Good morning, brothers and sisters and friends. Thank you for joining us to mark an important milestone in the renovation of the historic Salt Lake Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Placing the angel Moroni statue at the top of the east central tower of the temple is a significant step in this historic project.

I'm joined by Elder Larry Wilson,

emeritus General Authority and descendant of Brigham Young; Brother Mark Woodruff, descendant of Wilford Woodruff; and Sister Emily Ott, Church Historic Sites Curator.

We gather today under the direction of the First Presidency as disciples who love the Lord, His holy house, and what it represents. We also are accompanied by many of the workers, engineers, and architects who labored diligently each day on this construction site. Thank you for being here.

The temple renovation is a labor of love and devotion that contributes to the ongoing Restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ,

and honors the heritage of the pioneers who settled in the Salt Lake Valley and the people who have come to worship and serve here from all over the world.

Emily, as we get ready to place the angel Moroni once again atop this newly strengthened temple,

could you briefly tell us something about the history and symbolism of this unique statue?

Thank you, Bishop Causse. The Nauvoo Illinois Temple, which was constructed before the early Saints journeyed west to the Salt Lake Valley, had a weather vane featuring a horizontal flying angel holding a trumpet to symbolize that the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ will sound to all the world.

Original plans for the Salt Lake Temple called for a similar weathervane.

As the Salt Lake Temple neared completion, Church leaders decided instead to place a statue featuring a vertical standing angel with the trumpet in hand atop the capstone, as statues were fashionable for prominent buildings at the time.

Wilford Woodruff commissioned Cyrus Dallin,

a nationally renowned artist from Springville, Utah, to create this statue for the Salt Lake Temple. On April 2, 1892,

Marriner Merrill, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, saw the completed statue and thought that it should be called Moroni.

By April 6, when the statue was placed atop the Salt Lake Temple, Moroni had become the statue's accepted name.

Dallin stated that sculpting the angel, quote, “brought me nearer to God than any thing I ever did.

It seemed to me that I came to know what it means to commune with angels from heaven.” Though not a member of the Church, Dallin recognized that God speaks to His children.

The angel atop the temple reminds us that the heavens are open, and we can return to Him.

Thank you so much, Emily.

There is still much work to be accomplished in renovating the temple.

This placement of the angel Moroni is one of the many milestones over the next few years that will bring us closer to rededicating the Lord's house and resuming its sacred central purpose,

serving as a place to make holy promises or covenants with our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, and to unite families for eternity.

The Salt Lake Temple shares this mission with hundreds of temples that dot the earth today, with dozens more under renovation or construction throughout the world.

An important part of this project has been to strengthen the foundation of the temple. President Russell M. Nelson spoke to the world about the need to fortify our spiritual foundations in 2021, when he reminded us of the sacred use of the house of the Lord and said, I quote, “The temple lies at the center of strengthening our faith and spiritual fortitude because the Savior and His doctrine are the very heart of the temple.

Everything taught in the temple, through instruction and through the Spirit, increases our understanding of Jesus Christ.” Close quote.

Brigham Young, the second President of the Church, played an important role in supervising the original design and construction of the Salt Lake Temple. Succeeding John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, the fourth President of the Church,

oversaw the completion of the construction and conducted the first dedication of the temple. It was on April 6, 1893, 131 years ago.

Both Presidents of the Church, working together, were instrumental in fulfilling Joseph Smith's direction to record and formalize the temple endowment ceremony,

making it possible for more of God's children to receive the saving and exalting ordinances only provided inside the temple. Elder Wilson,

with this work of your ancestor Brigham Young in mind, especially his work on getting a written, uniform record of temple ceremonies, can you help us understand how the temple connects us to God?

Temple covenants are central to our faith because they connect us eternally to God and to each other.

God promises great blessings to those who make and keep temple covenants.

In the temple, we make sacred covenants that include the promise of eternal life in the kingdom of God, which is the greatest of all the gifts of God. Temple ordinances and covenants have always been part of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

They help us focus on the Savior, His Atonement, and our commitment to follow Him.

President Russell M. Nelson explained that, quote, “Making a covenant with God changes our relationship with Him forever.

It blesses us with an extra measure of love and mercy.

It affects who we are, and how God will help us become what we can become.” Close quote. Joseph Smith first administered the endowment ceremony on May 3, 1842, in his brick store in Nauvoo while the Nauvoo Temple was under construction.

After completing the first endowment ceremonies, Joseph Smith instructed Brigham Young, saying, “This is not arranged right, but we have done the best we could under the circumstances in which we are faced,

and I wish you to take this matter in hand and organize and systematize all these ceremonies.” Close quote. With this charge in mind,

upon arriving in the Salt Lake Valley, before he laid out a single field or home, President Brigham Young selected the location for the Salt Lake Temple, then organized the city around it,

establishing the temple as the center of their life and worship. By orienting the city and daily life around the house of the Lord,

Brigham Young established a legacy that we carry forth today as we center our lives on the Savior and the covenants we make in His holy house.

As Brigham Young focused the Latter- day Saints on the meaning and purpose of the temple,

he worked with fellow Church leaders to organize the work.

He called Wilford Woodruff to be the first temple president in the Church. Together, they organized the work of temple covenants in Saint George, Utah.

Brigham Young's action in following Joseph Smith's instruction to organize the temple ceremonies is an example of how revelation so often works—its line upon line, and precept upon precept, a continually unfolding process.

After Brigham Young's death, Wilford Woodruff continued this charge from Joseph Smith. Thank you. Elder Wilson. Brother Woodruff, could you share with us how your ancestor,

President Wilford Woodruff,

continued the vision of temple work started by Joseph Smith and by Brigham Young.

Temple work and the Salt Lake Temple in particular had special significance for President Wilford Woodruff.

He first saw the temple in a detailed vision before the Saints reached the Salt Lake Valley. He was present when President Brigham Young was inspired to choose the temple site, and he dedicated the temple on April 6, 1893.

Affirming the Church’s belief in continuing revelation as related to temple work, President Woodruff declared in 1894, quote, “I want to say, as the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, that we should now go on and progress. We have not gotten through with revelation. We have not gotten through with the work of God.

President Brigham Young, who followed President Joseph Smith, led us here. He organized these temples and carried out the purposes of his calling and office. He did not receive all the revelations that belong to this work. Neither did President Taylor, nor has Wilford Woodruff.

There will be no end to this work until it is perfected.” Close quote.

President Woodruff did all he could to continue the vision of temple work started by Joseph Smith and Brigham Young.

While President Woodruff knew

the work would continue to be perfected over time, he also knew that families are central to God’s plan for His children and needed to be connected for eternity through sealing ordinances that take place in the temple.

After the dedication of the Salt Lake Temple, President Woodruff said, quote, ’We want the Latter_day Saints from this time to trace their genealogies as far as they can and to be sealed to their fathers and mothers, have children sealed to their parents, and run this chain through as far as you can get it.” Close quote.

He helped establish the Genealogical Society of Utah to gather and record the names of ancestors. We have incredible resources at our fingertips today to continue gathering and organizing the names of our ancestors, to unite our families eternally.

President Woodruff said, “The glory of the whole matter is that when we get through,

we are going to have our families with us in the morning of the Resurrection, in the family organization of the celestial world, to dwell forever and forever.” Thank you so much, Brother Woodruff.

We thank each of you for your remarks, to honor those who helped make the blessings of the temple available to all.

We also share our deep appreciation for the hundreds of skilled workers, engineers, and architects who labored diligently each day to make more secure this house of the Lord. Now we will watch as the talented crew restores the angel Moroni to the top of the capstone of the Salt Lake Temple.

Give the signal.