Can we take inspiration from the renovation of the Salt Lake temple? What renewal, renovation and even seismic upgrade could our family use? I’m trying to use this pandemic period to make upgrades of that scale.
At general conference in April 1851, members of the Church voted unanimously to sustain a motion to build a temple “to the name of the Lord.” Two years later, on February 14, 1853, the site was dedicated by Heber C. Kimball in a public ceremony attended by several thousand Saints, and ground was broken for the foundation of the Salt Lake Temple. A few months later, on April 6, the massive cornerstones of the temple were laid and dedicated with elaborate ceremonies that included a color guard and bands and a procession led by Church leaders from the old tabernacle to the temple site, where remarks and prayers were offered at each of the four stones.
I never realized that there were remarks and prayers offered at each cornerstone of the Salt Lake Temple.
Like Brigham Young, our prophet of today looks over the Salt Lake Temple and all others with great care. Through the years, the First Presidency has, from time to time, counseled the Presiding Bishopric to ensure that the foundation of the Salt Lake Temple is solid. When I served in the Presiding Bishopric, at the request of the First Presidency, we did an overall facility review of the Salt Lake Temple, including an evaluation of the most recent advancements in seismic design and construction techniques.
Here are portions of the review provided to the First Presidency at that time: “In the design and construction of the Salt Lake Temple, the best engineering, skilled labor, construction materials, furnishings, and other period-available resources were used. Since its dedication in 1893, the temple has stood firm and served as a beacon of faith [and] hope and as a light unto the people. Great care has been taken to operate, clean, and maintain the temple in good condition. The granite exterior and interior floor joists and support beams are in good condition. Recent studies confirm that the location chosen by Brigham Young for the temple has very good soils and excellent compaction qualities.”
The review concluded that normal repairs and improvements were needed to renew and update the temple, including the exterior deck and surface areas, obsolete utility systems, and baptistry areas. However, consideration of a separate, more comprehensive seismic upgrade beginning from the temple foundation on upward was also recommended.
It is interesting to get the perspective of someone who was in the Presiding Bishopric when the Salt Lake Temple was being evaluated and a seismic upgrade was being recommended.
As I contemplate the next four years of the life of this beautiful, noble, exalted, and awe-inspiring Salt Lake Temple, I envision it more as a time of renewal rather than a time of closure! In a similar way, we might ask ourselves, “How could this extensive renewal of the Salt Lake Temple inspire us to undergo our own spiritual renewal, reconstruction, rebirth, revitalization, or restoration?”
An introspective look may reveal that we too and our families could benefit from our doing some needed maintenance and renovation work, even a seismic upgrade! We might start such a process by asking:
“What does my foundation look like?”
“What comprises the thick-walled, stable, strong cornerstones that are part of my personal foundation, upon which my testimony rests?”
“What are the foundational elements of my spiritual and emotional character that will allow me and my family to remain steadfast and immovable, even to withstand the earthshaking and tumultuous seismic events that will surely take place in our lives?”These events, similar to an earthquake, are often difficult to predict and come in various levels of intensity—wrestling with questions or doubt, facing affliction or adversity, working through personal offenses with Church leaders, members, doctrine, or policy. The best defense against these lies in our spiritual foundation.
What might spiritual cornerstones of our personal and family lives be? They may be the simple, plain, and precious principles of gospel living—family prayer; scripture study, including the Book of Mormon; temple attendance; and gospel learning through Come, Follow Me and home evening. Other helpful resources to strengthen your spiritual foundation may include the Articles of Faith, the family proclamation, and “The Living Christ.”
For me, the principles included in the questions discussed as part of receiving a temple recommend serve as a strong basis for a spiritual foundation—particularly the first four questions. I see them as spiritual cornerstones
As I think on this I realize that Laura is in the process of rebuilding the foundation of her faith after the seismic impact of bipolar disorder toppled her temple of testimony. I had recommended in advance that her foundation needed an upgrade. I’m finding now that my own foundation was barely sufficient for what we have already been through.
- Do you have faith in and a testimony of God, the Eternal Father; His Son, Jesus Christ; and the Holy Ghost?
- Do you have a testimony of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and of His role as your Savior and Redeemer?
- Do you have a testimony of the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ?
- Do you sustain the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as the prophet, seer, and revelator and as the only person on the earth authorized to exercise all priesthood keys?
You know your foundations are cracked when any of those questions isn’t an easy answer.
On one of her social media posts, she wrote that someone had asked her, “How do you still have faith with all the heartache that surrounds you?” She replied firmly with these words: “Because faith is what gets me through these dark times. Having faith doesn’t mean nothing bad is going to happen. Having faith allows me to believe that there will be light again. And that light will be even brighter because I have walked through the dark. As much darkness as I have witnessed over the years, I have witnessed far more light. I have seen miracles. I have felt angels. I have known that my Heavenly Father was carrying me. None of that would have been experienced if life was easy. The future of this life may be unknown, but my faith is not. If I choose to not have faith then I choose to only walk in darkness. Because without faith, darkness is all that is left.”
Faith doesn’t mean things won’t become dark, it means that even in darkness we remember and trust in the Light.
It is the sincere hope of Church leaders that the significant renovations to the Salt Lake Temple will contribute to the fulfillment of Brigham Young’s desire to see “the temple built in a manner that it will endure through the millennium.” During the coming years, may we allow these improvements made to the Salt Lake Temple to move and inspire us, as individuals and families, so that we too—metaphorically—will “be built in a manner that will endure through the millennium.”
We will do so as we fulfill the charge of the Apostle Paul to “[lay] up in store for [ourselves] a good foundation against the time to come, that [we] may lay hold on eternal life.” It is my ardent prayer that our spiritual foundation will be sure and steadfast, that our testimony of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and of His role as our Savior and Redeemer will become for us our own chief cornerstone, of whom I testify in His name, even Jesus Christ, amen.
It is my ardent prayer that our spiritual foundation will be sure and steadfast, that our testimony of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and of His role as our Savior and Redeemer will become for us our own chief cornerstone.
Leave a Reply