October 2025

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the means established by Heavenly Father to access covenants that enable us to return home.

Elder Ricardo P. Giménez

President Nelson

There are so many tributes to President Nelson. He has had an impact on my life, and from the number of tributes to him, on the lives of many, many others. What a great example he was to me of a fully committed and intentional desiciple of Jesus Christ, full of wisdom and love. 

I know that each of you have felt the impact of this great prophet of the Lord, and I suspect that each of you have your own special remembrances of him that help you keep his teachings close to your heart, and we don't want to detract from that spirit that you feel, but thought that we might add some reminders of his close association with his beloved temples. So, in memoriam, and in gratitude to the Savior for His continued guidance of His divinely gifted leaders here is some of what he taught:

"The late President Russell M. Nelson taught in 2018 that the gathering of Israel on both sides of the veil “is the most important thing taking place on earth today. Nothing else compares in magnitude, nothing else compares in importance, nothing else compares in majesty” (see “Hope of Israel,” Worldwide Youth Devotional, June 3, 2018). Temples — past, present and future — are at the heart of that gathering." (https://www.thechurchnews.com/temples/2025/10/01/first-100-dedicated-temples-church-25-years-anniversary/  - accessed on 3 Oct 2025)

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We Are the Lord's Agents

It's been a while since 2017. That year at RootsTech, Elder Cook and Elder Renlund talked about Family History. They taught leaders and councils their important role as agents in the work of salvation, and that was before President Nelson's first address to the church as the new prophet in January of 2018. His announcement for his new presidency bgan with "We are going to start with the end in mind." I remember that clearly ... he was talking about his focus on temples, and wow, what a focus it was. He wanted all of us to be those agents!

During his seven years as president of the chruch, he announced about 54% of the temples currently operating, under construction or renovation, or announced. That's not all of course, he was instrumental in new processes like Famly Name Assist and Ordinance Preparation, for example, but those temple announcements he made were especially memorable. I will miss his gentle enthusiasm for the work of the temple. 

As I have been remembering President Nelson, I have been visiting lots of sites recently that list his contributions, but I think one of the most extensive listings is on the Church News site. I was looking for a citation for the "end in mind" quote and found this at the top, then kept scrolling to find current stories, then literally scores of statistics about things that have happened over the last seven years. I found it really interesting, so I can recommend it to anyone who's looking for sources for a talk, but be prepared for a lot of scrolling!

He did truly build a framework for us to be the Lord's agents. Here is that announcement from RootsTech 2017:

Also, remember these? 

And according to the church website,  this is still part of the plan :  TFH Leader in the ward or branch directing the work of TFH counsultants, in council with EQ and RS presidents and others, working with them and the ward council to create and follow a TFH Plan, the goals of which are coordinated in a TFH Coordination Meeting.

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Ordinance Preparation

September 24, 2025 has come and gone and we have started with the new Ordinance Preparation. How is it going so far? 

We posted this last month, but thought we should include it in this month's editon, too.

It is a change from the process that we are used to when we prepare a temple patron for a living ordinance. Instead of the temple office sisters gathering the necessary information, it will be the priesthood leaders' responsibility now. The priesthood leader and the patron will work together to make sure that all of the information for the ordinance is correct. The patron will also be able now to make his or her own appointment in the new system. It looks like most of the work will land on the bishops. Temple office staff and recorders will continue to provide support.

Take a look at the video below to get an idea of how the new guided process will work. You will probably be interested in discovering ways that you can assist, too.

We know that the Area Seventies have the assignment to provide training to the wards and stakes, so this is just another heads-up.

The documentation is also available here when you want to take a closer look!

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The Abrahamic Covenant

The principles of the Abrahamic Covenant are taught in the temple. I ran across this article by BYU Professor of Religion Dr. Kerry Muhlestein from about 4 years ago, and I wanted to share it because it helped me to think about the the blessings of the temple. It too is related to President Nelson, having been written in response to his invitation in the October 2020 General Conference : “As you study your scriptures during the next six months, I encourage you to make a list of all that the Lord has promised He will do for covenant Israel. I think you will be astounded! Ponder these promises. Talk about them with your family and friends. Then live and watch for these promises to be fulfilled in your own life.”. 

The full article is a good read, and I hope that you will consider it for a place in your study schedule, but in any case, here is the conclusion:

To summarize, as inheritors of the Abrahamic covenant, we have access to the same blessings promised to Sarah and Abraham. We will find these blessings expressed more fully in our lives when we know what they are. Further, we will more easily recognize them in the scriptures, and thus be able to better study them there and ponder them as President Nelson has asked. Thus, a quick outline of the things we have discussed may be helpful:

• God wants a higher and closer relationship with us.

• We begin that relationship by entering into a formal covenant that is administered by priesthood power.

• That covenant changes our nature, which allows us to have the closer relationship with God that He desires.

• That closer relationship also makes a higher bond of love and mercy available to us.

• All of this makes it possible for us to receive other blessings. These blessings include:

  • A promised land in which we can prosper

  • Prosperity and abundance in many forms

  • Divine protection of us in our land and including our prosperity

  • Posterity

• When we and our posterity have been able to experience all these blessings to the fullest, our nature will be changed by the atoning power of Christ until we are exalted. At that point, as godly beings, we will be able to finally have the closest of relationships with our Father.

Of course, this is a simplified and succinct discussion of the blessings promised to Israel. The blessings are so rich and beautiful that we can spend the rest of our lives trying to explore them and never finish. President Nelson’s talks are a good place to expand that study, and the greatest place to come to better understand those blessings is in the scriptures. My writings and those of others are only aimed at helping you in your quest to find these blessings in the scriptures, and thus fulfill prophetic counsel.

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RootsTech 2026

I know it seems early, but registration for RootsTech is now open! (click below)

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