President David O. McKay

Our Heavenly and Eternal Father: with gratitude in our hearts we approach thee on this significant occasion and ask thee humbly to let the channel of communication between thee and us be open.

We are grateful indeed for the revelations of thy mind and will concerning the great plan of salvation instituted not only for the happiness of mankind, but for their eternal salvation and exaltation if they obey the principles and ordinances of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

We are grateful for the manifold assurance that thou art our Guide, our Protector, our Eternal Father; grateful for thy mercy in permitting the light of truth eventually to dispel the darkness that followed the Great Apostasy from the Church established by thy Son and the Apostles in the meridian of time.

Accept of the gratitude of our hearts for the restoration of the gospel; that thou and thy Son appeared to the Prophet Joseph Smith in this dispensation. We are grateful that we know that thou, as a loving father, desireth the salvation of all thy children, and that through obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel, all thy offspring, living and dead, may obtain salvation.

We are grateful for temples that serve as a means of communication between loved ones here and hereafter; for the significance of temple ordinances applicable to all those who live pure in purpose and strong in their resistance of evil.

We are grateful for the organization of thy Church in which every man, woman, and child may find opportunity for service, a principal means of spiritual growth.

Heavenly Father, unitedly, we ask thee to accept of our gratitude for these and thy manifold other blessings.

And now we invoke Thee for a continuation of thy blessings. Continue to give revelations to those whom thou hast chosen to lead and to serve thy people. To this end, bless the First Presidency; strengthen them and qualify them in every way. Bless the Council of the Twelve Apostles, with President Joseph Fielding Smith at their head; bless the Patriarch to the Church; the Presiding Bishopric; the First Council of Seventy; and all who preside in stakes, wards, quorums, and organizations.

Bless those who preside in mission fields, and the missionaries who are abroad in the various parts of the world preaching the gospel of peace to mankind, paying their own expenses. Father in heaven, keep them pure and unspotted from the sins of the world, and may they have power to overcome temptation.

Bless the world: the honest in heart everywhere. May they realize the blessing of individual freedom, the privilege of individual initiative. And realizing this blessing, may they oppose with all their might and mind, dictatorship in any of its forms, for that would deprive them of this freedom of the individual and the right to choose, and to think, and to speak, and to pray as the individual chooses to do, as he pleases—so long as he does not trespass upon the rights of others and grants to all others the same privilege.

Prosper thy church in all its righteous endeavors, and may the people in this area, realizing their blessings, be willing and glad to contribute of their means to the erection of this temple.

To this end, Heavenly Father, as thy servants holding the holy priesthood, we dedicate and consecrate this land, this acreage, for holy purposes; the ward meetinghouse, the land on which that stands, the land on which the bureau of information will be built, and other buildings pertaining to the advancement of thy kingdom here and thy work in this locality; and especially, by virtue of the authority we hold, do we consecrate and set apart this hallowed piece of ground on which the temple will be reared to thy glory and to the service of mankind.

Cause, O Father, that no unclean thing may trespass upon this area, and may there be no bitterness in the hearts of those who come; and may those who come to scoff remain to pray and feel impressed to unite with thy people to build this temple to thy glory.

Bless, we pray thee, all who participate in this erection: the architect who has worked so faithfully and ably, the superintendent or superintendents who may work here, the foreman, and all others—bless them with wisdom, with singleness of purpose, and with skill even above their natural or acquired ability. May those who contribute of their time and their skill receive from thee manifold rewards. May they realize that in making these contributions they are building to thee, and that in every effort they put forth to bless thy children, in that effort they serve thee.

To this end, Heavenly Father, we now unitedly dedicate ourselves, our means, our abilities and everything which thou hast given us to the advancement of truth, to the building up of Zion, to the establishment of the kingdom of God on earth, and this we do in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, amen.[1]

Notes

[1] “Dedicatory Prayer,” Church News, September 26, 1951, 2.