SYRACUSE, Utah — Among the unique sights in the newly constructed Syracuse Utah Temple — beyond the New Zealand wool rugs and motifs of indigenous plants in the art-glass windows — is what rarely any temples have: two baptistries.
“That’s all a matter of how many youth are in the area,” said Elder Kevin R. Duncan at the temple’s May 7 media day. “And in this area, we have a really high number of youth, and we will for a very long time because of the demographics. And if there’s one part of a temple that’s really busy all the time, it’s the baptistry, it’s the area where the youth go. So this is intended to lighten that load off of some of the other temples.”
Elder Duncan, a General Authority Seventy and executive director of the Church’s Temple Department, was joined by Sister Kristin M. Yee, second counselor in the Relief Society general presidency, to show members of the media around the Syracuse temple and answer questions about its significance.
Said Sister Yee: “I know that [the Lord] has great things in store for this generation. And the house of the Lord will be a key part in that preparation for His coming.”
Invited guests will tour the house of the Lord on May 8-9, and a public open house will be held May 10-31. The Syracuse temple will later be dedicated in a single session on Sunday, June 8.
‘House of hope’
Elder Duncan grew up less than a mile and a half north of the temple site, and his great-grandfather was the first bishop of the Syracuse Ward.
“Can you imagine the joy he’s feeling, having worked the earth here, and here’s where the house of the Lord is?” said Elder Duncan. “We’re connected in our hearts with our ancestors and with our posterity, and I think he’s joyful for them, for us.”
One reason the Church builds more temples is not just accessibility by distance but also accessibility by time. “The Layton temple is not that far away, but it’s hard to get an appointment to worship there.” He added the Syracuse temple will likely see youth from as far as Farmington, Utah, because of this greater access.
The temple is a “place of peace” and a “house of hope,” said Elder Duncan. “Ultimately, this journey through life is to return home to our Heavenly Father. Everything in the temple that we do is designed to help us to do just that, through our Savior, Jesus Christ.”
The Lord’s work carried forward
Sister Yee said the Syracuse temple will be a personal place of worship for those who enter its doors. “I am grateful to be here with you here today to witness the Lord carry forth His work.”
Through the temple, “we will continue to watch His hand roll forth across the earth to bless His children in abundance, to gather them into His covenant blessings.”
She testified that God really does have a plan for these latter days, something she has come to recognize more as she sees the strength of the youth, their testimonies, and their desires to follow Him and be in His house.
Heavenly Father desires to bless His children, she said, “to help them to have the strength, power and peace and protection they need to be able to have joy in this life and to return home to our heavenly home.”
Feeling Heavenly Father’s love
Rebeca Gaburel — a 17-year-old from the West Point 15th Ward in Clinton, Utah — is grateful to live just 10 minutes from the Syracuse temple. “I can feel my Heavenly Father’s love so much in this place.”
She continued: “To be able to come here whenever I feel the need to be closer to my Heavenly Father is absolutely amazing. He has given us so many blessings in our life, and I’m so grateful that I get to appreciate this particular blessing even more.”
Through temple attendance, said Gaburel, “you feel happier, everything seems easier, and you feel like you can rely more on your Heavenly Father. And I think that’s something really special that I appreciate a lot from our Heavenly Father.”
Gaburel is eager to see the Syracuse temple bring her community together and closer to Heavenly Father’s love.
‘I’m closer to my Savior’
Eighteen-year-old Parker Lambert — from the Fox Hollow Ward in Clearfield, Utah — said the hardest thing about attending the temple is finding an appointment. Even early in the morning, youth gather in local temples to perform proxy baptisms for their ancestors before school.
“This temple is going to open up so much accessibility for youth to be able to go do baptisms here, and I think that’s such a beautiful, exciting thing,” he said.
When Lambert attends the temple, he finds greater focus on what matters and more motivation throughout his day. “On days that I go to the temple, I’m focused on Jesus Christ, and everything changes because of that.”
Despite a busy high school schedule and preparing to serve a mission in Denmark, Lambert has learned that being intentional about attending the house of the Lord blesses him in everything he does. “I’m more focused, I’m happier and it’s easier to make good decisions. And that’s because I’m closer to my Savior from attending the temple.”
‘There’s so much love’
Seventeen-year-old Kennedy Hadley from Syracuse acknowledged the diligence in local youth and what their temple attendance can mean for this new house of the Lord.
“There’s already been a lot of faith shown by the youth in this community and in this area,” she said. “Hopefully it encourages the younger generations and the new youth to come, and hopefully they feel welcome and more encouraged to come to the temple.”
And more than blessing just the youth, “this temple is going to bring the community together. It stands as a beacon to heaven, a symbol of God and Christ and how much they love us to put a temple in our own city.”
A temple visit changes the rest of Hadley’s day for the better. The opportunity to experience this more in her life is a testament of God’s love for her. “I know that there’s so much love that’s gone into this temple.”
