March 18, 2025, 4:18pm MDT
Elder George M. Alvarado, president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, told a dedicated student at Brigham Young University on Tuesday, March 18th.
“I want you to feel heaven open for you,” he told students gathered at the I-centre in Rexburg, Idaho. “One of the most useful AIDS that will help you freely is the Temple of the Savior.”
God and his son, Jesus Christ, will appear to those who “get the temple closer,” Elder Alvarado promised.
He pointed to President Russell M. Nelson’s speech in the 2018 World Youth Prayer, where he told the youth that they were Israel’s hope.
Elder Alvarado said: “You are not the leader of tomorrow or the distant future. You, yes, you are the leader of today. …The Savior has his eyes on you.”
He said, “When you use your institutions to move forward immobilizedly to Christ, you will never go wrong. This is possible for the sacred covenant.”
Elder Alvarado testified that the connection between the disciple and covenant with the Lord Jesus Christ is a lifelong quest.
“The Lord blesses me today, and he blesses you and your descendants,” he said.
Sister Kari Le Rios Alvarado also spoke about how the temple covenant blesses their families. She told the story from her daughter Kelly. He said she struggled to pay attention while receiving her donations. Later, while helping her brother prepare to make a covenant in the temple, she felt inspired to share that the temple was all about Jesus Christ.
Citing Keri, Sister Alvarado said: “I was confident when I began to focus on Jesus Christ with all my heart during temple worship, and now I can say that the temple is the best thing I have in the world to get closer to Jesus Christ.”
Elder Alvarado warned that there are still challenges in life. He said he faced a lot of adversity in his life.
“Darkness tried to sneak up on multiple occasions as he was a young adult who built a family with Khalil,” he said. “Like all families, we all go through struggle, but my confidence lies in his power to light our lives with his grace, blessing my Savior and my eternal family.”
Elder Alvarado said that there may be people who laugh at those who learn Christ and worship in the Lord’s house, as well as friends and family.
“There is opposition to attempts to come to Christ, but I don’t seek secular sources to understand what’s missing in this world,” he said.
To face this opposition, Elder Alvarado pointed to President Nelson’s words of global prayer for young adults at the address of the May 2022 and October 2022 general conferences.
“Take care of your own testimony of Jesus Christ and His Gospel,” President Nelson taught. “Work for it. It nurtures it to grow. It nurtures the truth. Don’t contaminate it with the false philosophy of unbelieving men and women.
Elder Alvarado said:
He invited students to focus on temple covenants as the main goal of their lives. He also invited them to feel like a temple, even their own homes, apartments.
“Take the temple with you,” he said.
Speaking of perfectionism, Elder Alvarado reminded him, “God doesn’t expect you to be perfect. We will make mistakes and run short.” “But we can overcome those shortcomings due to the Savior and the covenant we were invited to make with him and the Father in Heaven.”
