President Thomas S. Monson on sacrificing to attend temples

President Thomas S. Monson (1927–2018) was sustained to the Quorum of Twelve Apostles in 1963. He served as a counselor in the First Presidency with Presidents Benson, Hunter, and Hinckley and then became Church president in 2008. He led the Church for almost a decade until his passing in January 2018.

"Some degree of sacrifice has ever been associated with temple building and with temple attendance. Countless are those who have labored and struggled in order to obtain for themselves and for their families the blessings which are found in the temples of God.

"Why are so many willing to give so much in order to receive the blessings of the temple? Those who understand the eternal blessings which come from the temple know that no sacrifice is too great, no price too heavy, no struggle too difficult in order to receive those blessings. There are never too many miles to travel, too many obstacles to overcome, or too much discomfort to endure. They understand that the saving ordinances received in the temple that permit us to someday return to our Heavenly Father in an eternal family relationship and to be endowed with blessings and power from on high are worth every sacrifice and every effort.

"Today most of us do not have to suffer great hardships in order to attend the temple. Eighty-five percent of the membership of the Church now live within 200 miles (320 km) of a temple, and for a great many of us, that distance is much shorter.

"If you have been to the temple for yourselves and if you live within relatively close proximity to a temple, your sacrifice could be setting aside the time in your busy lives to visit the temple regularly. There is much to be done in our temples in behalf of those who wait beyond the veil. As we do the work for them, we will know that we have accomplished what they cannot do for themselves."

- Thomas S. Monson, "The Holy Temple—a Beacon to the World," General Conference April 2011
Click here to read or listen to the full talk

President Gordon B. Hinckley and President Thomas S. Monson were both committed during their administrations to the building of temples so that Church members could more easily receive the blessings available there. President Monson points out the blessings of that tradition in this talk; with the temples spreading throughout the world, they are more and more accessible to a vast majority of Church members. The key becomes that we come to "understand the eternal blessings which come from the temple." And once we do, we recognize that "no sacrifice is too great, no price too heavy, no struggle too difficult in order to receive those blessings." Those blessings certainly apply to the ordinances we receive the first time we attend; but they also include the ongoing blessings of sharing the ordinances on behalf of the dead.

We don't have to sacrifice to get to the temple as have so many before us. President Monson instead suggests that we sacrifice our time and efforts to serve there on behalf of others, that they too might have the eternal blessings.

(Compilation and commentary by David Kenison, Orem, Utah, 2019)