Transcript

Together as the Young Men's and Young Women's General Presidencies, we wanted to take you on a small tour of some of the amazing things here at the Salt Lake Temple construction site and how we can relate these things back to our lives. On the southeast corner of Temple Square, there is a sandstone marker. Brigham Young designated this spot as the center point of the entire city and directed that the temple be built right here. This beautiful temple behind me is in the exact center of the city. In fact, no matter where you are in the whole Salt Lake Valley, you can know how far you are from the temple. In a spiritual sense, the temple can keep us centered on Jesus Christ. If our lives are centered on Jesus, to whom all things in the temple point, we will never get lost. I'm standing not far from the foundation of the Salt Lake Temple. Early on in the temple's construction, it was discovered that the foundation had cracks that had to be fixed. The repair took a lot of hard work, and I imagine caused quite a bit of frustration for some. Yet, it had to be done because without the fundamentals, we cannot stand or endure the test of time. Today, the fundamentals in our lives are known even to Primary children--regular prayer, scripture study, making and keeping sacred covenants, faith in Christ, follow the prophet, and sincere repentance. Let's always focus on the fundamentals so we stand forever strong like a mighty temple. A few weeks ago when they were removing stones from the temple, they discovered a number of items inside the mortar, including this coin, signed by Alice [? Hillum, ?] my grandpa's cousin. Is that remarkable? I look at this coin, and I think about 17-year-old Alice. Could she have imagined that 128 years later, we would discover her simple offering? At times, we may not feel like we have much to offer, a small coin in the vast world of treasures. But the real gift is our willingness to give, to serve, to participate, to bless others, and build the Kingdom of God. All our Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ ask is a willing heart. As we act, the Lord will magnify our every effort. Like Alice, I hope you will toss your coin in. You are enough now to make a Christlike difference in the lives of others. This temple took 40 years to build--40 years What if they had given up? What if the pioneers who built this temple had said, "We quit"? What if they'd thrown in the towel? But they didn't. Now, some of the goals that you have in your lives are not going to get done in a day or two. They're not going to happen in a week or two or even a month or a year. Some of them are going to take a long time. And when you get discouraged, and you feel like giving up, you focus on this temple and think about the pioneers who built it. Think about those Saints who didn't give up, and let them give you the motivation to keep going. Don't you give up. Don't quit. Your worthy goals are worth it. And with the help of the Lord, you can do it. Look at the finials on top of the temple. They look pretty small from here. But now that we see them up close--they don't look very small, do they? It's all about perspective. Sometimes we can feel overwhelmed, and our problems can seem so big. But looking ahead to our eternal future will help us keep things in perspective. Knowing where we are headed and what we ultimately can become will help keep us from being overwhelmed and will help us stay focused as we move forward along the covenant path. Behind us here, I think you can see where the large doors are that stood as entrances to the temple. During the construction, they've been moved to another location. But above the doors on the temple are the words Holiness to the Lord, The House of the Lord. These words are on almost every temple around the world. This right here is an actual doorknob from one of those doors, crafted by pioneers over 100 years ago. And inscribed on this doorknob is engraved the words Holiness to the Lord. The temple is all about making us holy. Now, just as these doors are the front door to the house of the Lord, the children and youth program is designed to be a virtual door into the temple. By setting inspired goals and serving each other and discovering the work that the Lord has for you to do, you'll be ready to receive the blessings awaiting you behind these doors. As you move through your day and your life, look to the temple. Look forward to the time when you will make sacred covenants in the temple, and strive to be worthy of the Spirit and the Lord's promised blessings.

Youth Leader Message

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Members of the Young Women and Young Men General Presidencies share a message to youth and friends during the renovation of the Salt Lake Temple.
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