Church missionary work has been the lifelong interest of Temperance Lavester Thornton. She was born in the small town of Camilla, Georgia, and received her elementary education there, and in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Missouri. To further her education, she attended the Phillips College of Business in California, Barrington Bible College in Rhode Island, and the Harvard Divinity School, where she is presently a student.
In addition to doing missionary work in the United States, Miss Thornton is a serious painter (having sold fifteen paintings), plays the guitar, sings in the local choir, and is known as an excellent cook. She has also taught classes in religion and in various schools, has set up two churches with Sunday Schools (mission) and curriculums, and is presently deciding whether or not to devote herself to preaching as a full-time vocation.
Miss Thornton lives within striking distance of her classes at the Harvard Divinity School.
— Rocks in the White Field, 1969