A Temple Worker Shares His Testimony of the Faith of the Youth
Contributed By By Marianne Holman Prescott, Church News staff writer
With an accessibility to temples like no other generation before them, the youth of the Church around the globe are going to the temple to worship in the Lord’s house.
“I not only have a testimony of the truthfulness and necessity of this work, but also of the valiant nature of the youth of the Church. This is truly a rising generation! I am so grateful to be able to serve in the Salt Lake Temple. … There is not a greater miracle occurring in the Church than the faith of the youth!” —Frank Overfelt, Salt Lake Temple worker
With an accessibility to temples like no other generation before them, the youth of the Church around the globe are going to the temple to worship in the Lord’s house. For many of those youth, it occurs on a regular basis.
Frank Overfelt, a worker in the Salt Lake Temple, shares his experience of working in the temple for the past two years:
“Little did I know what an impact this assignment would have on my life. ... I have witnessed many of the very same young people appear in the baptistry every Monday morning. There are three to four sisters who are on the doorstep of the baptistry at 5:00 a.m. On the mornings these sisters don’t show (which isn’t often), it feels like my day is incomplete. Young men and women from my own ward are often there every Monday—how gratifying it is to see them with broad smiles on their faces as they greet me by my first name on Sundays and on Mondays.
“Many of the youth, whom I met back in the summer of 2012, have progressed from juniors in high school to graduates who have received their mission calls and departed. When they receive their mission calls, they come to the baptistry with great enthusiasm, shouting their joy (reverently, of course) for their future lives as missionaries. The change in age eligibility greatly enhanced this trend, [and] … these young people come under their own power, without parental or priesthood persuasion. Of course, we love to have bishops and Young Men and Young Women presidencies bring their young people as well, some [from] far away. …
“During conference time, we also receive a lot of out-of-state and out-of-country patrons.
“Recently, [for] the last six months, a young adult sister has been coming to the baptistry with 200-plus family file cards each week to be baptized and confirmed. In a recent week, the total was 225, the previous Monday, 265. Each week, we in the baptistry gleefully work … so that we can accommodate this truly remarkable, faithful young adult.
“I not only have a testimony of the truthfulness and necessity of this work, but also of the valiant nature of the youth of the Church. This is truly a rising generation! I am so grateful to be able to serve in the Salt Lake Temple. … There is not a greater miracle occurring in the Church than the faith of the youth!”
