An Offering Unto the Lord

At the end of general conference yesterday, my son expressed his disappointment in the fact that there were no temples announced. He exclaimed, “That was the only thing I liked about general conference!” I’m sure that most members miss the excitement of new temples being announced at the end of the last session of general conference. President Nelson loved to announce new temples, and it was a joyful time for many as they learned of a temple being built near them. But change is inevitable, and I trust that President Oaks is doing exactly what the Savior has asked him to. With 169 temples announced or under construction, it is certainly not surprising to see the Church slow down and take time to build what has already been planned. What matters most is that as members of the Church we strive to worship as often as we can in the temple. As President Nelson remarked during one announcement of new temples: “Building and maintaining temples may not change your life, but spending your time in the temple surely will.” So, when we miss the temple announcements at the end of conference, it should be a reminder to plan a visit soon to go and worship in the temple. For that is why they are there!

               On Wednesday night last week my wife and I discussed with our friends who went to Palmyra with us what we should do on Thursday. We had already visited the Sacred Grove, the Whitmer farm, the Martin Harris farm, the Hill Cumorah, and the Grandin Printshop. We asked ourselves if we wanted to make the three-hour (one way) drive to the Priesthood Restoration site in Pennsylvania. We would be leaving the area Friday morning to visit Niagara Falls, and so we had one more day. We wondered if we would regret not going after being so close, for when would we come back here again? But such a long car ride with many children seemed a bit daunting. After thinking about it, that evening our friends made the decision to simply stay near Palmyra and go to the temple there instead. So, all 19 of us showed up at the temple Thursday morning. While my friend stayed with six of his younger children and my three youngest children watching church videos in the waiting room, the rest of us went into the temple. Three of my children and three of theirs were able to participate in baptisms and confirmations there along with his wife. My wife was able to do initiatory ordinances, and I was able to do some of the baptizing and all of the confirmations. Later that evening they also came back and participated in the initiatory ordinances. It was a wonderful experience and I think it was the right decision to stay and benefit from the priesthood itself instead of going to see where the priesthood was restored. Surely it would have also been a wonderful experience to see the approximate location where John the Baptist came to confer the priesthood of Aaron on Joseph and Oliver, but for us I think the right decision was to be in the temple there.

               John the Baptist visited Joseph and Oliver on May 15, 1829, and he ordained them with these words: “Upon you my fellow servants, in the name of Messiah I confer the Priesthood of Aaron, which holds the keys of the ministering of angels, and of the gospel of repentance, and of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; and this shall never be taken again from the earth, until the sons of Levi do offer again an offering unto the Lord in righteousness” (Doctrine and Covenants 13:1). That “offering” referred to (and originally spoken of by Malachi) was described by the Prophet Joseph Smith in his letter about baptisms for the dead: “Let us, therefore, as a church and a people, and as Latter-day Saints, offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness; and let us present in his holy temple, when it is finished, a book containing the records of our dead, which shall be worthy of all acceptation” (Doctrine and Covenants 128:24). In other words, the record of all temple work we have done in this dispensation will be the offering that we present to the Lord, showing Him that we have used that priesthood He restored in the last days to bring souls back to Him. It was one of the major purposes for which the priesthood was restored. And so, it was surely fitting that we should add in a tiny way to that unimaginably large book that all who worship in temples are writing. I hope that someday we will have the opportunity to visit the Priesthood Restoration site, but in the meantime, all of us can continue working on that book that John the Baptist spoke of nearly 200 years ago.