we do. They also believe in being healthy and we have the Word of Wisdom. They are respectful to people of other faiths just as we try to be. They wear special undergarments just like we do after we receive our endowments. Going to this temple was actually a testimony building experience for me. The Sikhs were very nice and it was extremely interesting to learn more about their religion, especially since I knew very little. But there was just a different feeling in the temple. I couldn’t feel the spirit like I do at church or while in our temples. The spirit is so strong when I go to the temple and it reassures me that I belong to the true church.

Hindu temples:

· There were many statues of gods. All of them were brightly colored with elaborate dress and jewelry. There were strands of lights strung about all over, many of them blinking. There were smells of strong incense.

· A few people would move from their knees to their stomach, back and forth to pray.

The Hindu temple was very different from the Sikh temple. In my opinion, there was less respect. In the first temple, there were men talking rather loudly, so it was hard to concentrate and meditate. In the second temple there was a desk with a phone which rang on loud. A man sat at the desk and answered the phone and was talking on it for the majority of the time. I could hardly concentrate or meditate with all the background noise. The visits to the Hindu temples were also a confirmation to me that I belong to the true church. The way they practiced their religion was very different. I tried to be open and learn about their religion and I learned some interesting things, but I did feel rather out of place and a little bit nervous. I learned many things from this excursion, but the biggest lesson I learned was that I belong to the only church on this earth that has the fullness of the gospel, which I am so grateful for.