Following is the complete text of the Apia Samoa Temple dedicatory prayer offered by President Gordon B. Hinckley. The temple was dedicated Aug. 5-6, 1983.
O God our Eternal Father, our hearts rejoice as we gather together to dedicate unto Thee this holy house. We thank Thee for Thy marvelous and generous blessings. We thank Thee for the gift of Thine Only Begotten Son, who gave His life as our Savior and our Redeemer. We thank Thee for the Restoration of the gospel through the instrumentality of Thy Prophet, Joseph Smith, Thou didst visit him with Thy Beloved Son, opening this dispensation of the fulness of times. We thank Thee for that great manifestation, and for the visits of heavenly beings which followed, restoring to earth Thy holy priesthood with all its keys and power, including the authority to be exercised in the great work of salvation for the dead.
We are grateful for these beautiful islands of Samoa, and for Thy faithful saints who dwell here. Jacob, son of Lehi, declared anciently: "Great are the promises of the Lord unto them who are upon the isles of the sea." We have witnessed the fulfillment of Thy covenant, for Thou hast not forgotten them.
We pray for Thy blessings upon those who govern these islands and the people who dwell here that principles of peace and equity may prevail and that the citizens of these islands may have cause to rejoice in the liberty that is theirs.
Long years ago Thy servants, the elders of Thy Church, came to these beautiful islands and here taught the restored gospel of Thy Son. Touched by Thy Holy Spirit, many received that great message of everlasting truth. They and their posterity have lived in faithfulness. Thy work here has grown and multiplied. Stakes of Zion have been established and Thy children have come to be recognized for their faith and their virtue. Houses of worship, scores of them, and schools of learning have been built upon these lands, for the blessing of Thy sons and daughters who live here. And now, crowning all of this, we have built this, Thy sacred house.
Father, it is beautiful to us. May it be beautiful and acceptable to Thee. May all who look upon it be constrained in their hearts to recognize it as Thy sanctuary. And may all who enter its portals feel of Thy Holy Spirit and conduct themselves as Thy favored saints.
Now, in the name of Jesus Christ, and in the authority of the Holy Priesthood in us vested, and under appointment from Thy prophet, President Spencer W. Kimball, we dedicate to Thee this, the Apia Samoa Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, including the structure with all of its components, facilities and furnishings, together with the grounds and gardens which surround it and the adjacent buildings which are ancillary to it. We ask that Thou wilt accept of these as the gift of our hands and our hearts. Wilt Thou acknowledge this temple as an offering given gladly out of the love of Thy people for Thee, the great Elohim, and Thy Beloved Son, our living Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ. May it be in very deed Thy holy house, and wilt Thou and Thy Son be pleased to visit it and sanctify it by Thy presence. We pray that Thy Holy Spirit may always be felt here. We dedicate it for the performance of those sacred ordinances which Thou in Thy mercy hast provided for the eternal blessing of Thy sons and daughters. May Thy faithful children here receive their washings and anointings and become clean before Thee. May they receive their eternal sealings, pronounced under the authority of the Holy Priesthood, that husbands and wives and children may be joined together as families in an everlasting bond of love and companionship.
Wilt Thou smile with favor upon this holy edifice and by Thy power preserve and protect it. Frustrate the designs of any who would conspire to damage it or defile it in any way. May the grounds on which it stands be ever beautiful with the grass, the flowers, the shrubs, and trees which are of Thy creation. May the structure in all of its aspects be preserved from the ravages of nature and any vandalism or defilement of man. May the building function properly in all of its facilities. May Thy people of this generation and of generations to come visit it frequently and use it for the accomplishment of Thy divine purposes remembering always while so doing that they are guests in Thy sacred house.
We invoke Thy choice blessings upon the temple president and his counselors, those who will serve now and those who will serve in years to come. We likewise invoke Thy blessings upon all who will labor here as workers and as patrons. May all feel of Thy holy presence, and ever tune their hearts to the promptings of Thy spirit.
Wilt Thou open the way for Thy people to seek out the records of their forebears that they may serve as saviors on Mount Zion in opening the prison doors of those whose progress has been stopped beyond the veil, that these may now become the beneficiaries of the sacred ordinances of Thy holy house, and go forward on the way to eternal life and exaltation in Thy presence.
Father in Heaven we remember before Thee Thy servant, President Spencer W. Kimball. We regret his absence on this great and sacred occasion and invoke Thy special blessings upon him. The people of Thy Church throughout the world love him and pray that Thou wilt extend his life according to Thy divine purposes and the fulfillment of Thy plans. We know that this is Thy work and that Thou wilt govern it according to Thy will and wisdom.
Now, Father, may this temple stand as a symbol of the faith and the integrity of Thy people, and their knowledge, divinely given, of the immortality of the soul. May there emanate from it a spirit of peace and righteousness that will reach out into the homes of Thy people that there may be love and harmony in those homes and that all evil may be kept therefrom. May even those who are not of the Church experience something of Thy divine spirit radiated from this, Thy holy house.
Dear Father, accept of our thanks for this blessing and the many others Thou hast so generously showered upon us. Look with favor upon us as Thy children and help us to walk acceptably before Thee. We honor Thee. We love Thee. We worship Thee and offer our prayer of dedication unto Thee in the name of Thy Beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
