Chris' talk

I only got mom's talk translated. I will work on mine for next week.

A very good day to you all, I am Sister Norman and I am working with my husband as temple missionaries in Cochabamba. We arrived here in Dec. of 2011, very late at night. The city was dark and it was difficult to see much of the city. But when we came up the street Melchor Urquidi, the temple appeard before us out of nowhere. The building was larger than I was expecting and the Angle Moroni was shinning in contrast to the dark sky.

The next day was Sunday, and very early in the morning, President Crayk , invited us to walk through the temple. (He is the first person that I have known that has his own key to a temple.) For a half hour, we along with Pres. Crayk and his wife, walked from room to room in the house of the Lord. The temple was very quiet, no one else was inside. This was a very spiritual experience for me to reverently walk through this beautiful and sacred building. First was the baptistery, in this room there is a baptismal font resting on the backs of 12 oxen, symbolizing the 12 tribes of Israel. There is a similar font in every temple of the church of Jesus Christ, because in this font we do baptisms for our ancestors and other that have died. The font was full of water and ready for the faithful members who would come in the next few days. Later we went up to the second floor and saw the offices and the dressing rooms. We entered a selling room with mirrors on each side. In these sacred rooms, couples are sealed as husband and wife and when they stand in front of the temple mirrors they are reflected forward and backward and their images seemed to go on for eternity. Elder Gong of the Seventy has explained that, “Temple mirrors of eternity remind us that each human being has “divine nature and destiny”; that “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”

Now, we have served as temple workers for 2 months. This has been a marvelous experience. For almost 5 years we were temple workers in the Salt Lake and Manti temples. It has been our privilege to help many patrons that have come to receive their endowments, be married and be sealed. It is always an occasion with many feelings of happiness and rejoicing. “Every temple is a house of the God, fulfills the same functions with the same blessings and ordinances.” President Monson has said. One Saturday afternoon I was with 2 young girls, 11 and 16 years old. They were dressed in white and were waiting to go upstairs to a sealing room and be sealed to their parents. There is a video about sealings that we show to all of the children that come to be sealed. As we started watching this video the older daughter could not stop her tears and after a few minutes the three of us had tears running down our cheeks. It was my privilege to be present for that sealing. There were members from their ward and other friends and relatives. After the ordinance was over, the 2 daughters received big hugs from their father and mother. The Spirit was present and it was very emotional and beautiful.

Every week members of the church have come to the temple in Cochabamba. They have come by bus and car. Sometimes there are 40, 80, 100 or more. They come from Argentina, Peru, Chile, and different parts of Bolivia, like La Paz, Tarija, Santa Cruz, Oruro, and Sucre. They make great sacrifices of time and money to come to the temple. The mother of a family from Chile, told my husband that every year they come with their children to the temple, coming to the temple is the only vacation that they have ever known. President Monson has asked, “Why are so many willing to give so much in order to receive the blessings of the temple? Those who understand the eternal blessings which come from the temple know that no sacrifice is too great, no price too heavy, no struggle too difficult in order to receive those blessings. There are never too many miles to travel, too many obstacles to overcome, or too much discomfort to endure. They understand that the saving ordinances received in the temple that permit us to someday return to our Heavenly Father in an eternal family relationship and to be endowed with blessings and power from on high are worth every sacrifice and every effort.”President Monson continues, “If you have been to the temple for yourselves and if you live within relatively close proximity to a temple, your sacrifice could be setting aside the time in your busy lives to visit the temple regularly. There is much to be done in our temples in behalf of those who wait beyond the veil.” “If you have not yet been to the temple or if you have been but currently do not qualify for a recommend, there is no more important goal for you to work toward than being worthy to go to the temple.”

Our Father in Heaven desires to bless us and in truth bless his sons and daughters in every generation. It is my testimony that God lives and temple work is evidence of His love for His children and that salvation is universal. I repeat the words of President Monson: “My beloved brothers and sisters, may we make whatever sacrifices are necessary to attend the temple and to have the spirit of the temple in our hearts and in our homes.” In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.