During the October 2022 general conference, President Russell M. Nelson announced plans for 18 new temples—including 4 temples in the area around Mexico City! He also urged Church members to “focus on the temple in ways [they] never have before” and blessed them to “grow closer to God and Jesus Christ every day.”
When all of the temples that have been announced are completed, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will have nearly 300 temples in operation. To appreciate the significance of all this temple building, consider that in 1930, 100 years after the Church was organized, only 5 temples were operating in the entire United States! Now, less than 100 years later, 6 temples will soon be in or near Mexico City.
Inspirational Quotes to Study and Share
The next few months are a great time to review what was said during this general conference—and there is a lot to take in! One thing we noticed is that many conference talks bring up temples, covenants, or family history, even when those things may not be the focus of the talks. Talks on following the Savior, sharing testimony, or enduring difficult trials often refer to the blessings that temple and family history work can bring.
We've gathered some of the statements related to temple and family history to help your study, though we know we didn't find them all. We hope you will find something inspiring here. If you do, feel free to download and share!
- Elder Rafael E. Pino: Making Temple and Family History Work Your "Normal"
- Elder Gerrit W. Gong: Finding Our Way to "Happy and Forever"
- Elder Gary E. Stevenson: Strengthening Your Testimony through Temple and Family History Work
- Elder Joseph W. Sitati: Learning to Love by Serving in the Temple
- President Russell M. Nelson: Finding Rest and Focusing on the Temple
- Download All Button and How to Download and Share These Quotes
Elder Rafael E. Pino: Making Temple and Family History Work Your "Normal"
In his talk titled “Let Doing Good Be Our Normal,” Elder Pino highlighted four “marvelous habits” that he says should be normal for members of the Church:
- Personal and family study of the scriptures
- Personal and family prayer
- Weekly sacrament meeting attendance
- Frequent participation in temple and family history work
Turning these and other good traditions into habits is part of what we do to let God prevail in our lives. “I pray that our normality may allow us to experience that state of 'never-ending happiness' (Mosiah 2:41) that is promised to those who keep the commandments of God,” Elder Pino said, “and that, while doing so, we may be able to say, ‘And it came to pass that we lived after the manner of happiness’ (2 Nephi 5:27).”
Elder Gerrit W. Gong: Finding Our Way to "Happy and Forever"
Elder Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said that “happily ever after” isn’t just for fairy tales. As followers of Jesus Christ, we look forward to a glorious reunion with our Heavenly Father and those we love after we die.
As Elder Gong said, “True, enduring joy and eternity with those we love are the very essence of God’s plan of happiness. His lovingly prepared way can make our eternal journey happy and forever.”
He talked about how the temple helps us—and our ancestors—come closer to the Savior and to each other:
“In a remarkable way, the Lord’s prophet is drawing us closer to our Savior, including through sacred temple ordinances and covenants coming closer to us in more places. We have a profound opportunity and gift to discover new spiritual understanding, love, repentance, and forgiveness with each other and our families, in time and eternity.”
Elder Gong taught, "Happy and forever do not mean that every relationship will be happy and forever. But a thousand millennial years when Satan is bound may give us needed time and surprising ways to love, understand, and work things out as we prepare for eternity.”
We can start that preparation by following the prophet and spending more time in the temple. As Elder Gong said, “The Lord’s prophet is leading the way. Latter-day revelation continues. May we draw closer to our Savior in the holy house of the Lord, and may He draw us closer to God and each other as we knit our hearts together in Christ-given compassion, truth, and mercy in all our generations—in time and eternity, happy and forever.”
Elder Gary E. Stevenson: Strengthening Your Testimony through Temple and Family History Work
Elder Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles gave an inspiring talk about knowing what a testimony is and how to share it despite obstacles. He also talked about how to keep and grow our testimonies, including through temple work. He quoted President Russell M. Nelson, who, in a recent devotional for young adults, said:
“Nourish yourself in the words of ancient and modern prophets. Ask the Lord to teach you how to hear Him better. Spend more time in the temple and in family history work.”
Elder Joseph W. Sitati: Learning to Love by Serving in the Temple
In his conference talk, Elder Sitati discussed patterns of discipleship that enable us to become more like the Savior. Being worthy to attend the temple and attending as often as we can are two of the "holy habits" that Elder Sitati says will help us nurture a pattern of love. Attending the temple is also something families can do together, when they are able:
“Our opportunity to nurture in our souls a lasting love of God and of our neighbor starts at home with the holy habits of connecting with the Father daily in personal and family prayer in the name of His Only Begotten Son, learning together of Them through individual and family scripture study, observing the Sabbath day together, and individually holding a current temple recommend, using it together as often as we are able.”
![[There is a] direct connection between making a covenant with God in the temple and the Savior’s stunning promise: 'Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest' (Matthew 11:28).
PRESIDENT RUSSELL M. NELSON[Nurturing] in our souls a lasting love of God and of our neighbor starts at home with the holy habits of [personal and family prayer], [scripture study], observing the Sabbath day together, and individually holding a current temple recommend, using it together as often as we are able.
ELDER JOSEPH W. SITATI](https://cms-b-assets.familysearch.org/72/23/7908dfc54902bd70b0660a526f66/english-quotes6.jpg)
President Russell M. Nelson: Finding Rest and Focusing on the Temple
During the Sunday morning session, President Nelson described how members of the Church access the power of Jesus Christ through temple covenants. He said that there is a “direct connection” between the covenants we make in the temple and the Savior’s “stunning promise” of rest mentioned in Matthew 11:28–30: “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; … and ye shall find rest unto your souls” (emphasis added).
![[There is a] direct connection between making a covenant with God in the temple and the Savior’s stunning promise: 'Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest' (Matthew 11:28).
PRESIDENT RUSSELL M. NELSON](https://cms-b-assets.familysearch.org/ca/6a/3a4618df4a59a95cdfaa8931811d/english-quotes7.jpg)
President Nelson talked about the peace and confidence that come through honoring our temple covenants, and he invited his listeners to go to the temple more often:
“My plea to you this morning is to find rest from the intensity, uncertainty, and anguish of this world by overcoming the world through your covenants with God. ... Spend more time in the temple, and seek to understand how the temple teaches you to rise above this fallen world.”
In his closing remarks for the conference, President Nelson pointed out an important detail of the Savior’s visit to the Nephites, as recorded in 3 Nephi in the Book of Mormon, and explained what that detail means for us today:
“It is significant that the Savior chose to appear to the people at the temple. It is His house. It is filled with His power. Let us never lose sight of what the Lord is doing for us now. He is making His temples more accessible. He is accelerating the pace at which we are building temples. He is increasing our ability to help gather Israel. He is also making it easier for each of us to become spiritually refined. I promise that increased time in the temple will bless your life in ways nothing else can.”
President Nelson ended his talk with this farewell: “My dear brothers and sisters, may you focus on the temple in ways you never have before. I bless you to grow closer to God and Jesus Christ every day. I love you. May God be with you until we meet again.”
How to Download and Share These Statements
If you would like to share or save these inspirational quotes, click any of the images above, and then right-click (for Windows) or ctrl-click (for Mac) to save or download. From there, you can upload them to your favorite social media site or send them to a friend.
To share or save the images on a mobile device, click the image to open it, and then hold down your finger until the option menu appears so you can download or share the image.
Additionally, you can download all of the quotes at once in a zip folder using this button:
To find video, audio, and text transcripts for the full October 2022 general conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, visit ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
