My dear brothers and sisters, our fundamental responsibility
as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints is to assist in the gathering of Israel
by inviting all of God's children
on both sides of the veil to come unto their Savior,
receive the blessings of the holy temple, have enduring joy,
and qualify for eternal life.
The essence of the Lord's work is changing, turning,
and purifying hearts through gospel covenants
and priesthood ordinances.
As we become anxiously engaged in this sacred work,
we are obeying the commandments to love and serve
God and our neighbors.
And such selfless service helps us truly to "Hear Him!"
and come unto the Savior.
Please remember President Russell M.
Nelson's prophetic teaching in the October general conference
of 2018: quote, "I urge you to find a way to make
an appointment regularly with the Lord--to be in His holy
house--then keep that appointment with exactness
and joy.
I promise you that the Lord will bring
the miracles He knows you need as you make sacrifices to serve
and worship in His temples."
Close quote.
A global pandemic has changed many aspects of our world,
and as a result, for many months our ability
to attend the temple and participate
in the sacred work performed in the house of the Lord
has been limited.
Returning to the temples is something we have prayed for
and looked forward to with great anticipation.
We rejoice in the opportunity to again serve and worship
in holy temples, even if our experience will be different
because of constraining circumstances
and additional sacrifices we are asked to make.
President Thomas S. Monson taught: quote,
"Some degree of sacrifice has ever been associated with
temple building and with temple attendance. . . .
Why are so many willing to give so much in order to receive
the blessings of 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 struggle too difficult
in order to receive those blessings.
There are never too many miles to travel, too many obstacles
to overcome, or too much discomfort to endure.
They understand that the saving ordinances received
in the temple that permit us to someday return to our Heavenly
Father in an eternal family relationship
and to be endowed with blessings and power from on high
are worth every sacrifice and every effort."
Close quote.
Because of our desire to follow the Savior,
we are learning to do things in new and sometimes better ways.
We are now preparing to enter Phase 3 of temple reopening.
We are committed to reopen each temple
in a careful and cautious way to avoid the spread of disease
and protect both patrons and temple workers.
This phase will be a return to the performance
of proxy ordinances for our deceased ancestors
but with smaller numbers of both patrons and temple workers.
And attendance will be by appointment only.
An appointment will be limited to a specific ordinance because
of restrictions on the number of people
who safely can be accommodated in the various ordinance
rooms of the temples.
I invite every youth and adult member of the Church to obtain
and hold a current temple recommend,
even if we live a great distance from a temple or cannot attend
frequently because of present limitations.
Our participation in temple worship
is a sacred privilege, not an entitlement or simply
part of our established routine.
We do not come to the temple to hide from or escape
the evils of the world.
Rather, we come to the temple to receive the power of godliness
through priesthood ordinances that enables us to confront
and conquer the world of evil.
For a while we may not be able to attend the temple as we did
in the past--on a weekly or monthly basis.
However, we will be blessed in remarkable ways
as we honor and cherish the covenant relationship
we have with our Heavenly Father and His beloved Son, Jesus
Christ, and as we apply in our homes
the principles we have learned and the patterns we
have observed in the Lord's holy house.
We do not know how long adjustments to temple worship
will be necessary.
But no power or influence can stop this glorious work
from progressing and achieving its eternal purposes.
I promise that truth and righteousness always have
prevailed and always will prevail--in our individual
lives, in our families, and in the Savior's true and living
and restored Church.
I joyfully declare my witness of the living reality of the Lord
Jesus Christ and rejoice with you
in the reopening of His holy house.
In the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.