Lessons on the Temple
Lesson No. Sixty-Nine
The Temple Prayer Roll - A Source of Abundant Blessings
The Lord and his servants pray for people individually by name – At the Last Supper the Lord said “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift the children of the kingdom as wheat. But I have prayed for thee, that they faith fail not: and when thou are converted, strengthen they brethren” (JST Luke 22:31-32).
This is an example of a pattern and practice the Lord followed in his mortal life. Another example is in choosing the Twelve Apostles. Jesus “went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles” (Luke 6:12-13). Luke continues by naming the twelve apostles individually. It seems that in this prayer Jesus sought individual confirmation from his Father about these future apostles.
Photo of a blank Prayer Roll in a Temple.
The First Presidency and Quorum of Twelve have a list of people they pray for by name at their meeting each week in the temple. They have their own temple prayer roll.
While in the Holladay Stake presidency when we met with the high council we used a prayer roll and prayed for people by name. We did the same when I was a bishop.
The temple prayer roll is a unique way we pray for people individually by name – Considering the thousands of names that are put on temple prayer rolls every day it would be near impossible to mention every name. However, the practice of putting individual names on the prayer roll is a very real application of praying for people by name.
The Lord and His servants who lead His Church desire to make the temple prayer roll as accessible as reasonably possible. Members can add names to temple prayer rolls online. Temples have prayer roll boxes where patrons can put names. Youth who come to the baptistery are able to ask parents or leaders to put names on the temple prayer roll.
The prayer roll of the temple is a source of abundant blessings:
It gives an opportunity to exercise faith on behalf of others
It helps to make our prayers more sincere as more thought and effort are required
It helps us be aware of the needs of others
It pleases our Heavenly Father who knows each of his children by name
We are following the example of our Savior when we pray for others by name
The temple prayer roll is a unique authorized way to pray for others by name
Our prayers are answered and those we pray for are blessed as appropriate.
Testimony – We are grateful our children understand that the prayer roll is a source of abundant blessings. Years ago, when a grandson was very ill in the Primary Children’s Hospital I called my daughter and told her I had put his name on the Salt Lake Temple prayer roll. She thanked me, and said that she had already put his name on the prayer roll of all the temples in Utah. While it is not necessary to put the same name on multiple temple prayer rolls, the Lord blessed a sincere and loving mother, and these prayers were heard and answered on our grandson’s behalf.
We often write names for the temple prayer roll. We have a testimony that the temple prayer roll is a source of abundant blessings because these prayers are heard.
We are anxious that our grandchildren, at the right age, learn and experience for themselves that the temple prayer roll is a source of abundant blessings, and that it is a unique way in which the temple truly becomes a “house of prayer” (D&C 109:16).