In a new video released by Church News, Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles spoke about the current challenges of temple worship and temple construction as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, despite the fact that dedicated temples around the world spent the better part of the year closed or in various stages of reopening, Elder Bednar emphasized that the construction of temples continues to move forward.
“Now, I want to say this as precisely as I can,” Elder Bednar said. “Obviously, there were construction disruptions because of the pandemic. But relatively few of those temples are behind schedule, and I find that to be just absolutely miraculous—that all over the world with all of the varied construction circumstances that we’re in, that the construction of the temples has moved forward in such a remarkable way.”
And temple worship? It has continued in our hearts. Elder Bednar said that many people have even gone to the parking lots of temples to sit and just be close to the temple.
“So part of the question is, no, we can’t be in the temple, but is the temple in us?” Elder Bednar said. “Are the ordinances and the covenants in us? And to reflect on, remember, and cherish those ordinances and those covenants. I think we’ve been compelled to appreciate them in a way we may not have otherwise appreciated them.”