The House of the Lord - Part 1

"Somewhere between heaven and earth, blessings descend upon majestic houses of God which are constructed and dedicated to His purposes. One such building is found on a lovely tree-lined street in Johannesburg, South Africa on what is appropriately called Jubilee Road. Here families on both sides of the veil that separates mortality from immortality can receive gifts of knowledge and make covenants with their Maker. Mortals can choose to receive and accept this sweet opportunity, or not. Without faithful, earthly counterparts or proxies, faithful departed friends and ancestors desiring saving ordinances have no such choice. Thus, temple work was restored to the earth that free agency blessings can be extended to all of Heavenly Father’s children in all dimensions of time and space who choose to accept them. The choice to decline them is allowed. The Lord’s plan is that families should have the opportunity to be together forever, not just “until death do they part.” Their love and devotion to one another can be preserved through the eons of time. The family is the unit our Creator designed for his offspring to be nurtured in and every effort should be made to bless that sacred unit and extend their joy beyond the grasp of death.

Our work location in the Area Offices is adjacent to the temple patron housing facilities above the Family History Center and lies within the shadow of the Holy Temple. Due to the proximity of our location to this respite for weary travelers from throughout the lower part of the African continent, we witness the pilgrimage of faithful temple members every week. They often come with only the clothes on their back and a small bag of travel needs. Some come on rickety, crowded transport for twenty or more hours. Others endure air flights for four or more hours. All make meaningful sacrifices to obtain the endowment of blessings from on high. They seek refuge from the cares of the world to enter into the realm of God. Their accommodations here are clean and adequate for showering, sleeping and eating and provide a welcome relief from the tiring trips that usually include providing for the needs of several children in the families. Because of violence, poverty and absence of adequate medical care, many families come noticeably absent of their patriarchs. Single mothers struggle nobly to survive and press against mountains of obstacles to provide temple blessings for their families and unite themselves vicariously to their husbands and fathers . . . and to one another. One such family gave up eating meat for a year to save their meager funds to come for temple blessings and eternal possibilities. Others sell produce from their gardens instead of satisfying their own hunger. Why would they do this? I posed this question to a beautiful tiny black woman and she simply answered, “To enter God’s House and receive His blessings.” She reminded me to study the purpose of temples in the Old Testament and learn of the spiritual value placed on Solomon’s Temple as well as the humble Arch of the Covenant. She said that by creating a portable version of the temple, the Israelites could take the spirit of the Lord with them wherever they traveled. After scrimping and saving for more than two-and-a-half years, this dear little woman came alone to the temple to receive ordinances, make covenants and be endowed with spiritual gifts. This provided the foundation for her to be able to be eternally united to her deceased husband vicariously through a worthy proxy that covenanted in behalf of her companion. She was aglow with gratitude. She buried her beloved husband in a village of a Third World country where medical intervention was not available to manage his asthma. The crowning blessings will come when she can save enough money to bring her children to be eternally united to their parents." - Sister Basso