A Thank You Note to Temple Workers

By Anne Maxson

Elder Kent F. Richards said the following in a General Conference address from April 2016. “Serving in the temple is a rich and powerful experience for people of all ages…As ordinance workers, in addition to receiving ordinances for your ancestors, you can also officiate in ordinances for them.”

Last year was the first year that my young son was able to attend the temple. He made a goal to attend regularly. My husband and I were supportive of his goal and did all that we could to help him be able to fulfill his goal, including many early mornings for the entire household so that he would have time to go before school.

As we went through the year, there were times when our usual time to attend was not the most convenient. We talked about changing things up for those days. My son would have nothing of it. He said, “The workers know me and always greet me by name.”

As the year wrapped up and he accomplished his goal, I felt so much gratitude for those wonderful temple workers in the baptistry who, without even knowing it, played such a part in encouraging him to accomplish his goal. I wasn’t sure how to express this gratitude, especially since I was home with our other child in the mornings while my husband went to the temple with our older son. 

Last week, my husband and I were attending the temple together. My husband pointed out a couple that had just come into the chapel. He explained that there were some of the baptistry workers who always welcomed our son so warmly. My husband hadn’t planned to attend with me that morning and, without him there, I would not have known the influence this couple had had on our family.

As it turned out, I ended up near the sister temple worker. I tapped her shoulder and explained who I was and how my husband had mentioned the role she played in our son’s temple goal. I thanked her for the kindness and excitement they expressed to him each time he came. Her eyes lit up as she talked to me about how grateful she is to see my son each time he comes to the temple.

I continued to think about what made my son so excited to see this couple. It was that they knew him and greeted him by name. That led me to think of the Savior, how He knows us, and our names. I thought of the Christlike service of those temple workers and the manner in which they greet our son as Christ would - in a way that let him know that they knew him and were so grateful to have him with them in the temple that day.

In his address, Elder Richards went on to express gratitude to the many temple workers when he said, “My brothers and sisters, you are they [which are arrayed in white], (see Revelation 7:13) —you who have received the ordinances of the temple, who have kept your covenants even by sacrifice; you who are helping your families find the blessings of temple service and who have helped others along the way. Thank you for your service. I testify that each temple is God’s holy, sacred house and that therein each of us may learn and know the powers of godliness.”

How grateful I am for the temple workers that not only provide the opportunity of being able to attend the temple but also for helping patrons feel the love and rejoicing the Savior has for us as we attend the temple, participate in sacred ordinances, and make everlasting covenants with the Lord.