By Elder Joaquim Moreira, Portugal
Area Seventy
Area Seventy
Recently our daughter Ruth began her mission in the São Paulo South Mission. Before
she went to Brazil, we went as a family to the Madrid temple so that she could receive
her endowment ordinances. We had an experience that united our whole family.
In preparation for our temple trip, we gathered the family with the main purpose of
organizing the names of our ancestors in order to perform the salvation ordinances in
their behalf.
Through this experience we lived some unique family moments. We felt a very strong
love for each one of them and the desire to be together with them one day in eternity,
sharing with each other the experiences we had on this earth.
Temple ordinances are a sacred and formal act performed by priesthood authority and
are essential to our exaltation. Our Heavenly Father never forgets His children,
remembering equally the ones that are still in this life and the ones that have passed away.
Through this experience we confirmed that “We are His children. He loves us. He wants
to communicate with us, and we can communicate with Him through sincere prayer.”
We also felt the fulfilling of the scripture, 'Therefore, in the ordinances thereof, the
power of godliness is manifest.'
In this last dispensation, great are the expectations regarding the establishment of Zion.
Enjoying the blessings and the power of the priesthood is an essential step for these
important events.
The blessings pertaining to the priesthood that benefit all humanity in this dispensation
include:
The restoration of the gospel
The true knowledge of God, our Eternal Father
The importance of understanding moral agency in our lives
The restoration of the gospel
The true knowledge of God, our Eternal Father
The importance of understanding moral agency in our lives
In order for all of His children to obtain this knowledge, the Savior has said:
“Behold, I will hasten my work in its time.”
For us to hasten His work, it is crucial to perform the ordinances of salvation here on
earth. It is through sacred ordinances, such as baptism and confirmation, that we learn
about God´s power and love and thus feel His influence in our lives.
The priesthood power only can be seen in action, “Behold, I will reveal unto you the
Priesthood, by the hand of Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful
day of the Lord. And he shall plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the
fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers. If it were not so, the whole
earth would be utterly wasted at his coming.”
Included in the fulfillment of this promise of Elijah the prophet, we have the
appearance of the Book of Mormon, which mentions in its cover page:
“Which is to show unto the remnant of the house of Israel what great things the Lord
Hath done for their fathers; (...) and that they may know (...) that they are not
cast off forever.”
Because of these promises, I have studied all the great things the Lord has done unto
Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, our fathers, so that I could better
understand the present time and act in the work of salvation of both the living, and the
dead. Thus my heart developed a great desire to participate in missionary work, and in
the rescuing and laboring for the performance of the salvation ordinances in behalf of
my ancestors.
I have a vivid remembrance of the day when I was baptized and confirmed a member of
the Church. And the first action taken by me and my brother was to do our family´s
genealogy. As we discovered their accomplishments and their sacrifices, the love we felt
for each one of them was something unforgettable. The faith that led us to visit civil
registry offices and acquire new data increased our testimonies and faith in Jesus Christ
and created a sense of eternal family unity.
I am eternally grateful to know that a 14-year-old Joseph Smith decided to ask God the
Eternal Father “... which of all the sects was right.” Thus I have been able to enjoy the
blessings and power of the Priesthood in my life and in my family´s life.