In reverent awe, Laie Hawaii Temple President James Emerson Hallstrom Jr. described the feeling of serving in the temple while being the only one there.
He explained during phases one, two and three of the temple reopening after being closed during the pandemic, patrons experienced wonders they would not normally have. During the ordinances, groups would be really small and only one ordinance would be going on in the temple at a time.
Hallstrom said, “It was a wonderful spiritual experience being in the temple when it’s just you and the Spirit. That’s such a wonderful place to be.”
Hallstrom said he recognizes although the pandemic disrupted life, he can still see the blessings of the temple because they “continue to flow, the work moves forward, and we’re going to look back at this time and say, ‘Wow, what a blessing. There were hardships, yes. Lost jobs, lost loved ones. But the work of the Lord did not cease.”
Temple blessings
Although he works hard balancing work, 15 credits and taking care of his 11-month-old son, CJ Gankhuu, a senior from Mongolia majoring in information technology, said he is grateful for the reopened temple because it brings peace and stability into his life.
Gankhuu said, “Working in the temple helps me balance my life. Even though it takes more time from my free time, it’s a blessing.”
His testimony of temple work was enhanced by his time away from the sacred building, he added.
“I really missed the temple, and when I went there for the first time after the pandemic, I felt refreshed. Like [the temple] is the place I should be.
“After a year, the temple is the thing I want most, even though I have a wife, children, work, classes and life. When I put God first, I see the blessings.”
Despite the challenge of adding one more thing to his plate, Gankhuu said he loves going to the temple. “Even though I feel exhausted at the end of the day, I feel encouraged and inspired because of the Spirit I feel at the temple.”
This good feeling does not dissipate, Gankhuu explained. He said he feels encouraged and inspired for the next three days because he feels “buoyed up” to endure the rest of the week.
Hallstrom said it is vital the saints’ “temple starved” vigor does not dissipate as the temple reopens.
“COVID taught us how much we miss the temple, and now that the temple is being reopened, it’s important we don’t lose the perspective of how much we missed it.”
When members go to the temple, he said they should “go to learn and to use their agency to learn how to bind themselves to him and align themselves with him.”
During the last year and a half, the temple has been much more personal. It’s all been focused on the needs of specific individuals, rather than mass proxy work.
Hallstrom continued, “We want to make sure that, as the temple becomes more open, we don’t lose the perspective of how incredibly special it is.”
In the past year, the Laie Hawaii Temple has gone through several unique stages,” Hallstrom explained.
After directing the temple through normal operation and a centennial celebration, he said he then helped the temple navigate through a complete shutdown due to the pandemic.
In the first phase of reopening, only live sealings of couples were performed. In the second phase, all living ordinances were performed. In the third phase, patrons are able to perform proxy ordinances after booking an online appointment.
He said they were working on transitioning leadership of the temple over to the new president, Finau Hafoka, who took Hallstrom’s place in August.
Aaron Shumway, the recently appointed associate academic vice president for religious education, shared his testimony of the temple in the wake of the pandemic. “In times of COVID-19, we learned the Lord is watching out for his children.”
Shumway described his daughter’s wedding that took place in December 2020 at the Laie temple. “It was in the morning, and it was phase two, so there were only live ordinances. We had the entire building to ourselves and you could feel it. It was just so intimate. It made me realize this is what temple marriage is all about.”
Temple starved saints
Aside from worship within the temple, Hallstrom said worship outside the temple was also affected. He described seeing people gathered outside the temple and the locked temple gates before the temple grounds were reopened to the public.
“People would come on Sundays and they’d sit outside the walls of the temple with their scriptures or their families. It was wonderful to see them because they wanted to just be close to the temple and feel the feelings that were there.”
Gankhuu said he started working in the temple with his wife, Otgonbileg Erdenebaatar, in the Fall of 2019, shortly after they got married. When the temple closed, Gankhuu said he waited anxiously to return.
In April 2021, when the temple moved to phase three, Gankhuu said he got a call from the temple office asking for him to come and work again. “I felt like they knew me, that I was the one to call when they needed help. I felt privileged and honored.”
He talked about some of the changes made to temple ordinances announced last year. “It’s a little bit different than before the pandemic,” said Gankhuu.
He said he knows the changes were made by the prophet, who is hastening the Lord’s work. “The change was necessary to abide by the COVID restrictions. They want it to be fast but accurate, and keep the Spirit for the patrons so they feel safe in the temple.”
Hallstrom explained, “While the ordinances and the covenants have not changed, some of the administrative procedures have, and they’ve all [become] so much better.”
The recent changes to temple ordinances put more focus on individuals, Hallstrom said. “During the last year and a half, the temple has been much more personal. It’s all been focused on the needs of specific individuals, rather than mass proxy work.”
Hallstrom said for temple workers, and for the presidency especially, their work is all about creating a spiritual experience for the patrons.
Even when performing proxy work, Hallstrom said he is focused on creating quality experiences for the women and men performing the ordinances.
“I think the Lord is more concerned about the quality of the patron’s experience and what they’re learning to remind them of their covenants, than [he is] about getting the work done for the deceased.
“It’s not a matter of racing to get [the work] done. It’s about being diligent and getting it done, but doing it in such a way that the participants can remember their covenants and understand their importance.”
Sister Kathleen King Hallstrom, matron of the Laie temple, said, “I think [the recent changes have] given us pauses to really appreciate more, every little thing about the temple.”
President Hallstrom said he is looking forward to the temple moving to phase four, where it will return to normal operation without patrons needing a reservation to serve. He said he is waiting for word from the first presidency of the Church. “Right now, we are pushing actively to expand. We’re opening up more shifts as we speak, and we’re opening more sessions and more patrons per session.”
He added he hopes to see the temple move to phase four sometime this year. “That would still put us leaps and bounds ahead of other temples.”
President Hallstrom said the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and the First Presidency are the sole decision makers. When they decide to open a temple to the next phase, the brethren consider health and politics, Hallstrom added.
They are constantly watching government proclamations so they can open the temple “judiciously and wisely,” Hallstrom explained. He said the Church is being extra cautious because they do not want to go backwards. “They’re making sure we’re on solid ground where we are at.”
In the meantime, Hallstrom said BYU–Hawaii students can do more to serve in the temple. “In the first year, we had some incredible ordinance workers who were students,” Hallstrom said. When the students were sent home because of COVID-19, the temple lost a lot of its “young, wonderful, bright, spiritual, enthusiastic ordinance workers.”
Hallstrom encouraged students who understand the importance of the temple to come and work. “We need to infuse that worker pool with committed students who really understand the importance of being at the temple and would love to be there.” As the temple increasingly opens, he said, they will need more student ordinance workers there. •