“New Temples,” Friend, Jan. 2002, 40

New Temples

Who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart (Ps. 24:3–4).

President Hinckley wants all worthy Church members to have temple blessings. He feels bad that members who live far away cannot go to the temple often. He said that these people “make tremendous sacrifices to visit the temples. They travel for days … in cheap buses and on old boats. They save their money and do without to make it all possible.”*

He and his counselors and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles prayed to know how they could help more people participate in temple work. The prophet said that “the answer … came bright and clear.”† Heavenly Father told them to build many small temples all over the world instead of only a few large ones. President Hinckley has dedicated close to seventy temples.

Seeing new temples built makes President Hinckley happy because temples bring blessings. In 1985, he traveled to Mexico City for the temple dedication there. He had visited Mexico before, and he remembered how poor some of the people were. This didn’t stop them from coming to the temple dedication, smiling brightly and dressed in their best clothing. They knew that they would be blessed because a temple had been built in their country. President Hinckley was impressed by their joy. He said, “What a wonderfully uplifting experience it was to be with them and to witness the miraculous power of God in their lives.”‡

Temples bring blessings because there we are taught more about Heavenly Father’s plan. We participate in ordinances and make covenants; the Holy Ghost strengthens us as we obey. We can help in the building of more temples by paying a full tithing and by living the gospel.

To remind you that President Hinckley loves to see new temples built, complete the dot-to-dot picture on page 41, then color it.

Illustrated by Mark Robison