DOWNLOADExcited for their upcoming temple trip to Brisbane, Darwin youth worked to remove rubbish at the Winnellie Show Grounds to gather travel funds. They learned from last year's similar experience, that the work required would be worth every effort to attend the temple.
Jane, one of the young people involved, said,
“Having this experience last year helped give me the enthusiasm for fundraising this year. Working like this was hard work, but it was worth it. I was extremely tired after both nights of work, but that was a good thing. I was tired and happy about it, knowing that I was getting money to go to the temple.”
Tam added, “It is so expensive to get to the temple from Darwin; we can’t go very often.”
These youth and other members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were assigned half the entire show ground, an area of approximately ten hectares.Tam enjoyed collecting the recycling cans and bottles, which provided a couple of hundred extra dollars to the temple trip travel fund.
“I loved the feeling at the end of our shift,” he said. Working hard and then going home to have a shower and get clean.”
Jane noticed that in serving the community the youth are preparing to serve in the temple.
She said, “At the show we are serving others. At the temple we volunteer to serve others who have passed.”
She, and other young women in the group talked with excitement about their plans to go to the temple.
One of the ways Jane prepares to go to the temple is by having a question to think about in order to receive personal revelation while she is there.
She recalled, “Last year, our temple trip to the Sydney temple was an amazing opportunity. Being able to perform baptisms helped us not only to feel closer to the Saviour, but also to give people who have passed on the choice to come and belong. Being in the temple gave me a sense of peace that I wouldn’t be able to find anywhere else.”
Jane added, “Being able to help prepare for this important trip, I felt that I belonged. I have a testimony that the temple is a house of God, and I am grateful for the opportunity we have to go to the temple even though we live so far away.”
DOWNLOADThere are five temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Australia, located in Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. There are 315 temples in the world, either operating, under construction or announced.
Temples are different to the faith’s meetinghouses of which there are tens of thousands. It is in meetinghouses that members and friends of the Church meet each Sunday for worship services and other religious, recreational, and social gatherings.
Latter-day Saints believe that temples are houses of the Lord where individuals go to worship and make covenants with God through sacred ordinances. They believe that temples are holy places to learn about Jesus Christ, the purpose of life and the importance of marriage and family. It is a place of peace where spiritual guidance can be received.
Learn more about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its members here.
