Following is the text of the prayer offered by President Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor in the First Presidency, to dedicate the Barranquilla Colombia Temple on Sunday, Dec. 9.
Our Father in Heaven: We come to thee in prayer on this great occasion when we will dedicate this Barranquilla Colombia Temple unto thee and Thy beloved Son, for Thy work and Thy glory. We thank Thee for Thy many blessings.
We thank Thee for the plan Thou hast established for the eternal life of Thy children. We thank thee for Thy Only Begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. We thank Thee for His Atonement for our repented sins, His resurrection for our immortality, and His experiencing our pains and infirmities that He may succor us in those infirmities. We thank Thee for the Holy Ghost, who testifies of Thee and Thy Son and who leads us into truth.
We thank thee for the restoration of the gospel, which began with Thy appearance and Thine only Begotten Son to the Prophet Joseph Smith. We thank thee for the Book of Mormon, the second witness of Thy Son Jesus Christ. We thank thee for restoring the authority and keys of the Holy Priesthood by which we teach Thy word and perform the ordinances of salvation. We thank thee for the pioneers of faith and devotion who established Thy work in Colombia.
We thank thee for the members of Thy Church whose faithful payment of tithes has made possible the construction of this beautiful temple. We pray for the members of Thy Church who reside in this nation. We pray for Thy blessings to prosper them in every way as they are faithful to the covenants they will make in this holy temple. We pray for the children and youth that they will be drawn to this sacred temple. We pray that through the work in thy temples the ordinances and covenants of salvation and exaltation will be provided to all thy righteous children on both sides of the veil.
Please bless the leaders of this great nation of Colombia. Inspire their minds and motives as they lead. Please bless the citizens of this nation and its neighboring nations that they may enjoy freedom and be prospered in their spiritual and temporal activities.
Please bless the presidents of Thy temples who hold the keys for Thy sacred temple work. And please bless the counselors and matrons and assistant matrons and all who work under their direction as they exercise the authority of Thy holy priesthood in the sacred ordinances and covenants of Thy house. Please bless all who come within the walls of Thy holy temples that they may come in worthiness and participate with joy and understanding in these great teachings and covenants and blessings, that thy work will go forward in power to fulfill Thy purposes for all Thy children.
We give Thee thanks for Thy prophet, President Russell M. Nelson. Bless him in every way and continue to reveal to him Thy will pertaining to the advancement of Thy work among Thy children.
Now, Beloved Father in Heaven, by the authority of the holy Melchizedek Priesthood, we dedicate unto Thee this Barranquilla Colombia Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We dedicate unto Thee every part of this sacred structure and its surroundings, including the grounds and ancillary facilities and the landscaping and decorations. We dedicate all of this temple’s structural parts from its foundations to its crowning steeple. We dedicate the baptismal font, the ordinance rooms, the sealing rooms, the beautiful Celestial room, and all the other locations in this Holy House. We pray that Thy Spirit will always be present in these holy spaces to enlighten and guide and bless those who are here and what is said and done here. We pray that Thou wilt protect this Temple and its surrounding facilities from every destructive influence of any kind.
And now we renew our expressions of love and thanks to Thee as we dedicate this Temple unto Thee and thy sacred work and pray for these blessings in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.
