Temples: Number of
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The first recorded revelation of this dispensation, section pe given in 1823, described the great work for this dispensation: to seal living fathers to their families and progenitors. The Lord said that unless the sealing ordinances were performed, ‘“‘the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming’’ (D&C 2:3). Steps have already been taken to expand the number of temples and to place them closer to the Saints. But we must do more. Wherever we have stakes, the ordinances of the temple should be available to our people without extensive travel or great financial sacrifice. (Salt Lake City, Utah, 6 June 1980.) Seven hundred years before Christ, Isaiah prophesied that in the last days the Lord’s house would be established in the tops of the mountains, and that the work of the Lord would proceed to the ends of the earth from the mountains (see Isaiah 2i2—3). In the beginning of this dispensation, the Lord said ‘‘Zion shall flourish upon the hills and rejoice upon the mountains, and shall be assembled together unto the place which I have appointed”’ (D&C 49:25). Our assemblage today in these mountains beneath the shadow of the temple, hewn from the stone of these mountains, stands as a fulfillment of these prophecies. (‘‘Zion Shall Flourish upon the Mountains,’’? Days of ’47 Committee Luncheon, Salt Lake City, Utah, 24 July 1982.) We preside over the great redemptive work for the dead. Before the Savior can present this kingdom to His Father, all the descendants of Shem, Ham and Japheth who have not received the gospel in the flesh must have the opportunity to hear the gospel. That work is going forward on the other side of the veil with greater acceleration than it is here. Our work is to officiate in the temples of God for them. We don’t build temples until the Church is well established in a country. Our predecessors have prophesied that temples will dot the landscape of North and
President Ezra Taft Benson
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[Footnote 10] Today, approximately 60 percent of Church members worldwide live within 50 miles (80 km, or about an hour travel time in many places) of a house of the Lord. In coming years, as announced temples are completed, approximately three-fourths of Church members will live within an hour of a house of the Lord. Depending on circumstances, that is hopefully close enough to come often to the Lord in His holy house, thereby blessing generations of precious family members and ourselves and our posterity.
Elder Gerrit W. Gong
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