by Krista Ralston Oakes

In Lewis Carroll’s childhood story, Alice in Wonderland, there is a scene where Alice comes to a fork in the road and sees a Cheshire cat in a tree.

Alice asks the cat, “Which road do I take?”
He replies, “Where do you want to go?”
“I don’t know,” Alice answered.
“Then,” said the cat, “it doesn’t matter.”

As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints we know where we want to go. We understand the Plan of Salvation and its role in achieving the Lord’s work and glory, which is “to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39).
We have the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ in its fullness, and a church organization with Jesus Christ at its head.

In the April 1981 General Conference, President Spencer W. Kimball stated that the mission of the church is threefold:

“First, to proclaim the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people;

“Secondly, to perfect the Saints by preparing them to receive the ordinances of the gospel and by instruction and discipline to gain exaltation;

“Thirdly, to redeem the dead by performing vicarious ordinances of the gospel for those who have lived on the earth.” (See Ensign, May 1981, p. 5.)

This threefold mission helps all people come unto Christ. As recorded in the New Testament (see John 16: 2, 6), Jesus declares, “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you….I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

By bringing us to Christ, the threefold mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints helps us go where we want to go: safely back to the presence of our Heavenly Father. The earthly symbol of that presence, the holy temple, is the culmination of the threefold mission of the church.

Proclaim the gospel. Before beginning full-time service, missionaries receive their temple endowment. The primary duty of a missionary is to preach the gospel. Those who accept the gospel are baptized and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, beginning their first steps toward receiving the ordinances of the temple. New converts are generally eligible and encouraged to participate in temple baptisms as soon as possible, while anticipating and preparing to receive their temple endowment.

Perfect the saints. The programs of the Church are designed to teach and prepare members to receive the ordinances of the temple, and to sustain members as they strive to be faithful to covenants made in the temple. In order to enter the temple, a member must have a testimony of the restored gospel and live high standards of worthiness, as established through periodic, searching interviews with members of their bishopric and stake presidency. Callings and other Church assignments provide opportunities for members to consecrate themselves to the Lord in response to covenants made in the temple. Regular temple attendance, as encouraged by priesthood leaders, keeps temple covenants and their promised blessings in constant remembrance.

Redeem the dead. Because of the infinite love of our Heavenly Father, the temple is also a place where vicarious ordinances can be performed on behalf of deceased persons, so that all may have the opportunity to receive these great blessings. The opportunity to perform vicarious temple work for our kindred dead fulfills the prophecy of Malachi:
“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.” (Malachi 4:5-6)

President Gordon B. Hinckley responded to the Lord’s inspiration with urgency, accelerating the building of temples throughout the world. President Hinckley is the fourteenth prophet of the Restoration, all of whom have proclaimed temple building and temple attendance as a key priority for Latter-day Saints.

All gospel roads lead to the temple. Holy temples are the Lord’s dwelling places on this earth, and they are the culmination of the implementation of the three-fold mission of the Church, preparing us for our return to His Heavenly presence, where we may achieve our highest potential.

– Krista Ralston Oakes is the author of Fertile in our Faith: Infertility, Pregnancy Loss, Adoption, and Filling the Measure of our Creation (Millennial Press). She lives in Plano, Texas, with her husband, Jared, and children, Jacob and Emma.