Quentin L. Cook on the blessings and duties of temple service

Elder Quentin L. Cook (b. 1940) was called as a Seventy in 1996, then as a member of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles in 2007.

"Despite the lack of righteousness in the world today, we live in a sacred, holy time. Prophets, with loving and longing hearts, have described our day for centuries. (See Isaiah 2:2.)

"The Prophet Joseph Smith, citing both Obadiah (see Obadiah 1:21) in the Old Testament and 1 Peter (see 1 Peter 4:6) in the New Testament, acknowledged the great purpose of God in providing baptism for the dead and allowing us to be saviors on Mount Zion. (See Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith (2007), 409.)

"The Lord has prospered our people and provided the resources and prophetic guidance so we can be valiant in attending to our temple responsibilities for both the living and the dead.

"Because of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, we understand the purpose of life, the Father’s plan of salvation for His children, the Savior’s redemptive sacrifice, and the central role of families in the organization of heaven. (See Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Wilford Woodruff (2004), 177, 192–93.)

"The combination of increased numbers of temples and advanced technology to fulfill our sacred family history responsibilities for our ancestors makes this the most blessed time in all history. I rejoice in the extraordinary faithfulness of our youth in indexing and finding their ancestors and then doing the baptism and confirmation work in the temple. You are literally among the prophesied saviors on Mount Zion."

- Quentin L. Cook, "See Yourself in the Temple," General Conference, April 2016, Sunday morning session
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I love the opening sentence of this excerpt.  "Despite the lack of righteousness in the world today, we live in a sacred, holy time." What a wonderful concept! The world is complicated, and evil abounds in so many ways; but yet, it's a time and era of earth's history that is truly sacred—filled with blessings, opportunities, miracles, and righteousness. Elder Cook teaches that part of the holiness of our time focuses on the ability and privilege we have to be "saviors on Mount Zion" through the work of holy temples.

If this is truly "the most blessed time in all history" because of the proximity of temples and the advanced technology to help prepare the work to be done in the temples, then how great is our duty to take advantage of those temples and that technology in order to do our part in the work! It's up to us to choose to claim the blessings offered to "saviors on Mount Zion."