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Facing the Temporary Temple Closure

Facing the Temporary Temple Closure

Last updated on: March 24, 2020 at 1:45 pm by Delisa Hargrove

Facing the Temporary Temple Closure 2020-03-24T13:45:05-10:00 Delisa Hargrove

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The temporary temple closure of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints closes temples to general temple service on Monday 3/16/2020. I’ve felt a flood of emotions as I spent the better part of the past two days worshiping in the Lord’s sacred house.

Holiness to the Lord

Thursday Before Temple Closure

I’d just finished a session with friends visiting from Texas when I saw the news that Church meetings were temporarily suspended while still parked in the temple parking lot. As I read the notice, the Holy Ghost whispered that temples would close soon as well.

I started driving somberly home. I wondered when the closure would be announced. I realized that I didn’t know its exact future, but I knew it was open THAT day! I turned around and headed back to the temple in joyful anticipation.

In an absolutely astonishing happenstance, I’d finished all of my time-consuming deadlined contract work the night before and hadn’t pick up any jobs that morning. I called my husband on the way to cancel our Costco run and let him know my plans. I didn’t know when I would finish, but my soul needed to be there as long as I could. He said he’d take care of the other incidentals.

I parked, grabbed my bag, and re-entered the temple.

“Oh, we thought you’d left,” some of my temple friends said when they saw me in the halls and locker room again. The word had already begun to spread among them so they understood why I came back.

Hours later, I finished all of the cards I had with me for endowments, initatories, and sealings and decided I’d go home. While picking the names up at the office, a friend spotted me. She’d been there for awhile, too, and planned to do one last session. She saw me in the office while walking to get a session card at the recommend desk.

Did I want to do the session with her?

Yes! Absolutely. Why not? I walked with her to get a session card. I took a name her teenage daughter prepared for the temple.

I almost always have a question when I do a session. It helps me focus and also think in different ways while viewing something I’ve seen hundreds of times. I’d done three sessions before that one and hadn’t gotten an answer to my question. My question was unusually specific and I just figured I’d get the answer at the right time.

Roxanne and I sat on the front row. Words and music engulfed me for the fourth time. Views of creation spectacularly burst onto the screen. And so did my answer. The thing I sought filled my soul and I cried unashamed, grateful to worship a Lord who knows me and speaks.

“In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.”

As we sat in the celestial room, another dear friend of my heart walked out of the sealing room. Roxy and her mother-in-law had been at the temple for awhile, too. And then another beloved friend, Rena, walked into Celestial Room. She said she knew I’d be there.

To know them and be known by them is a treasure. And to have all of our paths cross in those moments truly testified to me that our paths are directed by a Heavenly Father who loves us beyond measure. They were each a powerful reminder that Heavenly Father brings people into my life who bless and build and carry and add sparkle in their own unique and beautiful ways.

And then I drove home in the dark of the night, joyful, happy, and at peace.

I stayed up late doing some small jobs I had and recording my revelation.

Laie Hawaii Temple at night

Friday Before Temple Closure

The next morning, while still groggy, I saw the Church’s announcement that temples would close for general worship on Monday. My throat tightened and I couldn’t think of anything else besides going back.

I live close to Roxanne and texted to see if she wanted to go again. She asked her six kids what they thought about her going again and they responded, “Mom, you’ve got to get those names done!”

I had been dodging a shopping run, so Anthony and I ran to buy things to keep our creature alive. While driving past Costco, we saw it was open an hour early, and we felt strong enough to brave it. We got what we needed in record time actually.

Roxanne met me at 11:20 AM and we headed to Laie for the 1:00 PM session. I decided to drive around the east side of the island. It’s my favorite drive and the traffic’s not an obstacle at that time of the day.

As we passed Kualoa Beach Park, I glanced over while Roxanne was speaking and saw a whale breaching beyond the break! I shouted for her to look and she saw the next display, too, as it waved to us with its gigantic pectoral fin. I felt heaven waving us on to another day of victory.

We finished the 1:00 PM session and when Roxanne checked in her children, they were well and encouraging. We did initatories, another session, and sealings. Progressively more people arrived at the temple and our sealing session was quite full. As we sat there, I told Roxanne if she needed to go before my couples were finished, we could.

The Lord Provides a Way

We got to that point at almost 7:00 PM when she knew it was time. I had five couples left to be sealed. We’d had a wonderful day, but I felt a twinge of disappointment to not finish all of the names I’d brought to the temple, even though we’d accomplished a lot, primarily because I didn’t know when I would get a chance to do them again.

As I left the sealing room feeling my slight twinge of disappointment, I distinctly heard, “The Lord provides a way.” OK. I firmly put it into the Lord’s hands during the 30-second walk from the sealing room to the Celestial Room’s exit.

On the landing outside of the Celestial Room, we met Brother Ka’a’a returning to the sealing room. He is our friend Cherish’s dad. He is at the temple every day.

He asked if we finished all of our sealings. We were joyful to get so many done, but I mentioned my five last undone couples. He said he was going to the 8:00 PM session, but would take them and if he could get them done, great. If not, I said, I was taking them home undone anyway.

So, within a couple of minutes from promising me He would provide a way, the Lord took my desire and put it into the faithful hands of Brother Ka’a’a. We met on the landing according to the Lord’s timing to show me, again, that He knows the end from the beginning and is a God of large and small miracles. Soon after I arrived home, I received notification that my five couple sealings were recorded.

And my joy was full.

Go Forth From This House

Laie Hawaii temple in early morning light

These stories may seem coincidental and non-important. And to anyone but me they are non-important. To me, they are glorious gifts of God in my life. The more I recognize a Divine Hand, the more I see Deity in my life. I believe miracles are available in every life, and often at the hands of human angels.

Throughout my life, the miracles most obvious to me are associated with temple worship. In my quest to worship in all the temples in the world, I’ve seen miracles defying my expectations of the laws of nature, lives have been preserved, storms parted, schedules adjusted, help was rendered.

While the physical miracles are amazing, knowledge washing over my mind is my favorite. How is it done?! I don’t know. But I know it is because my understanding has sometimes turned on a dime in a way I never could have imagined.

The most impactful miracle is the turning of a tumultuous and chaotic soul into a new creature. I found meaning in Jesus Christ’s atonement while worshipping in the temple. I learned how to apply His grace while worshipping in the temple. And even though I’m a new creature, I’m still evolving and reaching and seeking.

I heard these words from the dedicatory prayer of the Kirtland Temple in prayers in the Laie Temple on Thursday and Friday.

And we ask thee, Holy Father, that thy servants may go forth from this house armed with thy power, and that thy name may be upon them, and thy glory be round about them, and thine angels have charge over them;

Here’s the two following verses.

And from this place they may bear exceedingly great and glorious tidings, in truth, unto the ends of the earth, that they may know that this is thy work, and that thou hast put forth thy hand, to fulfil that which thou hast spoken by the mouths of the prophets, concerning the last days.

We ask thee, Holy Father, to establish the people that shall worship, and honorably hold a name and standing in this thy house, to all generations and for eternity;

This is another small witness of the glorious tidings I’ve seen and experienced. I know this is His work. I know that He will fulfill all of His words concerning the last days!

In the strength of His arm and wrapped in His love, we can do all things He has commanded—to all generations and for eternity.

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