“The temple will provide direction for you and your family in a world filled with chaos. It is an eternal guidepost which will help you from getting lost in the “mist of darkness.” It is the house of the Lord. It is a place where covenants are made, and eternal ordinances are performed” – Gary E Stevenson
When I read this talk, I was still in high school. I knew the temple in India was a far shot. So, I replaced the word “temple” with “church”. I said to myself, I am never lost as long as I can see the church. Little did my younger self know that I’d one day be looking at a temple here in India. God replaced the “church” with a “temple”. The very chapel where I attended sacrament meetings was now going to be the walls and halls of a holy temple.
My joy knew no bounds upon learning about the temple announcement. I remember receiving an email from one of my companions (Sister Badde) who was still serving her mission, recollecting our little conversation about how I intended to relocate to any part of India when a temple would be announced in the future. She said the Lord had heard my prayers. A temple was announced in the city I live in, the place I was born, the place I call home! I know God is in the details of our lives.
This temple is a dream and a magnificent blessing to us, the people of India. It is uniquely special to me, because it was here that I last saw my father alive before leaving on my mission. The exact same spot where I bid farewell to him is where I stood a few years later holding a shovel to turn the soil at the ground-breaking of the Bengaluru India Temple.
My life revolves around the promise made in Moroni 7:41, “Behold I say unto you that ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection to be raised unto life eternal”. I am forever grateful for the matchless sacrifice of Jesus Christ, without which we would never be reunited with our families. When we lose our loved ones, all of us live with the hope of being able to see them once again. We long to listen to their voices just one more time and to see them smile again. Temples enable us to be knit together here and forever.
My husband and I experienced unexplainable peace and calmness at the ground-breaking. Our hearts were filled with deep gratitude to all the missionaries who served in India, for the sacrifices their families have made, and especially for the hard work of all the pioneers and the current members of India.
The map shows that we live only 20 minutes away from the temple. I am humbled to be blessed in such great measure. We are never lost when we can see a temple.