In his first address for the new semester, BYU–Idaho President Alvin F. Meredith III began his remarks by reassuring students of not only the love he and his wife, Sister Jennifer Meredith, have for them but, more importantly, the love God has for them.
“He loves you purely, profoundly, and perfectly. He loves you beyond measure and without condition. Of all truths in the grand universe, that is the primary one. God loves you,” President Meredith said during the campus devotional held in the BYU–I Center in Rexburg, Idaho, on Tuesday, May 7.
The greatest manifestation of God’s love, President Meredith said, “is that He sent His Son to earth to atone for each of us.”
In his latest general conference talk, President Russell M. Nelson invited individuals to consider other manifestations of God’s love. President Nelson made the following statements:
- “The gathering of Israel is evidence that God loves all of His children everywhere.”
- “The gospel of Abraham is further evidence that God loves all of His children everywhere. He invites all to come unto Him —'black and white, bond and free, male and female; … all are alike unto God.’”
- “The sealing power is supernal evidence of how much God loves all of His children everywhere and wants each of them to choose to return home to Him.”
The temple plays a significant role in each of those evidences, President Meredith noted. He then invited students to consider how “the temple is evidence of God’s matchless and eternal love for all of His children.”
While the physical beauty and growing number of temples across the globe can remind Latter-day Saints of God’s love, they are blessed as they focus more on what happens inside the temple.
“Know that the temple can be a place of refuge, a place to recharge, and a sacred place to feel God’s love,” President Meredith said.
Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles recently spoke of why the Lord is bringing hundreds of temples closer to the members of the Church. “One reason is that amid the turmoil and temptations of the world, He has promised to strengthen and bless His covenant Saints,” (“Temples: Houses of the Lord Dotting the Earth,” April 2024 general conference).
To those who are experiencing what President Meredith called the “d’s of the devil” — doubt, discouragement, despair, despondency — he encouraged them to go to the temple. “In the temple, we can be reminded of who we are, that we are children of a loving God. We are also taught that He has a plan of happiness for us.”
President Meredith also reminded listeners that the temple is a place where they can receive heavenly direction. “The temple has been referred to as the Lord’s university, so when you go, prepare to be taught.”
The opportunity to do work for deceased ancestors in the temple is another evidence of God’s love, President Meredith said. “Performing essential ordinances for deceased ancestors in the temple reflects the truth of God’s love being extended to all His children, regardless of when or where they lived.”
The blessings associated with temple ordinances and covenants are another evidence of God’s love. President Nelson taught: “Once you and I have made a covenant with God, our relationship with Him becomes much closer than before our covenant. Now, we are bound together. Because of our covenant with God, He will never tire in His efforts to help us, and we will never exhaust His merciful patience with us.”
Last and most importantly, the temple points individuals to Christ, who is the greatest manifestation of God’s love, President Meredith said. He invited students to look for Christ as they attend the temple. “Let Him and His Atonement be a reminder of God’s love for you.”
‘How will the Lord manifest Himself to you in the temple?’
Fourteen years ago, President and Sister Meredith moved to Hong Kong with their six children, ages 3 months to 10 years old.
After a few weeks of adjusting to new schools and activities, public transportation with multiple strollers, a few homesick children, frequently translating directions into Cantonese, and just figuring out where to buy diapers, “I was exhausted in every conceivable way,” Sister Meredith recalled. “I told my husband that I needed to be in the temple. My spirit needed oxygen, and I knew being with the Savior in the temple would strengthen me.”
Via trains and taxis, the two made the two-hour journey to the Hong Kong Temple where President Meredith waited in the lobby with their baby while Sister Meredith participated in initiatory ordinances.
“Never in my life had I listened so intently to the words of the ordinance and promised blessings. Those words came to life. The Lord truly manifested Himself to me that night in the Hong Kong Temple.”
Sister Meredith said that night she was reminded “the Lord had already blessed me with literal power to do everything He needed me to do, and He would be with me on the journey. I felt tangible renewed strength.”
She then asked students, “How will the Lord manifest Himself to you in the temple? I don’t know the answer for you specifically, but He will and He is anxious to do so. You just need to be there.”
