Lessons on the Temple
Lesson No. Fifty-One

Temples are an Essential Part and a Unique Evidence of the Ongoing Restoration

The ongoing restoration – In commemoration of the First Vision given to Joseph Smith in the Spring of 1820 the First Presidency and Quorum of Twelve Apostles issued The Restoration of the Fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ – A Bicentennial Proclamation to the World This Proclamation was first read by President Russell Nelson in General Conference on April 5, 2020.  This Proclamation states in part:

“We gladly declare that the promised Restoration goes forward through continuing revelation….
With reverence and gratitude, we as His Apostles invite all to know—as we do—that the heavens are open. We affirm that God is making known His will for His beloved sons and daughters. We testify that those who prayerfully study the message of the Restoration and act in faith will be blessed to gain their own witness of its divinity and of its purpose to prepare the world for the promised Second Coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.”

President Nelson explained that the restoration is a process: “We are witnesses to a process of restoration.  If you think the Church has been fully restored, you’re just seeing the beginning.  There is much more to come…Wait till next year.  And then the next year.  Eat your vitamin pills.  Get your rest.  It’s going to be exciting” (Quoted by Elder LeGrand Curtis, The Ongoing Restoration, Ensign, April 2020).

The great and marvelous work of restoration in the latter days is a sieve that will separate those who will inherit eternal life from those who will not  – Nephi saw a vision of the latter days when the Lord “will work a great and a marvelous work among the children of men; a work that shall be everlasting, either on the one hand or the other – either to the convincing of them unto peace and eternal life, or unto the deliverance of them to the hardness of their hearts and the blindness of their minds unto their being brought down into captivity, and also unto destruction, both temporally and spiritually, according to the captivity of the devil” (1 Nephi 14:7).

Temples are an essential part of the ongoing restoration – “And it came to pass that I Nephi, beheld the power of the Lamb of God, that it descended upon the saints of the church of the Lamb, and upon the covenant people of the Lord, who were scattered upon all the face of the earth; and they were armed with righteousness and the power of God in great glory” (1 Nephi 14:14).  In the latter days temple covenant people, armed with righteousness and the power of God, will be found among all nations.

Temples are a unique evidence of the ongoing restoration –  “The inspired erection and proper use of temples is one of the great evidence of the divinity of the Lord’s work.  Without revelation they can neither be built nor used.  Where there are temples, with the spirit of revelation resting upon those who administer therein, there the Lord’s people will be found; where these are not, the Church and kingdom and the truth of heaven are not” (Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, Temples, p. 781).

My testimony – There is no king, president, judge or ruler that has, or claims to have, any power beyond the grave; there is no legislature, congress or any political body that has, or claims to have, any power beyond the grave;  there is no other church or religious organization who has, or claims to have, any power beyond the grave.  Only The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has any power beyond the grave, and this sealing power is exercised frequently  in every temple worldwide.  Furthermore, the Restored Church of Jesus Christ proclaims to the world that it has and exercises this power:  “The divine plan of happiness enables family relationships to be perpetuated beyond the grave.  Sacred ordinances and covenants available in holy temples make it possible for individuals to return to the presence of God and for families to be united eternally” (The Family – A Proclamation to the World).