Arequipa Peru Temple Dedicatory Prayer

17 December 2019

The Arequipa Peru Temple.

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Following is the text of the prayer written by President Russell M. Nelson and read by Elder Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles to dedicate the Arequipa Peru Temple on Sunday, December 15, 2019.

Our dear Heavenly Father—Thou great God Elohim—with grateful hearts we present ourselves before Thee on this day of dedication of the Arequipa Peru Temple.

We express our profound love and gratitude for the gift of Thy holy Son, even the Lord Jesus Christ, who has made immortality a reality and exaltation a possibility for all humankind. He is our Savior, our Redeemer, and the source of our hope and joy here and hereafter.

We thank Thee for the completion of this holy temple, with its beauty and majesty. We thank all who have participated in the building of this holy house. Please bless them and their families.

We thank Thee that this temple will allow sacred ordinances and covenants to be performed in this important part of the world. Those ordinances and covenants are of eternal significance.

We are grateful for the restoration of the gospel, including the restoration of priesthood authority. By that authority, a wife can be sealed to her husband, children can be sealed to their parents, and ancestors can be liberated from their spirit prisons. Sacred rites can be performed in this temple that are valid in eternal realms.

We thank Thee for the life and ministry of the Prophet Joseph Smith, through whom the gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored in this, the dispensation of the fulness of times. That gospel gives us a knowledge of Thy great plan of happiness which Thou hast ordained for Thy children who choose to be faithful to covenants made here.

“Holiness to the Lord—House of the Lord” is etched into the front of the Arequipa Peru Temple.

We are thankful for faithful tithe payers who have consecrated their means for the building up of Thy kingdom here on earth. Wilt Thou continue to bless them according to their needs and Thy will for them.

We are grateful for the early members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Peru—for their pioneering work and courage. We pray that many more may come to a knowledge of their Redeemer and His holy work.

We thank Thee for government leaders who have given support, assistance, and permission to build this temple. Wilt Thou bless them, their families, and the citizens of this great nation, with continued freedom of religion and spiritual sensitivity.

Beloved Father, in the sacred name of Thy Son, Jesus Christ, and acting in the authority of Thy holy priesthood, we now dedicate and consecrate this the Arequipa Peru Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We dedicate this house unto Thee and unto Thy Son, Jesus Christ, and pray that Thou wilt accept it as our sacred offering.

We dedicate all the features of this beautiful edifice for Thy holy purposes. We dedicate this structure from its foundation to its spire. We dedicate each room for its purpose, including the baptistry, endowment rooms, sealing rooms, and celestial room. We dedicate the administrative areas and all supporting functions.

We dedicate the ground on which this temple stands and its landscaping, that it can be a spiritual refuge from the world. We dedicate the ancillary buildings that they may perform their proper functions.

Please bless and protect those who enter these precincts. May they feel Thy peace and love here. May their thoughts and feelings be lifted unto Thee and to Thy Son with holy reverence for Thy eternal purposes. Please protect these grounds from any who might come with evil intent of any kind. Protect the temple and its surroundings from damage due to the elements or natural disasters.

Wilt Thou bless the temple presidency and matrons, workers, patrons, and all who enter this sacred house, with an outpouring of Thy holy spirit. Bless all who labor and serve herein that they might be worthy in every way to participate in this sacred work.

Please bless our youth that their testimonies will be strengthened as they feel the confirming witness of the divinity of Thy holy work. Help them to love the Savior with all their hearts, and to stay on the covenant path that will lead them back to Thy holy presence.

We now covenant with Thee, O God the Eternal Father, that we will consecrate anew our devotion unto Thee, as we dedicate this beautiful Arequipa Peru Temple, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

The Arequipa Peru Temple.

Elder Ulisses Soares, second from right, dedicated the Arequipa Peru Temple on December 15, 2019. He was assisted by, from left, Bishop Dean M. Davies, Elder Enrique R. Falabella, and Elder Kevin R. Duncan.