Thomas Holdman is an incredibly talented man. His glass art, a beautiful advanced form of stain glass windows, can be found in several of the Temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Any of these magnificent edifices would be an honor to have a work of art placed therein, but to add to the specialness, his work is found in historically rich Temples such as Nauvoo, Winter Quarters, and one close to my heart: Manhattan. Every time I walk into the doors of the Manhattan Temple I am in awe of the beautiful art glass piece of the Savior that greets me there. I met Brother Holdman once. It was at the Annual Brigham Young University Banquet for the University Accessibility Center. The Center, which runs to assist those with disabilities in their studies, holds the banquet to honor those who have achieved great things despite great odds. I worked there for four years as an interpreter for the Deaf. Our speaker this particular year was none other than Thomas Holdman. In addition to his incomparable talent and gift for glass art, he has been graced with a significantly stuttering voice. Through his halting but captivating words he shard his story of preparing the glass art for the Temples. For some reason it was on my mind today. He had many volunteers working under him to create the masterpieces on the limited time schedule. One day, he had become really frustrated with the lack of quality and skill of the volunteers. As he stormed about in his fury of their imperfect work unworthy of a Temple, God spoke to him: "My people are more important than glass art." The true grandeur of the Temple wasn't in the building of the greatest quality edifice but in building the greatest quality and most beautiful people. God was molding them as they worked on His house. It was a powerful message in a powerful setting that has had a large influence on me. Never let the task at hand be of greater importance than the people it is meant to bless.
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