In the Sunday morning session of the most recent general conference, President Thomas S. Monson spoke about temples and temple work in his talk titled "The Holy Temple — a Beacon to the World."
My wife and I had tears streaming down our cheeks as we felt the truth of each word he spoke. The fire in our hearts was burning, and I thought how powerful and humbling it is to feel the testimony and witness of the Spirit to the words of the Lord.
President Monson talked about sacrifices made by the faithful to attend the temple: "Those who understand the eternal blessings which come from the temple know that no sacrifice is too great, no price too heavy, no struggles too difficult in order to receive those blessings," he said.
He also said, "In my own family, some of the most sacred and treasured experiences have occurred when we have joined together in the temple to perform sealing ordinances for our deceased ancestors." Again, we felt the fire burn within us as we remembered our own family sealing experiences.
Since the days of President Joseph F. Smith, who was the prophet in 1902, it has been the goal of the church to build temples closer to the people. At present, with 26 temples either announced or under construction and 115 temples built during the past 30 years, that goal 'is becoming a reality," said President Monson.
He related the sacrifices of members in Manaus, Brazil, who traveled by boat for four days and then by bus for three days to get to the temple in Sao Paulo. They traveled some 2,500 miles with little food and hardly any sleep. "Now ... members in Manaus are rejoicing to see their temple take shape," he said.
He spoke of the sacrifices of Tihi and Tararaina Mou Tham's family in the early 1960s. Brother Mou Tham and his sons worked for four years in mines in the South Seas earning enough money to take his family to the temple at New Zealand. Brother Mou Tham returned to the mines for another two years to earn enough money to take his daughter, her husband and their son to the temple.
President Monson testified, "My brothers and sisters, temples are more than stone and mortar. They are filled with faith and fasting. They are built of trials and testimonies. They are sanctified by sacrifice and service."
Speaking of the sacrifices of the early Saints in the days of the Kirtland temple, President Monson commented on how impoverished they were, yet the Lord commanded building a temple, "so build it they did," he said. After all had been done to build it, the Saints were soon forced to move, leaving the temple and Kirtland because persecution raged. Soon after, again in their difficult state, they built the temple at Nauvoo and at the dedication of the temple were driven out. Finally, after coming to the Salt Lake Valley, it took them more than 40 years to build the temple.
The prophet said, "The all-important and crowning blessings of membership in the church are those blessings which we receive in the temples of God." This is one thing that drives us to obtain those blessings and teach us to become like Jesus, I thought.
President Monson explained that a temple is being built in Rome. The great apostles Peter and Paul had preached the gospel and each was martyred there. He further mentioned how precious it is to go to the temple anywhere and do work "for our deceased ancestors," as they cannot do it for themselves.
President Monson shared the experience last October he had with other general authorities and their wives gathering at the northeast corner of Rome when he dedicated the land for the temple.
President Monson expressed his "undying gratitude to (his) Heavenly Father for the temple now being built in Rome and for all of our temples, wherever they are. Each one stands as a beacon to the world, an expression of our testimony, that God, our Eternal Father, lives."
When the prophet finished his powerful talk, there was just reverent silence, and I asked my wife, "Did not our hearts within us burn as he talked with us?" (see Luke 24:32).
Soon after, the Tabernacle Choir sang a beautiful rendition of the temple anthem of "The Spirit of God Like a Fire is Burning." Again, we felt the burning as we heard the choir sing that beautiful hymn. It topped off this most inspired sermon by the prophet.
How blessed we are to have the living prophet of God on the earth to testify to the truth of these things.
