Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles dedicated the Taylorsville Utah Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Sunday, June 2, and invited Church members to “come to the Lord in the house of the Lord.”
All Latter-day Saints—youth, new and returning members, and long-time members—are welcome to come to the temple. “Wherever we are on life’s path, we can come step-by-step with a desire to come to the Lord in the house of the Lord,” Elder Gong said.
“Wherever we are on life’s path, we can come step-by-step with a desire to come to the Lord in the house of the Lord,” Elder Gong said.
Latter-day Saints may participate in ordinances and make covenants at the temple, both for themselves and also as proxies on behalf of ancestors. “We come to the Lord and invite those we love to come to the Lord through the covenants they can now make,” he explained.
Temple attendance and worship offer sanctifying blessings of service, deepened understanding of the doctrine, and an opportunity to prepare to be with the Lord, Elder Gong said.
Elder Gong was accompanied at the dedication in Taylorsville by his wife, Susan, a Taylorsville native; Elder Hugo E. Martinez, a General Authority Seventy and First Counselor in the Utah Area Presidency, and his wife, Nuria; and Elder Erich W. Kopischke, a General Authority Seventy and assistant executive director of the Temple Department, and his wife, Christiane.
The Taylorsville temple was dedicated in two sessions on Sunday, at 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., and services were broadcast throughout the 38-stake temple district, which includes two young single adult stakes and two Tongan-language stakes. The temple district comprises 257 wards and branches, more than 100,000 Church members, nearly 7,300 youth, more than 39,200 single adults, and more than 56,000 families.
The Apostle also dedicated the Pueblo Mexico temple two weeks ago.
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“The Taylorsville Utah Temple is close to many faithful members. Many faithful members will be blessed by the opportunity to serve as temple patrons and as temple ordinance workers,” Elder Gong said. “Serving as a temple ordinance worker is a special service and blessing. It blesses, refines, sanctifies. It allows others to give and others to receive something they choose and need but cannot do for themselves.”
An “interesting paradox” with temple attendance is that sometimes when a temple is farther away, members carefully plan and prepare and come on a regular basis, as they are able. But when a temple is closer, sometimes members may think, “I can go next week, I’ll go next month, and end up going less frequently even though the temple is now closer and more convenient to attend,” he said.
With temples coming closer to many members in many places, including now in Taylorsville, Elder Gong said he hopes people will find their circumstances include “a desire to come more frequently to the Lord in the house of the Lord.”
You can read more about the Taylorsville Utah Temple dedication on Church Newsroom.