The Power of Holy Places

The Church’s historic sites are sacred. God has sanctified them through the revelations and blessings He has given in those places—revelations and blessings that extend to His children throughout the world. As you minister in your assigned field of labor, the Spirit might whisper to you the same thing the Lord once told Moses: “The place whereon thou standest is holy ground” (Exodus 3:5).

Sacred places matter to the Lord. They matter so much that under His guidance, the Church goes to great lengths to preserve them and share them. Your calling as a missionary at a historic site is evidence that the Lord cares about these places and the people who visit them. He could have sent you anywhere in the world, but He has chosen you to serve at a historic site—a place that testifies of Him and the Restoration of His gospel.

Latter-day prophets set an example of reverence and love for the Church’s historic sites. When President Russell M. Nelson was President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, he received an assignment to dedicate the Priesthood Restoration Site in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania. Seven years later, as President of the Church, he said, “Of all the previous assignments I had then received, that was the most significant to me.”¹

Why would a dedicatory prayer at a historic site be so important? Consider what the following excerpt from President Nelson’s prayer teaches about a historic site’s power to invite people to come unto Christ:

“Wilt Thou bless Thy servants and all who will labor here, and bless the inquiring minds of all who yearn to know more about Thee and Thy eternal and unchanging laws and doctrine. Bless all who enter these precincts, that they may be inspired to emulate the example of Thy Son. …

“I dedicate these buildings, grounds, and groves, all to the end that faith in Thee will increase and that families may be strengthened and qualify for exaltation according to Thy great plan of happiness.

“While we now dedicate this sacred site, we humbly rededicate ourselves—our time, talents, and all with which Thou hast blessed us, to build up Thy Kingdom upon the earth and establish its righteousness. I dedicate this site to stand as a symbol of our united testimony that Thou art our God, our Eternal Father, and that this is the Church of Thy Beloved Son, whom Thou hast sent.”²

President Gordon B. Hinckley expressed similar thoughts in his dedicatory prayer for Historic Kirtland:

“May this area become a great gathering place for Thy people from over the earth. May they come here, walk about with reverence and memories, feel the power of Thy Holy Spirit, and grow in faith and testimony concerning Thy work and Thy kingdom. May it be a place of spiritual refreshment, where hearts and minds will be touched by the power of the Holy Ghost to lead them to knowledge of Thee and their Redeemer, Thy Beloved Son. May it be a place where the stranger will be touched by Thy Spirit and come to know something of the wondrous workings of Thy cause and kingdom. May men and women from over the earth experience here a sure and solemn witness of the divine calling of the Prophet Joseph Smith and of the divinity of Thy work established through him.”³

All who visit the Church’s historic sites can receive these blessings. They can be touched by the Holy Ghost, draw nearer to God the Father and His Beloved Son, and receive or strengthen their testimony of the Restoration of the gospel. In the words of Elder Jeffrey R. Holland at the dedication of the Mormon Battalion Center, these sites can be places “of historic interest and spiritual strength to all who come to visit.” They can be places where we “learn from the past and take fresh faith in the future.”⁴

As you serve faithfully at a historic site, you will come to know, more and more, that you are in a sacred place. Your feelings about the place will be like the feelings of the people who were baptized in the Waters of Mormon. That spot in the wilderness became sacred to them and beautiful to their eyes. Why? Because in that place, they “came to the knowledge of their Redeemer” (Mosiah 18:30).

Many visitors show that they value the Church’s historic sites simply by their effort to get there. You will meet families who have traveled more than a thousand miles just for the privilege of spending a few hours at your site. After they get out of the car and stretch and get a drink of water, you will have the privilege of introducing them to sacred places. Later, they will look back on their experience as time on holy ground. And as they look back, perhaps they will be inspired to look ahead—to draw nearer to the Savior and to learn more about His restored gospel.