May every home be a true sanctuary of faith.
I can only imagine how much will be made of the rededication of the Salt Lake temple.
New temples in Tooele and in Budapest (among others).
We hope and pray that each member’s home will become a true sanctuary of faith, where the Spirit of the Lord may dwell. Despite contention all around us, one’s home can become a heavenly place, where study, prayer, and faith can be merged with love. We can truly become disciples of the Lord, standing up and speaking up for Him wherever we are.
If our home is a place of contention then fixing that should be our top priority.
We now have 162 dedicated temples. The earliest ones stand as monuments to the faith and vision of our beloved pioneers. Each temple constructed by them resulted from their great personal sacrifice and effort. Each one stands as a stunning jewel in the crown of pioneer achievement.
Ours is a sacred responsibility to care for them. Therefore, these pioneer temples will soon undergo a period of renewal and refreshing and, for some, a major restoration. Efforts will be made to preserve the unique historicity of each temple wherever possible, preserving the inspiring beauty and unique craftsmanship of generations long-since passed.
Details for the St. George Utah Temple have already been released. Plans for the renovation of the Salt Lake Temple, Temple Square, and the adjoining plaza near the Church Office Building will be announced on Friday, April 19, 2019.
The Manti and Logan Utah Temples will also be renovated in coming years. When those plans are prepared, they too will be announced.
This work will require that each temple be closed for a period of time. Church members may continue to enjoy temple worship and service in other temples nearby. When each project is completed, each historic temple will be rededicated.
I am excited about the opportunity to go through the Salt Lake Temple when they do that open house and to take the kids too.
Today we are pleased to announce plans to construct more temples, to be built in the following locations:
Pago Pago, American Samoa; Okinawa City, Okinawa; Neiafu, Tonga; Tooele Valley, Utah; Moses Lake, Washington; San Pedro Sula, Honduras; Antofagasta, Chile; Budapest, Hungary.
The ones that stick out to me are both Samoa and Tonga, Tooele, Honduras, and Hungary. I don’t know that we have any temples in any predominantly Muslim countries. The ones in the Pacific make sense as the church has had such a strong presence there for so many decades.
As we speak of our temples old and new, may each of us signify by our actions that we are true disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. May we renovate our lives through our faith and trust in Him. May we access the power of His Atonement by our repentance each day. And may we dedicate and rededicate our lives to serving God and His children—on both sides of the veil.
My home and household certainly need a renovation of faith.
Leave a Reply