The Temple Time Capsule

Recently, in connection with the renovation of the Salt Lake Temple, the time capsule inside the capstone of the temple was opened. Its contents were placed inside the capsule 128 years ago as the capstone was placed on top of the temple in a ceremony witnessed by tens of thousands. A journalist at the time wondered “when, how, and under whose eyes it would be exhumed in some untold age in the future.” That time came on May 18^th of this year as books, photos, letters, coins, and other things were pulled out of the capsule. The First Presidency was there to witness it, and President Nelson commented that despite the fact that they knew the contents wouldn’t be well preserved, “We wanted to be there anyway, just to be close and to pay tribute to the leaders and courageous pioneer craftsman who against all odds built this magnificent temple.” They left behind over 400 coins as well as 12 books including The Book of Mormon, The Holy Bible, The Pearl of Great Price, an account of the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum, and two books by Parley P. Pratt. To me the coins represent the great sacrifice of time and material possessions to build this magnificent temple and to build up the kingdom of God in general by the early Latter-day Saints. And the books stand as a witness of their testimony of the truthfulness of the scriptures and the Restoration of the gospel. Though the items were not in good physical condition, the testimony of truth they represent has come down to us undiluted and similarly burns in the hearts of millions today.

               As I consider this recent opening of this temple time capsule, I am led to wonder what I will leave behind of value for future generations. The contents of this capsule suggest that physical possessions will not be preserved for long, but our words and testimonies of the gospel certainly can be. I am reminded of the words of Alma to Helaman when he spoke about how the scriptures (and plates of brass in particular) would be passed along to future generations: “It has been prophesied by our fathers, that they should be kept and handed down from one generation to another, and be kept and preserved by the hand of the Lord until they should go forth unto every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, that they shall know of the mysteries contained thereon. And now behold, if they are kept they must retain their brightness; yea, and they will retain their brightness; yea, and also shall all the plates which do contain that which is holy writ” (Alma 37:4-5). In other words, the Lord would cause a miraculous physical preservation—retaining their brightness—that would extend the life of those plates so that they could be used by future generations to read the word of the Lord. Our homes and phones, our cars and clothes, our money and material possessions will probably not mean much to our posterity; but our words and testimonies, our witness of the truth can retain their brightness for centuries to come.

                Perhaps what is most important is the witness we leave behind with our actions and who we are. In other words, what we teach by striving to be a disciple of Jesus Christ is what people will likely remember most clearly about us. As I think about those whom I knew growing up, whether it was a teacher or a friend or a church leader, I typically do not remember much of what they said or many specific things that they did. But I will have some sense in my memory of how I perceived them, how I felt around them, and what kind of life they lived (i.e. were they nice or mean? Were they honest or untrustworthy? Were they modest or stuck up?). Those are the feelings that we remember easily about others even when we forget most else. Our goal should be to leave behind in our personal time capsule the same memory and legacy that Nephi and Lehi left. As Helaman recorded: “When ye remember their works ye may know how that it is said, and also written, that they were good.” Perhaps the greatest legacy we can leave behind for others is to likewise be good so when they remember our works they are also reminded to “do that which is good” (Helaman 5:6-7).