“Let’s Visit the Temple,” Liahona, Mar. 2022.
Latter-day Saint Voices: Women of Faith
Let’s Visit the Temple
When I prayed to know how I could help my mother-in-law, I thought of the temple.
Photograph of Bogotá Colombia Temple by Ivan Ortiz Ponce
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bogotá Colombia Temple closed. Because I could no longer attend, at times I would mentally walk through the temple, remembering the service I had rendered there as a temple worker.
My mother-in-law became extremely ill shortly after a COVID-19 quarantine began in Colombia. When I prayed to know how I could help her, I thought of the temple.
As I thought about the temple, I felt prompted by the Holy Ghost to ask my mother-in-law if she would like to mentally visit “one of the most beautiful places on earth” with me.
In a weak voice, she replied, “Yes.”
We imagined starting from her home in Medellín, traveling to my home in Bogotá, and then arriving at the temple. We imagined entering and serving in the temple. We imagined sitting together in the celestial room, saying a prayer of gratitude to the Lord.
Afterward, we pleaded with Heavenly Father that my mother-in-law, according to His will, might regain her health and eventually be allowed to physically return to the temple. It was a special, solemn experience that strengthened and encouraged her.
One of the stories about the Savior that touches me the most happened in the city of Capernaum. This story teaches us that the Lord can bless and heal others through help from family members and friends.
When the people in Capernaum learned that Jesus was in a certain house, they brought unto him a man who was sick with palsy.
“And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay.”
When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the man, “Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house.” (See Mark 2:1–11.)
Like the man with the palsy, my mother-in-law was healed by the Savior’s power through a priesthood blessing and through her faith and the faith of family and friends.
In these uncertain times, I know we can receive guidance to strengthen and encourage those in need. If we turn to Heavenly Father and always remember Him and His Son, we can obtain peace, hope, and healing.