Global Connections Through the Olympics and the Temple

By Anne Maxson

I love the Olympics! Some of my earliest memories are of gathering with my family to watch the Olympic swimming competitions. Being from Minnesota, the movie “Miracle” about the Miracle on Ice is one of my absolute favorites.  My connection to the Olympics runs even deeper because it also played a role in my introduction to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is connected to the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City. A childhood friend took a job working at the Olympics. After he was introduced to the church, he shared it with me.

One of the many things I love about the Olympics is how it seems to bring the world together in a way few other events can. The 2024 Summer Olympics last month included over 10,000 athletes from 206 countries, representing a diverse array of cultures, backgrounds, struggles, beliefs, and histories. The Olympic Games create a unique space where our differences can fade into the background a bit, if only for a moment.

There’s something about the spirit of competition, the pursuit of excellence, and the universal love of sport that has the power to soften our differences. It’s as if, for those two weeks, the world can focus not on what divides us, but on what we share—a love for the challenge, the thrill of victory, and the resilience to keep going despite the odds. 

At the beginning of the Olympics last month, I went to the temple. I had an appointment to do initiatories. As I drove to the temple, I realized I had forgotten my family names on the printer at home. I decided that I didn’t have time to return home to pick them up prior to my appointment and decided that I would do temple names. 

The five names that I received from the temple included people from Germany, Norway, Spain, and two people from the United States. As I was looking at the list of names and countries, it dawned on me that, like the Olympics, the temple helps bring the world together. I decided to give myself a little “Olympic” temple challenge. I made the goal to attend the temple as often as I could during the Olympics and strive to do the work for people from as many countries as I could.

By the end of the two Olympic weeks, I was able to do the work for people from a number of countries. It was a fun experience to be excited to see the names and the countries during each visit to the temple during that time. 

I now keep a little list on my phone of the countries that I have been able to cover through temple work. It has been a fun way to find some additional meaning in temple work. It helps me pay a bit more attention and to wonder a bit more about the lives of the people for whom I am able to do temple work. Just as the Olympics bring the world together, doing work in the temple can help us remember that we are all part of one large family, striving to return to our heavenly homeland.