“A Century of Temple Work,” New Era, Jan. 2000, 32
A Century of Temple Work
In a 25 May 1999 ceremony, President Gordon B. Hinckley broke ground for the 100th temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This temple is especially significant because it’s being built in the very birthplace of the Restoration—Palmyra, New York—where the First Vision occurred. The building of the 100th temple is also significant because it marks 100 years of a striking expansion in temple building and temple work.
In 1900 there were only four operating temples, all within the state of Utah, and the temple ceremony was only available in English. Today there are 63 operating temples in 26 nations, with the temple ordinances available in 70 languages.
Teenagers have played a big part in this growth as they’ve become more and more involved in temple work. In the early 1900s, the ordinances of baptism and confirmation for the dead were mostly done by adults. But in this century, teenagers have increasingly shouldered the responsibility of serving as proxy for these ordinances, freeing adults to devote their time to other temple ordinances.
“The Spirit of Elijah is working deeply on people, especially the young people, to do work for their ancestors,” says Brazil São Paulo Temple President Aledir Barbour. “I can’t explain it, but we feel it in the temple with the youth.”
And with the increase in converts around the world, more and more teens are going to the temple, not only to participate in baptisms for the dead, but also to be sealed to their own families. Twenty-first century teens describe such experiences as a major blessing in their lives.
After his family joined the Church several years ago, 13-year-old Diogenes Gallegos of the Rio Kaw Branch, Lenexa Kansas Stake, was sealed to his parents and siblings in 1998 in the St. Louis Missouri Temple.
“My impression of the temple was fantastic,” says Diogenes. “When they did the sealing part, it was very spiritual and I started crying. My mom and my dad were crying, too. When it was over and they asked us to look at our eternal family in the double mirrors, even my eight-year-old brother started to cry. We were all so happy to be a family together for eternity.”
At the turn of the century, Temple Square looked much like this view taken in 1896 (top left). The Gallegos family poses in front of the St. Louis Missouri Temple, where they were sealed in 1998 (top right). The Manti Utah Temple in 1907 as workers finish landscaping around the stairs (lower right).