The Gospel Light of Truth and Love

Elder Alan R. Walker of the Quorum of the Seventy said in the Sunday afternoon session of April 2021 general conference:

I clearly remember being in a sacred room of the Salt Lake Temple where sealings of couples and of families are performed for time and for all eternity. I remember the beautiful altar of the temple and recall the bright sunlight shining through the room’s exterior window. I felt then, and have continued to feel since, the warmth, safety, and solace of the gospel light of truth and love.

Similar feelings were reaffirmed in my heart 20 years later, when I entered the temple to be sealed once again—this time as my fiancée and I were sealed for time and for all eternity. However, on this occasion, we did not need to travel thousands of miles because the Buenos Aires Argentina Temple had since been built and dedicated, and it was just a short drive from our home.

Twenty-two years after our wedding and sealing, we had the blessing of returning to the same temple, but this time with our beautiful daughter, and we were sealed as a family for time and for all eternity.

As I’ve reflected upon these very sacred moments of my life, I have been overwhelmed with profound, enduring joy. I have felt and continue to feel the love of a compassionate Father in Heaven, who knows our individual needs and our heartfelt desires.

In addressing the gathering of Israel in the last days, the Lord Jehovah said, “I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.”¹¹ I feel eternally grateful that from my young age, the law of the Lord started to be engraved deeply in my heart through sacred ordinances in His holy house. How fundamental it is to know that He is our God, that we are His people, and that whatever circumstances surround us, if we are faithful and obey the covenants we have entered into, we can be “encircled about eternally in the arms of his love.”¹²

During the women’s session of general conference in October 2019, President Nelson said, “All our efforts to minister to each other, proclaim the gospel, perfect the Saints, and redeem the dead converge in the holy temple.”¹³

Also, during the same general conference, President Nelson taught: “Of course, the crowning jewel of the Restoration is the holy temple. Its sacred ordinances and covenants are pivotal to preparing a people who are ready to welcome the Savior at His Second Coming.”¹⁴

The ongoing Restoration has been marked by the building and dedication of temples at an augmented pace. As we gather on both sides of the veil, as we make sacrifices to serve and make the temple pivotal in our lives, the Lord is truly building us—He is building His covenant people.

I testify that the gospel light of truth and love shines brightly throughout the earth today. The “marvellous work and a wonder” foretold by the prophet Isaiah¹⁶ and seen by Nephi¹⁷ is taking place at a hastened pace, even in these challenging times. As Joseph Smith prophetically declared, “The Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing … till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done.”¹⁸

Brothers and sisters, may we be willing and decide today to engage ourselves and our families in hearing heaven’s voice, even the voice of our Savior. May we make and keep covenants with God, which will secure us firmly in the path that leads back to His presence, and may we rejoice in the blessings of the glorious light and truth of His gospel. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

For Elder Walker’s complete including working links, click . . . . ‘The Gospel Light of Truth and Love’.