I am grateful to gather with you today in this
Brigham Young University devotional. Susan and I love you and have looked forward to this
occasion with great anticipation for many weeks. I am pleased to bring to you the love and
blessings of President Russell M. Nelson, President Dallin H. Oaks, President Henry
B. Eyring, and all of my associates in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. We love and pray
for you, and we appreciate your prayers for us. I do not know the exact number
of devotionals like this one that I attended during my years as a
student on the BYU campus. But I do know and am grateful for the lasting impact that
the messages I heard have had upon my life. I encourage you to take advantage of every
opportunity to receive spiritual nourishment from the faithful men and women who are
invited to speak in your campus devotionals. I pray for the companionship, help, and edifying power of the Holy Ghost for
all of us as I share my thoughts with you. Today is January 19, 2021. Almost exactly 175
years ago, on February 4, 1846, Charles Shumway ferried across the Mississippi River and started
the westward migration of Latter-day Saints from Nauvoo, Illinois. For three weeks in frigid
temperatures, wagons ferried across the river, often steering clear of large ice chunks. After
Charles C. Rich walked across the Mississippi on February 25, scores of additional
refugees crossed the river on solid ice. The winter phase of this mass exodus was
directed by President Brigham Young—the well-known Camp of Israel trek across
Iowa involving approximately 3,000 Saints. The spring phase of the exodus included three
large waves of refugees departing Nauvoo and involved more than 10,000 Saints—triple
the number in the winter departure. The fall phase of the exodus included about 700
Saints who were forced from Nauvoo at gunpoint. The winter withdrawal from Nauvoo in particular
caused unimaginable hardship for these faithful Latter-day Saints, and many sought shelter
in camps along the Mississippi River. When word reached Brigham Young at Winter
Quarters about the condition of these exiles, he immediately sent a letter across the river
to Council Point encouraging the brethren to help—reminding them of the covenant made in the
Nauvoo Temple. He counseled: “Now is the time for labor. Let the fire of the covenant which you
made in the house of the Lord burn in your hearts, like flame unquenchable.” Within days, wagons were
rolling eastward to rescue the struggling Saints. What was it that gave those early Church members
such strength? What fueled their devotion and enabled them to press forward in
overwhelmingly adverse conditions? It was the fire of the temple covenants and
ordinances that burned in their hearts. It was their commitment to “worship, and honorably hold
a name and standing” in the house of the Lord. President M. Russell Ballard explained: Sometimes we are tempted to let our
lives be governed more by convenience than by covenant. It is not always convenient
to live gospel standards and stand up for truth and testify of the Restoration. It usually is
not convenient to share the gospel with others. It isn’t always convenient to respond to a calling
in the Church, especially one that stretches our abilities. Opportunities to serve others in
meaningful ways, as we have covenanted to do, rarely come at convenient times. But there is
no spiritual power in living by convenience. The power comes as we keep our covenants. As
we look at the lives of these early Saints, we see that their covenants were
the primary force in their lives. In their extremity, these devoted disciples
were keenly aware of their dependence upon God and trusted in Him for deliverance.
And I believe they understood that sacred covenants and priesthood ordinances
received worthily and remembered continually open the heavenly channels through which
we have access to the power of godliness and all of the blessings made available
through the Savior’s Atonement. And this greater priesthood
administereth the gospel and holdeth the key of the mysteries of the
kingdom, even the key of the knowledge of God. Therefore, in the ordinances thereof,
the power of godliness is manifest. And without the ordinances thereof,
and the authority of the priesthood, the power of godliness is not
manifest unto men in the flesh. Through their faithfulness, those stalwart
Saints invited “the fire of the covenant” and “the power of godliness” into their lives.
Strengthened and enabled by that fire and power, they were blessed to trek westward
“with faith in every footstep.” Please note that the eternal importance of temple
covenants and ordinances anchored both ends of the Latter-day Saint movement west. In Nauvoo, Brigham Young labored diligently
and encouraged the people to finish the temple. He personally worked night and day with members
of the Twelve and other temple workers so that worthy Saints could receive their temple blessings
in Nauvoo before beginning their westward journey. President Young explained: Such has been the anxiety manifested by the
saints to receive the ordinances [of the Temple], and such the anxiety on our
part to administer to them, that I have given myself up entirely to the
work of the Lord in the Temple night and day, not taking more than four hours sleep, upon an
average, per day, and going home but once a week. And please remember that one of
the first things President Young did upon entering the Salt Lake Valley
was to select a site for another temple. Early members like Sarah Rich were blessed to
recognize and understand the supernal blessings available in the Lord’s holy house. She
described her experiences in Iowa in 1846: But many were the blessings we had
received in the House of the Lord which has caused us joy and comfort in the midst
of all our sorrows and enabled us to have faith in God knowing he would guide us and sustain
us in the unknown journey that lay before us, for if it had not been for the faith and knowledge
that was bestowed upon us in that temple by the influence and help of the Spirit of the Lord our
journey would have been like one taking a leap in the dark. To start out on such a journey in
the winter as it were, and in our state of poverty it would seem like walking into the jaws
of death but we had faith in our heavenly father and we put our trust in him feeling that we were
his chosen people and had embraced his gospel and instead of sorrow we felt to rejoice
that the day of our deliverance had come. My dear brothers and sisters, sacred covenants,
priesthood ordinances, the fire of the covenant, and the power of godliness are central to
understanding the breadth, depth, and reach of the migration of Latter-day Saints from Nauvoo to the
Great Salt Lake Valley. And the lessons learned in Nauvoo and along the trails as the Saints traveled
west continue to bless us to this very day. To provide a frame of reference for what I am
about to describe, I invite you to do your best to remember where you were and what you were
doing between Tuesday, November 10, and Friday, November 13, 2020. Important episodes in Church
history were occurring on those four days as the fire of the covenant and
the power of godliness were evident in miraculous ways in several
temples located in North America. On November 10, 2020, government
officials in a large jurisdiction announced that religious organizations should
suspend all public gatherings and meetings. These restrictions were intended to
help reduce the spread of COVID-19 and would be in effect for a minimum of three
weeks—and likely longer. The announcement included a three-day warning that all operations should
cease by midnight on Friday, November 13. Because the temples had been closed for a period
of time earlier in 2020, temple patrons, leaders, and workers were especially disappointed
that ordinance work again would be halted. And given that only living
ordinances were being performed by individual appointment and with reduced
capacity resulting from physical distancing and other safety protocols, scores of members
had been waiting patiently for their turn to enter the temple to make sacred covenants through
priesthood ordinances. The new restrictions would cause Church members to face yet another
heart-aching delay of uncertain duration. Temple leaders and workers in one
temple prayed earnestly for direction, counseled together, and sought inspiration
from heaven. Answers came. The decision was made to keep the temple open around
the clock on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday to accommodate as many patrons as
possible. The doors of the temple would remain open, and the lights would not be turned off
until midnight on Friday, the 13th of November. The tasks that needed to be completed seemed
overwhelming. Some patrons would have to be contacted to confirm existing appointments. Other
patrons with appointments scheduled after Friday the 13th would need to be informed about the
temple closure and offered the opportunity to reschedule. Availability of temple workers
would have to be evaluated so the extended hours of operation could be covered adequately.
Crews to clean and sanitize the temple interior would need to be arranged. So many things
to do and so little time to get them done! The work began. Phone calls were made. Emails were
sent. Text messages were delivered and answered. Volunteers were requested, and they responded
by the dozens. The temple doors opened early Wednesday morning, and the lights were
not turned off until midnight on Friday. I now want to share with you quotes from eight
individuals who were involved in these remarkable experiences. Please excuse the lengthy quotations, but only firsthand descriptions can do
justice to the events that occurred. Quote #1: “When I started calling patrons Tuesday
afternoon, . . . I completely expected to leave messages. Almost everyone answered their
phone. To me, [this was] a miracle. Almost all available time slots were filled
in less than a day and a half.” Quote #2: “Office clerks and secretaries spent
countless hours calling patrons affected by the closure to see if they would like
to reschedule their appointments. Every time I walked by their
desks, they were on the phone. When they hung up, they would have smiles on
their faces as they filled the schedule with new appointments for ordinances to be performed
throughout the night. I have never seen such dedication as these sisters worked so hard to
accommodate patrons in the work of the Lord.” Quote #3: “In every aspect of this experience,
the Lord’s hand was evident. There was miracle after miracle—miracles in scheduling, miracles in
obtaining necessary paperwork to have ordinances completed, miracles in having one available
appointment time precisely at the only time a patron was able to come. I am convinced
that we are only aware of a small portion of that which the Lord did to allow His children
the opportunity to receive temple blessings.” Quote #4: “As I arrived at the temple
on Thursday morning around 5:00 a.m., I saw ordinance workers who had served all
night long still smiling as they served. The most common theme that I heard from the
workers was that this felt like Nauvoo when the Saints needed to leave but kept coming to
the temple to receive their temple ordinances. “And just like Nauvoo, I saw sacrifices made
by people who love the Lord and who love the temple. One brother stayed at the temple day
and night, not going home for three days. His service was invaluable and needed in so many
ways. I saw sisters who serve in the office spend countless hours on the phone to reschedule the
people desirous to receive their ordinances. I saw older adults walk the halls of the
temple after receiving their endowment—with huge smiles on their faces. I saw the happy
faces of couples sealed in the house of the Lord, grateful they didn’t need to wait for the
temple to reopen. I saw missionaries come to the temple with their families, ready to be
endowed with power from on high before embarking on their missions. I saw guests who had driven
all night to attend the temple with their family. I witnessed a beautiful two-year-old
girl surrounded by parents, grandparents, and other family members as they prepared
to have her sealed to them for all eternity. I saw temple staff and ordinance workers
spend countless hours sanitizing the temple, keeping everyone safe during the pandemic. There
were ordinance workers who had served all morning who volunteered to come back and work all night. I will never forget the dedication and
kindness shown this week in the Lord’s house.” Quote #5: “What is inspiring to me
are all the ordinance workers who came in droves at all hours of the
day and night to make this happen, along with the engineers, assistant recorders,
and especially the housecleaning crew (which I believe deserves the greatest praise.
What a challenge they must have had!).” Quote #6: “One sister, a convert of
one year, received her endowment. She was so full of joy that the warmth
and love she brought was felt by everyone. She was accompanied in the temple by her bishop,
her Relief Society president, her stake president, a few other friends, and the two
sister missionaries who taught her, both of whom had since been
released from their missions. One of the very few ordinance workers
serving in the temple for this session was someone close to this sister but who did not
know of the appointment. When the sister receiving her endowment saw this ordinance worker, she
said, ‘I prayed you would be here today.’” Quote #7: “There are many challenges
and experiences we face in life and sometimes wonder if we are or ever
do ‘enough.’ Some of them are once in a lifetime that we read about or hear
that someone else has experienced. Serving in the temple during the middle of
the night, as did the Nauvoo pioneers of old, was one of those treasured once-in-a-lifetime
opportunities. Our entire shift was in awe of the light that shone in the eyes of the patrons
that came and their gratitude, and were touched by the sacrifice and the privilege it was
for us as workers to serve them in this way.” Quote #8: “I have compared my feelings toward
receiving my endowment to the early Saints who refused to just let the Nauvoo Temple close down
before they fled west. They knew and understood the importance of the sacred ordinances that took
place inside. I have felt how these pioneers felt. I knew that if I were a Saint then, I would have
stood outside of the temple, waiting to make those eternal covenants. I understood how they felt.
I understood the feeling of longing and urgency. “I got to be one of those pioneers. I not only
had the opportunity to make sacred covenants and receive sacred knowledge and blessings, but
I got to be a part of history. I am extremely grateful for the Lord and the miracles and
tender mercies He has blessed me with.” The Day of Miracles Has Not Ceased The prophet Mormon posed the
following powerful questions: Has the day of miracles ceased? Or have angels ceased to appear
unto the children of men? Or has he withheld the power of the Holy Ghost
from them? Or will he, so long as time shall last, or the earth shall stand, or there shall be
one man upon the face thereof to be saved? Behold I say unto you, Nay; for it is
by faith that miracles are wrought; and it is by faith that angels
appear and minister unto men. Occasionally I am asked by Church members
why we do not have mighty miracles today like those that occurred in the early days of
the Restoration. My answer always is the same: “We do!” The faith-filled events
in Nauvoo in February 1846 and in North America in November
2020 are stunningly similar. Perhaps such a mighty miracle occurred for the
temple secretary and the Church member who were able to schedule an appointment—in an almost
completely filled schedule—for the precise and only time that patron was able to come to the
temple. The day of miracles has not ceased. Perhaps such a mighty miracle occurred for the
recent convert who was delighted to discover in her live endowment session an ordinance worker
who was very close to her but who did not know about the appointment. “I prayed you would be
here today.” The day of miracles has not ceased. The mighty miracles in our
lives are exactly the same today as they always have been for devoted
disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ: making sacred covenants with God and
receiving worthily priesthood ordinances, the fire of those holy covenants working on and
within us, and receiving the power of godliness in our lives as we honor those covenants and
“walk in all the ordinances of the Lord.” The identical spirit that drew
Latter-day Saints to the temple in Nauvoo clearly was at work in November of
last year. And it is operating today and will continue into the future.
The day of miracles has not ceased. And I would exhort you, my beloved brethren, that
ye remember that every good gift cometh of Christ. And I would exhort you, my beloved brethren,
that ye remember that he is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and that all these gifts
of which I have spoken, which are spiritual, never will be done away, even as
long as the world shall stand. We are blessed to live and
serve in a most remarkable season of the dispensation of the fulness
of times. With all the energy of my soul, I testify that no unhallowed hand and no pandemic
can keep the Lord’s holy work from progressing. And I promise that as you honor your covenants
and strive to discern “with an eye of faith,” your spiritual vision will be magnified
and refined to help you learn that the seemingly small miracles in your life will
be the mightiest and most impactful of all. I joyfully witness the divinity and living
reality of the Eternal Father and of His Only Begotten and Beloved Son, and I do so in
the sacred name of the Lord Jesus Christ, amen.
