Rio de Janeiro Brazil Temple
Dedicatory Prayer
Dedicated 8 May 2022
by Gary E. Stevenson
Our Beloved Father in Heaven, in reverence and prayer we bow before Thee to dedicate this holy house unto Thee, for its sacred purposes. With patience and longing, and the world in commotion, we have envisioned this day, to be gathered as Thy Saints, to dedicate the Rio de Janeiro Brazil Temple. Our hearts are filled with gratitude for this Thy holy house.
We rejoice together in the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, leading to faith in and a testimony of Thee, our Eternal Father, Thy Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost. We express gratitude to live in the dispensation of the fullness of the gospel, that the heavens are open again.
We testify of the divine visitation of Thee, and Thy Son Jesus Christ, to Joseph Smith, followed by numerous other heavenly visitors and the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. We thank Thee for Thy chosen messengers, sent to affect the restoration of the Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthood and priesthood keys to commence the gathering of Israel, to connect again to Thy covenant made with Abraham and to restore the great crowning sealing of mothers and fathers to their children and posterity, and children to their mothers and fathers and ancestors.
We are grateful for the Prophet Joseph Smith who stands at the head of this dispensation, and for the orderly succession of latter-day prophets that have followed him. We sing praise for our dear prophet, President Russell M. Nelson, who we love, honor, and sustain, under whose direction the dedication of this holy temple takes place.
As we consider the lives of early Church pioneers in this beautiful country of Brazil, our hearts are filled to overflowing with gratitude and emotion. May we always remember their faith and devotion and their broad shoulders of sacrifice upon which we stand. May their names be remembered, and their good works honored for generations to come.
We add our prayers for families and individual members of the Church of our generation, and of the rising generation. We pray that they be led down the covenant path, including their baptisms, confirmations, ordinations, and their holy ordinances in holy temples, even this temple. That these may be for a defense and for a refuge from the storm, and from wrath when it shall be poured out without mixture upon the whole earth. May Thy Saints in this land be endowed with spiritual and temporal blessings. May the covenants and ordinances of salvation and exaltation be available to all those on both sides of the veil who seek them.
We pray for the leaders of this region and of this great nation, that their hearts will be set in allowing principles of freedom and human dignity to flourish under their inspired leadership.
May this country prosper in righteousness and eschew wickedness. Bless the members of the Church here to be a light unto this great nation, that their neighbors will see their good works and glorify Thee, our Father in Heaven. That Thy work may spread throughout this land.
The temple open house allowed many of our family, friends, and neighbors who are not members of the Church to visit this holy temple. May they maintain a remembrance of what they saw and how they felt. May the spirit of the temple dwell in their hearts, allowing them to acknowledge that this is indeed Thy house.
Now, our Beloved Father, in the sacred name of Jesus Christ and in the authority of the holy Melchizedek Priesthood, we dedicate unto Thee, this the Rio de Janeiro Brazil Temple. We dedicate it all in its entirety, the space above and the ground below. We further dedicate every element and detail of its structure from deepest footing and foundation to the top of its spire. We dedicate each room for its sacred purpose including the baptistry, the instruction rooms, the celestial room, the sealing rooms with their sacred altars, as well as the other facilities that are a part of this structure. We include with these rooms their furnishings and fixtures together to function according to the fullest measure of their respective creations, becoming the house of the Lord, with Holiness to the Lord. We dedicate the grounds upon which this temple stands, with their flowers, trees, shrubs and grass. May all these premises be protected from ravages of nature, time and the hands of those with evil intent.
Dear Father, we ask Thee to bless the temple president and matron of this temple, the counselors and assistants to the matron, and all those who will succeed them. Bless the temple workers in their numerous and varied roles, that all their efforts will be consecrated for the work of salvation and exaltation, and the gathering of Israel on both sides of the veil. Please bless the patrons of the temple, that the Holy Ghost will bear testimony to them of Thee, their Heavenly Father and of Thy Son, and will confirm in their hearts and minds joy in their service and knowledge that this is Thy work, and this is Thy house.
We close with an expression of our love, gratitude and devotion to Thee, as we dedicate this, the Rio de Janeiro Brazil Temple, in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.