First Presidency, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles Share Thoughts about Rome Temple Dedication

Contributed By the Church News

• 15 March 2019

Every member of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints poses for an iconic photograph in the Rome Italy Temple Visitors’ Center in Rome, Italy, on Monday, March 11, 2019.  Photo by Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News.

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President Russell M. Nelson
The dedication of the Rome Italy Temple is “a hinge point in the history of the Church. Things are going to move forward at an accelerated pace. The Church is going to have an unprecedented future, unparalleled. We're just building up to what is ahead now.”

President Dallin H. Oaks

“It means so much for the restored Church and its members to have a temple in Rome, which is the capital of all Christianity and a place where our predecessors as Apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ gave their lives. It is a blessing of the Lord to be here and to have our spirits lifted and to receive the inspiration of the Lord to perform the tasks assigned to us as part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”

President Henry B. Eyring
“It has been a wonderful experience to be at the dedication of a temple in Rome. In temples we have families sealed forever. Somehow for me it is especially important because of the Italian families I have known and how much families mean to them. ... What a blessing this temple is going to be to all the families in Rome.”

President M. Russell Ballard
“I don’t think anything this significant has passed by without the angels in heaven, the former Apostles, those who gave their lives here, and even those who made possible the Restoration. I think they look down on these activities. I have felt their presence.”

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland
“In a city filled with historic monuments and very important buildings, the temple of the Lord, the house of the Lord, will be the most important building in all of Rome.”

Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf
“A living prophet and living Apostles have the same call as apostles did anciently, to proclaim the gospel to all the world. We are here with the prophet in Rome to do just that in our modern times.”

Elder David A. Bednar
“Every temple becomes a source of light. It blesses the people who enter the temple and are benefited by that light. But that light emanates from the temple and influences communities and nations. Not only are the individuals and families blessed with the dedication in this temple, but also the city of Rome and all of Italy will be blessed.”

Elder Quentin L. Cook
“It has been absolutely incredible. We were ordained as Apostles to the world. And it is very comparable to what happened to Peter and Paul in their time. They were Apostles to the world, and Rome was one of the centers of the world at that time.”

Elder D. Todd Christofferson

“Something that struck me more forcefully is that the restored Church and the primitive church are the same Church. I felt that more strongly than ever. This is The Church of Jesus Christ as He organized it, and now as He has restored it. And here we are in the land of its beginnings in the primitive era. And now in the latter-day era, here is the temple that the Lord has established for the preparations for the Second Coming. It is a grand thought, really, to feel the kinship and the unity of the Church across the centuries.”

Elder Neil L. Andersen
“One of the things that happens to the members of the Church in these areas when the temple comes is that they realize this: The gospel is going to be here until the Savior returns. And His power is going to be here. ... What will be sealed on earth in the Lord’s house in Italy will be sealed in heaven from now through the time that the Lord returns.”

Elder Ronald A. Rasband

“Behind me in the rotunda, we have a statue of Peter holding keys. As in ancient times, the modern-day Apostles also hold all of the keys. However, there is only one who exercises all of the keys on earth, and that is President Russell M. Nelson, who is the Senior Apostle. I was there when he was ordained and set apart as President of the Church; it was an overwhelming confirmation to me that he is God’s prophet on the earth today.”

Elder Gary E. Stevenson
“There is a certain grandeur in Rome — the architecture, the history, the buildings. When I hear people speak of Rome as the ‘Eternal City,’ I will think about that just a little differently than I have heretofore. It is truly the ‘Eternal City’ for us, as Latter-day Saints, knowing there is a temple of the Lord here.”

Elder Dale G. Renlund
“We know that two former-day Apostles, Peter and Paul, were here. And then to have modern-day Apostles here, all of us, is just a moving experience, in some ways paying homage to them and homage to the gospel that we all preach.”

Elder Gerrit W. Gong
“I was struck by how our wonderful Italian Saints, with tears in their eyes, said ‘This is not the end, this is the beginning. This brings life and light to families and individuals on both sides of the veil. This is the beginning of many wonderful blessings.’”

Elder Ulisses Soares
“I was astonished and happy, as you can imagine, to be part of this historic and marvelous event, along with the First Presidency and all the other Apostles. As a junior Apostle, as the new one in the group, I am just enjoying the blessings of the hard work these great leaders, senior leaders, have done all these years.”

Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles shakes hands with temple attendees in Rome on Tuesday, March 12, 2019. Photo by Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News.

Every member of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints poses for an iconic photograph in the Rome Italy Temple Visitors’ Center in Rome, Italy, on Monday, March 11, 2019. Photo by Deseret News

Elder Ulisses Soares, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, and Elder Dale G. Renlund, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles speak to media after the dedication of the Rome Italy Temple in Rome, Italy, on Sunday, March 10, 2019. Photo by Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News.

Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles signs a book in Rome on Tuesday, March 12, 2019. Photo by Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News.

Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf and Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles speak to media after the dedication of the Rome Italy Temple in Rome, Italy, on Sunday, March 10, 2019. Photo by Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News.

Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles high-fives temple attendees in Rome on Tuesday, March 12, 2019. Photo by Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News.

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles waves to attendees after a meeting in Rome, Italy, on Saturday, March 9, 2019. Photo by Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News.

President Russell M. Nelson and President M. Russell Ballard, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, speak to media after the dedication of the Rome Italy Temple in Rome, Italy, on Sunday, March 10, 2019. Photo by Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News.

President Russell M. Nelson walks with his wife, Sister Wendy Nelson, in the Rome Italy Temple Visitors’ Center in Rome, Italy, on Monday, March 11, 2019. Photo by Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News.

Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles pauses for a photograph in the Rome Italy Temple Visitors’ Center in Rome, Italy, on Monday, March 11, 2019. Photo by Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News.

President M. Russell Ballard and President Russell M. Nelson react to a photograph of themselves taken earlier in the day in Rome, Italy, on Monday, March 11, 2019. Photo by Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News.

Elder Gerrit W. Gong and Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles talk in the Rome Italy Temple Visitors’ Center in Rome, Italy, on Monday, March 11, 2019. Photo by Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News.

President M. Russell Ballard, Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf, and Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles share a laugh in the Rome Italy Temple Visitors’ Center in Rome, Italy, on Monday, March 11, 2019. Photo by Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News.

Photographs are taken of members of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in the Rome Italy Temple Visitors’ Center in Rome, Italy, on Monday, March 11, 2019. Photo by Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News.

Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his wife, Lesa, pose for a photograph in the Rome Italy Temple Visitors’ Center in Rome, Italy, on Monday, March 11, 2019. Photo by Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News.

Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles walks through the Rome Italy Temple Visitors’ Center in Rome, Italy, on Monday, March 11, 2019. Photo by Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News.

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