January 29, 2014

This past week has been nice. The best thing is that the Oakland temple opened this week from two weeks of renovations. They have been doing many interior updates recently. 
I began working on the Wednesday day shift as an ordinance worker because Trevor wanted to serve with me in the Temple. He served with me last summer, and both of us has been trained in all the ordinances in the Temple except those that we are not authorized to perform. I felt so happy to finally get back into the work at the Temple. I was asked to baptize about ten people as the first thing. These people were the relatives of a sister. I have not baptized someone in a long time, so I needed extra instruction to perform them. Trevor stood as a witness, and he confirmed the people as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, giving them the gift of the Holy Ghost. 
One thing that taught me the reality of the people behind the names was a special experience. I served as a witness in the sealing rooms, and the sealer referred to the people as names. This is a common mistake. I always heard of a Ken Hicken in the records of the Temple as an ordinance worker, but I never seen him. Ever since I began working as an ordinance worker a couple years ago, I never knew if he existed, thinking that the name may be an outdated record; however, near the end of the day shift, someone asked me whether I knew Ken Hicken, telling me that he works the evening shift. I asked around for him. I did not see him until we were just about to leave. He asked me if I heard about the bad news. We had no idea what he was talking about, so we must have been it. We found out how were related. I said we come from the heritage of Patriarch Thomas Hicken, and he said that comes from the lineage of Orson, the brother of Patriarch Thomas Hicken. I can home from the temple telling my father about this special experience, and he said that I should have said that I came from John Robert's line. John Robert is the son of Patriarch Thomas Hicken. I testify that there is a resurrection of all men because Christ is the Savior of man, for he suffered death. Since he was half mortal, he rose from death with his Godly attribute of eternal life, obtaining his immortal soul. The people, who have died, which people have performed ordinances for, will most likely visit you with the great family joy that I felt meeting Ken Hicken. 
I was able to jump right into serving in the initiatory after baptisms for the dead that I performed. I have not participated in administering the initiatory ordinances for a many months, but I trusted a blessing that the temple president gave me, when I was first ordained that I will not have problems memorizing the words of the ordinance. It was so joyous for me to get to work again. I definitely felt the spirit and the love of God, serving in the initiatory. The words of the ordinance speak of great blessings. Communing in the temple as a worker with the patrons and the fellow volunteers is bliss, for the ordinances, covenants, and communions is truly of God unto the salvation of souls by their faith in Jesus, the Christ. 
I have expressed before that the Oakland temple is in need of Temple worthy volunteers. I have not heard the excuses of the many people, who are capable for this service, but I testify that all things required of man of God is not impossible for them to do. I invite all who read this and are worthy of Temple service to go to the temple, and see if your service is needed. If it is, make your available for this service, for the Gospel and the establishment of Zion is dependent on the faith of man. These verses from Joseph Smith - History are true. I quote from the first chapter. 

"36 After telling me these things, he [Moroni, the son of Mormon, as resurrected being in an Earthly visitation of Joseph Smith] commenced quoting the prophecies of the Old Testament. He first quoted part of the third chapter of Malachi; and he quoted also the fourth or last chapter of the same prophecy, though with a little variation from the way it reads in our Bibles. Instead of quoting the first verse as it reads in our books, he quoted it thus:
37 For behold, the day cometh that shall burn as an oven, and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly shall burn as stubble; for they that come shall burn them, saith the Lord of Hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
38 And again, he quoted the fifth verse thus: 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.
39 He also quoted the next verse differently: 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."

I testify that only by the humility and faith of man can God "plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers, and the heart of the children [can] turn to their fathers. If it [is] not so, the whole earth [will] be utterly wasted at his coming." The Plan of Salvation requires our faith for the work of God to be achieved. "The whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming," if men do not receive the spirit of Elijah. I further testify by the witness of the Holy Ghost that Elijah and many other prophets came to the Prophet Joseph Smith as resurrected beings in visitation restoring the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven to Earth as the dispensation of the fulness of times in these Latter-day Saints compensed. You can read of this account in Doctrine and Covenants section 110.