TEMPLES

This past week my husband and I attended the temple with many of our family members to be with Mitch, a grandson who has been called on a mission. It was a special occasion and we were again aware of the great blessing of having the opportunity to attend the temple, both to complete our own ordinances and to do that important work for others. The temple sessions provide the greatest opportunity for education about eternal matters, than any place on earth, plus giving us the blessing of doing those ordinances for our ancestors who have died without the knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The know ledge of where we came from, why we are here, and where we will go after this
life are taught and with such beauty and clarity.

During the past several years we have done a great deal of temple work for my husbands family, researching out the names of his progenitors so we could go to the temple in their name and serve as proxies for them. All of Bob's grandparents came from the Volga Region of Russia. For years we had tried to get information about them and hit a wall because there was little information from Russia on the records here in our country. Then we found out about the American Association of Germans from Russia. A man by the name of Igor Pleve at the University of Saratov had access to the records of the German people who had migrated into Russia early in the 1700's and then many of them were uprooted and migrated to America in the early 1900's. We were able to get many of the records of the grandparents and their ancestral lines that backed into Germany. We were
so thrilled to be able to create that family tree and to do the temple work for them.

Why do we do that work....why is it an important part of the work of the church?

In a BYU devotional talk by Brother Millet a professor at BYU he tells about a sister on Temple Square who had just given a tour to a group. After the tour a man who was a minister of another church asked her if he could ask her a question. He said that he didn't want to be rude, but he wondered why she would belong to a church who would do baptisms for the dead. He said that seemed to be such an absurd teaching. She said she would be glad to answer his question and began by telling him that there were many people who had lived and even currently die on the earth who never had the opportunity to hear of Jesus Christ. That for their salvation for the eternities there are certain ordinances that are necessary. She said that it is a loving Heavenly Father who would provide a way for them to have that earthly ordinance. It is an ambitious task, but we are grateful to be able to do it. Now she would like to ask him a question... so she asked him,

"Why would you belong to a church that does not do baptisms for the dead?" In the Bible we read in 1Corinthians 15:29 "Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?" It seems it was a practice in the temples at the time of Jesus Christ when he was on the earth with his twelve apostles and so a part of his church from the very beginning. A couple who are friends of mine returned from their mission to Italy last year. They had occasion to visit the Cathedral of St. Paul in Rome.

As they toured that beautiful edifice they noticed in the lower floor of the building there is a baptismal font. Above the font there is an inscription that reads:
Latin: "CUM BAPTISM VM IN MORTEM".....when interpreted it means, "Else why do we baptize for the dead?" This fount was used for many years...the water line is still visible on the walls.

If we read the scriptures properly and then deduct that many plain and precious truths were apparently lost from the early church...we realize there was indeed a need for a restoration of all of the teachings of Christ. ....yes a restitution of all things as we read in Acts 3:19-21 "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; And he shall send Jesus Christ which before was preached unto you. Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of his holy prophets since the world began."

Following is part of a poem written when the Seattle Temple was dedicated:

Today I attended the Seattle Temple dedication and felt the peace that reigns there, The beautiful music and the ceremony thrilled me beyond compare. My heart was full of gratitude as I committed my stride to lengthen, I'll visit the temple often to do the work and my testimony strengthen.I felt the love of my Savior, it filled the very air, It made me desire a better life, and gave me the courage to dare. Oh, Father in Heaven in common hours help me remember the feelings of this day, so I may perform my life's deeds in a pleasing and exemplary way. Yes, I want to serve Heavenly Father, not just be a member in name,Today was a day of dedication for the temple and for me...it was the same. There are a greater number of temples in the world today than there ever has been.The latest church news stated that the church now has 127 operating temples around the world with more under construction. What a great blessing they are to us and to everyone who ever lived on the earth.

This month my message is to encourage you to prepare to go to the temple if possible and whenever possible to receive the blessings that await you there.

With love, Maurine Winters