• Following is the text of the prayer President Thomas S. Monson offered in dedicating the Phoenix Arizona Temple on Sunday, Nov. 16, 2014.
Our Eternal Father in heaven, who created the heavens, the earth, and all things thereon, we bow before Thee this day in this beautiful edifice to dedicate it unto Thee.
We thank Thee for the gift of Thy Beloved Son, who gave Himself a ransom for all mankind, breaking the bands of death and opening the gates of salvation.
Our hearts are filled with thanksgiving unto Thee for the light of Thy everlasting gospel, restored to earth in this, the dispensation of the fulness of times, through the instrumentality of the Prophet Joseph Smith. We are grateful that Thou didst restore, by heavenly messengers, the Aaronic and Melchizedek priesthoods and subsequently all of the keys of the priesthood.
We are grateful for the completion of this Holy House and ask that Thou wilt bless all those whose labors made possible its construction. Wilt Thou bless those faithful members here and throughout the world whose tithes contributed to this magnificent edifice for Thy name’s honor and glory and for the blessing of all who enter herein.
Father in Heaven bless, we pray Thee, the temple president and his counselors, together with their wives, and all who assist in the operation of this temple.
Help the youth of Thy church stand firm for truth and righteousness. Open wide to their view the gates of learning, of understanding and of service in Thy kingdom. Build within them strength to resist the temptations of the world. Give them the will to walk in virtue and faith, to be prayerful and to look to Thee as their constant anchor.
Now, our Beloved Father, acting in the authority of the Holy Priesthood which comes from Thee, and in the name of Thy Beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, we dedicate this, the Phoenix Arizona Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as Thy house and the house of Thy Son. We dedicate it for the administering of those ordinances and covenants which are eternal and everlasting. We dedicate it for the performing of sacred service for both the living and the dead.
We dedicate the baptismal font, the facilities used for the initiatory ordinances, the endowment rooms, the sealing rooms and the altars found therein. We dedicate this beautiful celestial room, and every other facility in this, Thy holy house.
May Thy watch care be over this beautiful temple, that it will be holy to all who shall enter it. May those who enter to serve here leave the world behind and reflect on the things of eternity. May no one who is unworthy cross the threshold of this, Thy house. May its sanctity never be violated by those with unclean hands or evil designs. We pray that none shall interfere in any way with the sacred work for which this structure has been erected.
We dedicate the ground on which the temple stands. We dedicate this beautiful structure, from the unseen footings to the majestic figure of Moroni crowning its highest point.
As we dedicate this sacred edifice, we rededicate our very lives to Thee and to Thy work.
Father, wilt Thou place Thy ratifying seal of approval upon this dedicatory service and upon all we have done and shall do in this, Thy Holy House, which we now present to Thee.
May we, Thy children, merit Thy bounteous blessings and Thy watchful care, we pray, in the name of Thy Beloved Son, even the name of Jesus Christ the Lord, amen.