Following is the text to the prayer offered by Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles to dedicate the Elko Nevada Temple on Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025.
O God, our Eternal Father, we come before Thee with bowed heads as a token of our humility and pray in the name of Thy Beloved Son, Jesus Christ. We are assembled today to dedicate this, Thy holy house, the Elko Nevada Temple, unto Thee for its sacred purposes.
Our hearts are full of gratitude for this, Thy holy house, on this historic day of its dedication in this remote part of Thy vineyard. We are most grateful for the resources with which we have been blessed, deriving from the sacrifice of Latter-day Saints everywhere, of their sacred tithes, allowing the construction of this house of the Lord.
We express gratitude for the Restoration of the gospel in this dispensation, for the Prophet Joseph Smith, who stands at its head, even continuing through our modern-day prophets. We love, honor and sustain President Dallin H. Oaks as president of the Quorum of the Twelve and pray for his continued health and vitality.
We are grateful for Thee, O God the Eternal Father, who enables us to make covenants, participate in ordinances and receive temple blessings. We thank Thee for Thy Beloved Son, Jesus Christ. We are indebted unto Thee and Him for His infinite Atonement, providing a pathway to eternal life in the presence of Thee and our families.
Now, our Heavenly Father, invoking the keys of the holy apostleship vested in me, in the sacred name of Thy Son, Jesus Christ, by the authority of the holy Melchizedek Priesthood and acting under the direction of President Dallin H. Oaks, I dedicate unto Thee the Elko Nevada Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for its sacred purposes.
We dedicate the grounds upon which this holy house stands and its structure, from the foundation to the spire, to function according to its design as the house of the Lord. We dedicate the baptistry, the ordinance rooms with their sacred altars and the celestial room as a place of solace and sacred communion with Thee. May all these premises be protected from the ravages of nature, time and any hands who would do it harm. May this holy house be a symbol of light and peace and a strength for all eyes that fall upon it.
We dedicate the ancillary building and other facilities for their designated purposes.
We ask Thee to bless the temple presidency, the matron and her assistants, and all those who serve as temple workers. Bless those who will perform these sacred roles in the future. Please bless each patron who will worship here with spiritual insight into the meaning and blessings associated with the ordinances of baptism, washing and anointing, the endowment and the sealing, for themselves and for their deceased ancestors. We pray that this place may be a defense and a refuge from the storms associated with our mortal sojourn.
We pray that the close proximity of this temple will be a blessing to the members of this temple district and that Thou wilt bless each member and family with the time, a desire and circumstances to worship here often. We especially pray that the hearts of the rising generation will be filled with a desire to always be worthy to hold a temple recommend and to use it often, that they be drawn to walk the covenant path to this, Thy holy house, for their own endowment and sealing and that the power of godliness will be manifest unto them.
We love Thee and desire that Thou wouldst accept this dedicated Elko Nevada Temple as the house of the Lord. We close with consecrated hearts and devotion to Thee in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.
