Thirty-four years ago thy servant President David O. McKay dedicated this, the London Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Through all of these years it has served thy people well, providing important and necessary ordinances for tens of thousands of the living and legions of those beyond the veil of death. The prayer of thy servant uttered at that time has been answered and fulfilled.Now recently thy house has been extensively remodeled and rebuilt. Much of the interior is entirely new, and today we are met to rededicate it to thee and to thy divine Son for the consummation of thine eternal purposes.We express solemn thanks for thy gracious goodness to us as members of thy restored Church. We acknowledge thy powerful and loving hand in the blessing of thy people in these isles of Britain and throughout the world. We thank thee for this nation on which thou hast smiled through centuries of time. We recognize that it was at Runnymede, in this county of Surrey, in the year 1215 that the Magna Charta was signed, establishing principles in behalf of the freedom and dignity of man. Through all of the centuries that have followed these rights have been preserved, implemented, and enlarged. They have spread from here and have been incorporated in the constitutions and charters of other nations across the earth who also have established governments that derive their powers from the consent of the governed. Freedom to think, to speak, to assemble, and to worship is basic to the happiness of mankind. We acknowledge thy divine hand in the establishment and preservation of that freedom in this the United Kingdom.
These principles, divine in their origin, made possible the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ through thy chosen instrument, the prophet Joseph Smith.
We thank thee for thy visitation with thy beloved Son to the boy Joseph to open the dispensation of the fullness of times. We thank thee for the visit of Moroni and for the coming forth of the Book of Mormon as another witness of Jesus Christ. We thank thee for the restoration of the priesthood under the hands of John the Baptist and Peter, James and John, with the bestowal of special keys pertaining thereto through the instrumentality of Moses, Elias, and Elijah. On this occasion we thank thee particularly that Elijah has come with those keys pertaining to the redemption of the dead. We are thankful that he has planted in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers, and that the hearts of the children are turning to their fathers.We are grateful that this thy holy house has been restored and made even more beautiful, that thy faithful saints may enter and receive the ordinances to be administered herein. We thank thee that those who have passed beyond the veil of death may have cause to rejoice because the facilities for vicarious work in their behalf have been enlarged and made more efficient.
We thank thee for all who have labored to make thy house beautiful and suitable for its appointed purposes. And now, acting in the authority of the holy priesthood in us vested, we rededicate it and consecrate it to thee, our mighty God, and to thy beloved Son, our divine Redeemer. We rededicate the grounds, the grasses, the flowers, the shrubs and trees growing thereon, the foundation and walls of the building, and all of its basic structure. We dedicate the new facilities for administering the sacred and eternal ordinances including baptism for the dead, washings and anointings, together with the rooms where will be administered the endowment service, the veils of the temple, the modified celestial room, and the sealing rooms with their sacred altars where the everlasting authority of the priesthood will be administered in behalf of the living and the dead. Here under the authority of thy holy priesthood, exercised in its fullness, families are bound together in a relationship that death cannot destroy and time cannot break.
Dear Father, please accept this thy holy house and let thy Spirit dwell herein at all times and in all circumstances. We pray that it might serve as thine abode and as the abode of thy beloved Son. We pray that it may always be kept worthy of thy divine presence.Bless those who care for it that they may do so in a spirit of consecration. Bless those who officiate herein that they may be guided to speak and act always with a spirit of reverence. Bless all who come to partake of ordinances that they may do so with clean hands and pure hearts that this thy holy house may be kept free of any defiling influence. May it be preserved by thy power from the ravages of nature and the vandalizing hands of evil men.
Our beloved Father, wilt thou bless thy faithful people in this island nation and throughout the world. Smile upon them with favor and open the windows of heaven and shower down blessings upon them as they walk in faithfulness.
To this end we humbly pray as on this day of rededication we dedicate ourselves anew to thy divine purposes, in service to thy sons and daughters of present and past generations, and in the building of the Kingdom of God in the earth, we humbly pray in the name of Him who is our Redeemer, even the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.