Temples and temple worship are an important part of members’ lives in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Families and individuals participate in sacred ordinances, as well as on behalf of their ancestors.
When the COVID-19 pandemic struck the world, the First Presidency of the Church closed temples to keep workers and patrons safe and to reduce the spread of the virus. A little over two years later, almost all of the temples have been re-opened, with a majority operating at a limited capacity.
Lesen Lawry at the Adelaide Australia Temple.
Lesen Lawry at the Adelaide Australia Temple. © 2022 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.Various temples in the South Pacific are in unique situations depending on COVID-19 restrictions, construction status and more.
In the following video, and below, a few Church members who attend the temple in these areas, or those who are anxiously awaiting the construction of one, share how the temple brings blessings and happiness into their lives.
Australia
In Australia, the temples were closed during the COVID-19 pandemic but have been reopened and are currently in operation.
Benjamin Evans is a 23-year-old Latter-day Saint who lives in Perth, Australia. He is an ordinance worker at the Perth Australia Temple where he assists others in their temple worship.
He said the word that comes to mind when he thinks of the temple is peace. “The temple is somewhere that I can go that allows me to feel safe from the world,” he said.
Evans said temple work helps revitalize him through knowing he can serve the patrons at the temple and help them and himself continue on the path toward Christ.
“It’s truly a great blessing to have this beautiful place to learn more about the Saviour, to be endowed with power,” he said. “It’s a great gift we have to be able to feel this matchless spirit that is here at the temple grounds.”
Lesen Lawry lives near the Adelaide Australia Temple. During the last two years, the Adelaide temple would open and close based on COVID-19 restrictions.
In June 2021, Lawry received her endowment, a ceremony where those attending the temple make sacred promises with God, while the temple was open. Shortly after however, the temple closed again. Although she enjoyed her first experience inside the temple, she couldn’t say she loved it yet.
President Russell M. Nelson spoke about the importance of temples during the October 2021 General Conference. “If you don’t yet love to attend the temple, go more often—not less. Let the Lord, through His Spirit, teach and inspire you there. I promise you that over time, the temple will become a place of safety, solace, and revelation,” Nelson said in the talk.
Lawry was struck by this talk and made a commitment to attend the temple more regularly once it opened. “As I have done that, I can now say that I love coming to the temple! I am excited to come to the temple and do the Lord’s work here.”
Lawry said that she has felt a great peace and strength that was missing from her life when the temple was closed.
New Zealand
New Zealand residents Matthew and Maddy Krull became engaged on 25 February 2021. They were hoping to get married in the Hamilton New Zealand Temple in July of that year, as that was about three years after the temple closed for renovations. However, because the temple was not re-opened then and Maddy’s sister took the July wedding date, the Krulls decided to get married in September.
Through most of 2021 there was speculation everywhere in New Zealand about when the Hamilton Temple would reopen, but with no re-dedication date in sight, the Krulls decided to get civilly married and anxious for the temple to reopen soon.
More than six months later, the Krulls are still waiting and hoping for when they will be able to go to the temple to be sealed for time and all eternity.
“I love my wife, and I look forward to being sealed to her because of all the many fun times we have right now learning and growing together,” Matt said. “I want that not only in this life, but in the life after this as we progress to perfection. And I really want that with her.”
They are currently debating if they want to delay their sealing until the Hamilton Temple is open, or coordinate plans for their families to all fly to the Melbourne Australia Temple. Both temples have significance for the couple because Maddy received her endowment in Hamilton, and Matt received his in Melbourne.
The temple has been an important part of both Maddy and Matt’s lives. Maddy said the temple helped her feel like she had a place in the world. Matt said the things he learns in the temple are life-changing and life-directing.
Maddy said she is grateful she has had this intermediate period where they have time to work on loving, serving and forgiving each other. Maddy said she does not deal well with change, but she has used this time to help herself feel assured in her marriage with Matt so she is not as anxious to take the big step of being sealed in the temple.
While in this limbo period waiting to be sealed, Matt and Maddy are striving to strengthen their marriage to prepare for the temple. “We are working on how we love each other, how we treat each other, what we do in good times and bad, how we resolve disputes, to solidify our marriage now so when it comes to our temple sealing, we are confident in our marriage and in where we are heading.”
Together the Krulls say nightly prayers, read scriptures, attend worship services and share spiritual insights with each other. Maddy said they have tried hard to live up to the marriage portion of The Family: A Proclamation to the World, which advises husbands and wives to respect each other and work together in equal partnership.
Maddy said since she was younger, she wanted to marry someone who would love her faithfully and is so happy she found Matt. “Loving me faithfully means not only being loyal, but loving me in the way that God intended a husband to love his wife,” she said. “I’m grateful Matt does that and encourages me, but also works on himself so we will be worthy to eventually go to the temple together.”
Kiribati
Eritai Kateibwi graduated from BYU Hawaii in 2016. While there, he married his wife Tebaraoi in the Laie Hawaii Temple. They now live in Kiribati with their young daughter, Kamakakealani.
Eritai Kateibwi and his wife Tebaraoi live in Kiribati with their young daughter, Kamakakealani. April 2022
Eritai Kateibwi and his wife Tebaraoi live in Kiribati with their young daughter, Kamakakealani. April 2022© 2022 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.They are anxiously awaiting the ground-breaking and construction of the Tarawa Kiribati Temple that was announced in the October 2020 General Conference. Eritai said when the temple was first announced, he was speechless and couldn’t believe Kiribati was getting a temple.
“It was a wonderful spirit that we felt, it was just different and something so unique. It was a wonderful feeling,” he said. “There is something very special and sacred about the temple.”
Eritai said his family is preparing for “that wonderful day when we will finally have the temple built.”
To prepare, the Kateibwi’s are focusing on implementing the basic principles of the gospel into their lives: reading scriptures together, praying as a family and attending church meetings. They have also had at-home sacrament meetings during the first few months of 2022 while the country was in lockdown.
For Eritai, the temple is a constant reminder of the covenants he has made with God and he can’t wait to have a temple close so he can visit it weekly. “As humans, we need a constant reminder and having that temple standing bright there, and you see it every day and you go hopefully once a week, it will make a very big difference in our lives and help us stay on the covenant path,” he said.