<![CDATA[ ]]>
<![CDATA[When I come to the temple, I think]]>
<![CDATA[of Jesus Christ, of His teachings, of His gospel.]]>
<![CDATA[And it helps me learn much more about the way He wants]]>
<![CDATA[me to be, the way He was, and the teachings that He gave us.]]>
<![CDATA[Some people are puzzled by the concept of a temple, which]]>
<![CDATA[has a very special place in Mormon life.]]>
<![CDATA[We have meetinghouses, where we go every Sunday.]]>
<![CDATA[But the temple is different. ]]>
<![CDATA[Here we don't have Sunday meetings or anything.]]>
<![CDATA[It's closed on Sundays. ]]>
<![CDATA[This place, the temple, is a very special place]]>
<![CDATA[where we perform sacred ordinances for us.]]>
<![CDATA[A temple is a place where members of our Church]]>
<![CDATA[can worship God. ]]>
<![CDATA[We pray in the temple. ]]>
<![CDATA[We make covenants with God. ]]>
<![CDATA[We promise to live the commandments]]>
<![CDATA[with a greater sense of commitment.]]>
<![CDATA[It's also a place where we perform ordinances]]>
<![CDATA[such as baptisms for our ancestors]]>
<![CDATA[that didn't receive those ordinances while they]]>
<![CDATA[were on the earth. ]]>
<![CDATA[Today we came to the temple to get married here]]>
<![CDATA[by the power and the authority of the priesthood.]]>
<![CDATA[The blessings that we receive in the temples]]>
<![CDATA[can't be found anywhere else on earth.]]>
<![CDATA[It is not a marriage just for the life, the mortal life,]]>
<![CDATA[but also for the eternity. ]]>
<![CDATA[ ]]>
<![CDATA[We know that in ancient Israel, temples were significant.]]>
<![CDATA[And temples were important at the time of Christ.]]>
<![CDATA[Christ went into the temple to preach and to teach,]]>
<![CDATA[and so He wanted temples at the center]]>
<![CDATA[of the religious community. ]]>
<![CDATA[In fact, temples came even before meetinghouses]]>
<![CDATA[in the early Latter-day Saint community.]]>
<![CDATA[It was part of the restoration of all of the things]]>
<![CDATA[that God had given His children over time.]]>
<![CDATA[I feel that the Mormon experience of the temple]]>
<![CDATA[has sort of restored that meaning to the word temple.]]>
<![CDATA[Temple was the house of God. ]]>
<![CDATA[It was where the divine and the human touched.]]>
<![CDATA[In the biblical period, the idea of a temple]]>
<![CDATA[is a special place where God's presence is always to be found.]]>
<![CDATA[1 Corinthians 15, where Paul speaks]]>
<![CDATA[about those who baptize themselves for the dead]]>
<![CDATA[and obviously takes for granted that a) there]]>
<![CDATA[were people who did so, and he has no complaint about it.]]>
<![CDATA[Now, with the Mormons, we have it again as a practice.]]>
<![CDATA[It's a beautiful thing. ]]>
<![CDATA[I could think of myself as taking part in such an act,]]>
<![CDATA[extending the blessings that have]]>
<![CDATA[come to me in and through Jesus Christ.]]>
<![CDATA[That's generous. ]]>
<![CDATA[That's beautiful. ]]>
<![CDATA[I have never attended the temple but that I]]>
<![CDATA[have left feeling inspired, encouraged, and more focused.]]>
<![CDATA[And it is in the temples where we can get respite]]>
<![CDATA[from the pressures and the activity]]>
<![CDATA[and the hustle and bustle of the things in the rest of our lives]]>
<![CDATA[and take time out to contemplate,]]>
<![CDATA[to reflect, to be instructed, and to serve.]]>
<![CDATA[I really enjoy the blessings that you receive in the temple.]]>
<![CDATA[I love to be there each time to pour out]]>
<![CDATA[my heart to my Father in Heaven. ]]>
<![CDATA[The temple has made me a better person.]]>
<![CDATA[We will always want to have a temple very close to us]]>
<![CDATA[because we know those activities that]]>
<![CDATA[go on there improve our lives. ]]>
<![CDATA[It improves our lives. ]]>
<![CDATA[In the temple here in Hong Kong, people from Mongolia,]]>
<![CDATA[people from Thailand, people from southeast Asia,]]>
<![CDATA[they can come here for receiving the blessings from the Lord.]]>
<![CDATA[It's really blessed that we have a temple in Hong Kong.]]>
<![CDATA[We are from India. ]]>
<![CDATA[This is my family: my father, my mother,]]>
<![CDATA[and these are my sisters. ]]>
<![CDATA[And I am so excited just to be here]]>
<![CDATA[in this temple, Hong Kong temple.]]>
<![CDATA[It is a big blessing for us to be here.]]>
<![CDATA[[SPEAKING HINDI] ]]>
<![CDATA[We are blessed to come to this Hong Kong temple.]]>
<![CDATA[And we feel that God Himself has invited us.]]>
<![CDATA[We feel very happy. ]]>
<![CDATA[My family, many blessings. ]]>
<![CDATA[Very happy. ]]>
<![CDATA[ ]]>
<![CDATA[God loves us. ]]>
<![CDATA[And I can feel His love here in the temple,]]>
<![CDATA[and I can understand more His blessings]]>
<![CDATA[by giving us an eternal family. ]]>
<![CDATA[ ]]>
<![CDATA[The temple is truly heaven on earth.]]>
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