Endowed With Power From on High

As my wife and I were leaving the temple yesterday we ran into a sister in our ward who was there as a temple worker. As we discussed the great blessing of having a temple so close to us (it is about five minutes away from our homes), she said with a smile, “This is the best calling in the Church—and I called myself!” In his address at general conference in April, Elder Andersen remarked, “The Lord is strengthening His Saints of all ages as they come to His holy house…. In the past, most beloved ordinance workers had graying hair—but not anymore. Called missionaries, service missionaries, and returned missionaries are around every corner. Across the world, there is a growing feeling drawing us to the house of the Lord.” Indeed, like this sister we met in the temple, workers in the house of the Lord are not only the elderly—with so many dedicated temples now the Lord needs many more to officiate in His house. As so many more temples are built with the hastening of the Lord’s work, it means that we need to likewise hasten our efforts to be in and serve in the house of the Lord. Elder Andersen invited us, “My beloved friends, if we are able and have not already increased our attendance at the temple, let us regularly find more time to worship in the house of the Lord. Let us pray for the temples that have been announced, that properties can be purchased, that governments will approve plans, that talented workers will see their gifts magnified, and that the sacred dedications will bring the approval of heaven and the visit of angels.” There are currently 197 dedicated temples (with 7 of those under renovation) and 153 others in various stages of planning and construction, totaling 350. How blessed we are to have so many houses of the Lord available to us to receive the blessing the Nephi foresaw: “And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the power of the Lamb of God, that it descended upon the saints of the church of the Lamb, and upon the covenant people of the Lord, who were scattered upon all the face of the earth; and they were armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory” (1 Nephi 14:14). It is in the temple that we are armed with righteousness and the power of God. Surely as Nephi saw the last days, he beheld the great miracle we are witnessing today of temples being built across the earth and bringing the power of the Lamb of God into the lives of Saints across the world.

                There is no place on earth like the temple. There simply is nowhere else that you will find such quiet stillness, such kindness of total strangers, such complete absence of contention, and where the Spirit of the Lord abounds so completely. There is nowhere else in the world where you can rid yourself so entirely of the things and concerns and pressures of the world. It is a place where money does not matter, where all people are dressed and treated alike, where everyone around you is there to perform service for others, and where the Lord will readily speak peace to your heart. It is a place where this fervent prayer of the Prophet Joseph at the dedication of the first temple in our dispensation has been answered millions of times since that day in 1836: “And we ask thee, Holy Father, that thy servants may go forth from this house armed with thy power, and that thy name may be upon them, and thy glory be round about them, and thine angels have charge over them” (Doctrine and Covenants 109:22). Elder Andersen asked this question in his address about temples, “Have you wondered why the Lord would direct His prophet to now dot the earth with His holy temples? Why would He, at this specific time, give the needed prosperity to His covenant people that through their sacred tithes, hundreds of houses of the Lord could be built?... Across the globe, houses of the Lord are coming closer to us. Why in our day?” He commented on the challenges of the last days when “there would be distress among nations, people would ‘be lovers of their own selves,’ ‘all things [would] be in commotion,’ confusion would abound, and ‘men’s hearts [would] fail them.’” He then suggested that it is precisely because of these challenges that we need the blessings of temples more than ever: “Why is the Lord now bringing hundreds of His temples closer to us? One reason is that amid the turmoil and temptations of the world, He has promised to strengthen and bless His covenant Saints, and His promises are being fulfilled!” As temples are rapidly dotting the earth, we are being prepared as Saints and given the power of God to face whatever last day challenges we may find ourselves experiencing in the coming years. How blessed we are to have His holy house available to fulfil this promise of the Lord: “I gave unto you a commandment that you should build a house, in the which house I design to endow those whom I have chosen with power from on high” (Doctrine and Covenants 95:8).