“As we rededicate this beautiful structure, in a real sense we also rededicate our lives,” said President Thomas S. Monson, at the rededication of the Atlanta Georgia Temple. “We pledge anew our determination to follow that Man of sorrows, the stranger of Galilee—even Jesus Christ, the Redeemer—and to walk in His footsteps.”
Twenty-eight years earlier, President Monson attended the first dedication of the Atlanta Temple with President Ezra Taft Benson and President Gordon B. Hinckley. At the rededication, he said he had “tender memories of that visit” and expressed gratitude that he could return to rededicate the renovated temple. In the two dedicatory sessions, he shared stories and remarks on the temple, reminding those present that “we have the privilege of being guests in this, the Lord’s holy house, and bringing to pass His purposes.”
The rededication took place on May 1, 2011.
Build His Kingdom
“May this temple be a beacon of righteousness in our lives,” President Monson said. “Let it be a beacon reminding us that we indeed will honor God, that we will keep His commandments, that we will revere and respect His Holy House, and that we will build up His kingdom here upon the earth.”
The responsibility to build God’s kingdom, he noted, extends beyond mortality. “I appreciate the fact that we have an inherent responsibility to those who have gone beyond the veil, and this temple and the other temples on the earth today are where that work will take place. It is our privilege to be part of this glorious plan, to attend to this important work.”
Appreciate Temple Blessings
President Monson shared the story of a man who gave all of his life’s savings in order to take his wife and children to the temple. “No sacrifice was too great,” he said. “Such an appreciation for the temple endowment and the sealing ordinances will bring members of our families closer together.”
Though we carry the burdens, problems, and daily cares of life when we enter the temple, President Monson promised that we will “leave with a new focus, a refreshed spirit, and a comforted soul, with the peace promised by the Savior filling our hearts.” In order to receive these blessings, he said, we must make time to attend the temple. “In our busy lives, where we have time for so many activities, I would hope that we would have time for Christ.”
Be True to His Trust
“I pray . . . that we will be true to the trust which is vested in us,” he said. “May [the Lord] bless all of us, that we may have the spirit of temple worship, that we may be obedient to His commandments, that we may follow carefully in the steps of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.”
Concluding with his testimony, President Monson said, “I bear witness to you . . . that the work is true,” and “that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, and that we are a part of His eternal plan and privileged to be in His holy house today.”
The text of the dedicatory prayer will be published when it becomes available.
