PREPARING FOR THE RAPID CITY TEMPLE
With the announcement of a temple to be built in Rapid City comes not only stake wide joy and gratitude but also the acknowledgement that we must each prepare for that great day when the temple is dedicated and opens.
During his June Stake Conference talk, Stake President Troy Nesbit shared his insights and counsel on what we need to be doing now in preparation for the temple. He began with the historical example of the Kirtland temple, “the first temple to be built since ancient times.” Through revelation to Joseph Smith in December 1832 (D & C 88), the Lord commanded the building of “a house of God” and promised to “endow them with power from on high.”
However, at this time, the Saints were “poor, homeless, and struggling just to provide food for their families.” In June 1833 (D & C 95), the Lord chastened the Saints because little had been done on building the temple. But He also provided a vision of the temple inside and out to guide them in their work.
President Nesbit said, “The Lord’s admonishment and this vision energized the Saints. . . . Every able-bodied man worked on the temple every moment they could. Children collected old bottles and women donated their china to be crushed so it could be mixed into the stucco so the temple would glisten in the sunlight. The women sewed and repaired clothing for all the workers. They also sewed all the drapes and upholstery for inside the temple.”
President Nesbit also reminded us of the “many miracles and amazing experiences that happened in that temple”—especially the passing of Priesthood keys to Joseph from Moses, Elias, and Elijah for the gathering of Israel and for the sealing power, and the extraordinary visitation of the Savior to accept the temple.
President Nesbit then offered six ways that we can correlate the Kirtland Saints’ experience and their temple with ours:
1. They had no idea what “endowment of power” meant but we do. We learn more and more about it as we attend the temple and realize the blessings that come as a result. . . . The more we attend the temple between now and our dedication, the more powerful the experience will be.
2. The Kirtland Saints had literally nothing as far as riches and in most situations didn’t even have stable housing or food, yet they gave literally all their time. You would think that if they didn’t even have a house to live in it would be reasonable to not be expected to build the temple. What things are we asked to do but don’t because we think we are too busy or too stressed, etc.?
3. Children participated in Kirtland in a very impactful way by collecting old glass. Our children can do the same and we should invite them to do so. They don’t need to be collecting old glass bottles but they can do many other things, including service in the community, online family history activities, and even in ways the Lord will reveal to them.
4. Trials will continue and in fact might even become greater as a result of our efforts, so we shouldn’t be surprised or discouraged as a result. The reason for this increased struggle is probably two-fold: Satan clearly will increase his forces in this area and also the Lord will need to sanctify us or purify us so we have the strength to complete the work ahead. Staffing and maintaining a temple is hard and in fact it might be harder than driving 5 hours to Bismarck a few times a year.
5. Even though the Kirtland Saints had ongoing struggles, they were given amazing blessings, including strength and peace as they moved forward. The normally accepted stresses of life seemed to not affect them mentally even though the stresses existed physically.
6. We can and should expect revelation in the temple. The more we prepare, the more we labor, the more we try to create a relationship with the Lord, the greater the revelation that comes.
As we move forward, President Nesbit invites each of us to choose something we can offer the Lord in preparation for our temple:
“Consider doing something that is really a sacrifice, something that is difficult for you personally, whether it be getting up early to study the scriptures, making a goal to attend the temple monthly, daily indexing, weekly serving in the community, faithful fulfilling of ministering assignments, etc. I hope the Lord has revealed some ideas to you today.”