On a nice cold Saturday, 01/26/2019, nearly 30 members of our Montgomery Branch drove from Maryland to the Philadelphia Temple to do endowments and the youth did baptisms for the dead. It was an extremely busy day at the Temple, which was a culmination of nice weather, closing of both DC Temple and NYC Temple for renovation, the Philly Temple was jammed packed with patrons. None the less, there were many first experiences for a few members: Sister Charlene Wang received her endowment there and Amelia Ly with Kevin Wu did their first baptisms for the dead at the temple.
Here are their experiences in their own words:
From Charlene Wang:
“到圣殿去，如果现在无法去，也要尽快去。你要热烈的祈祷，整顿你的生活，怀着希望，尽可能地储蓄，等待那一天的来临“。受洗之后，这段话一直激励着我为去圣殿做着准备，但我知道好奇心和兴趣不能算作准备，对圣殿教仪的信心，保有悔改的心，接受洗礼以及个人的成熟才能使我更加配衬的进去圣殿。
2019年1月26日，我去圣殿为我自己做恩道门第一次去圣殿，总是激动的，也是紧张的。激动地是自己终于配称进入神的家园，紧张的是自己不能完全领悟天赋的教仪。然而圣殿事工在众多神的儿女——我们的兄弟姐妹的努力之下井然有序，使我的圣殿之旅轻松且充满灵性。在进入费城圣殿正门的那一刻起，我就知道我想要来这个地方很多次，即使不做任何事，仅仅只是在无人的沙发上坐一坐，看着往来的兄弟姐妹，看着穿着一身白衣的神的儿女，让我不禁感慨天父的事工的伟大以及他的慷慨，他给了我们一个卸下忧虑的地方——圣殿，让我们的灵性在这里获得成长，哪怕只是静静的坐着。
圣殿的教仪很神圣，我们不允许在圣殿外谈论它。然而整个仪式围绕救恩计划，展示神创世的目的，让我明白生而为人是一种礼物——来自天上父亲的礼物。肉体的生命不过是一所学校，我们感恩其中的快乐与高潮，更加珍惜其中的困难时刻，如果没有生命中的风暴就无法安详的死去。生命唯一的目的就是精神的进化，而圣殿教仪就是神为他的配称儿女所安排的，目的是让我们的灵性升华，增长属灵事物的知识。 而所有的教仪以象征的方式告诉我们：圣殿建筑神圣充满灵性，圣殿服饰洁净白皙，提醒我们保持内在的洁净，圣殿的一桌一椅象征着天父救恩计划的一部分。那一日，我感恩我在其中：我感恩我在神的救恩计划中，我感恩我在耶稣基督的教会中，我感恩我在神的人类儿女中，我感恩我拥有肉体的生命去承载学习福音的使命。
去圣殿接受教仪，订立圣约，更为弥足珍贵的是家人朋友的陪伴。我的圣殿之旅感恩能有Montgomery Chinese Branch 的兄弟姐妹的陪伴。在圣殿里我们无需交谈，但是我们离得很近，因为我们有圣灵陪伴，他是天父无形的手，将我们连在一起。 当我们在高荣室相遇，无需嘘寒问暖，无需贴耳交谈，只需静静地站着或坐着，因为在那里只有快乐。 在那一刻，我知道，要去圣殿，来获取我的祝福，这祝福来自神，来自各位亲爱的兄弟姐妹。 我相信神神圣的圣殿事工，因为他所作的一切都是为了我们，他做的一切都是为了我们所有人。
From Betty Hsueh:
春燕，很高興我們可以今年一起去賓州聖殿為我母親受冼和中國分會弟兄姐妹一起為她做恩道門，也同妳做妳自己的恩道門，這是多麼有意羲的一天，聖殿中雖然很多人，一切都是如此順利最後能一起進入高榮國度，在聖殿中獲得祝福，我終於能完成心願，感到特別高興，1/26/2019 年星期六原以為會下雪，沒想到一早天氣變為陽光普照，沒風沒雨，氣溫雖低但比前幾天都溫暖，我先生Memo 薛梅慕願意一早開車戴我們弟兄姐妹四人一早開車兩個半鐘頭去賓州聖殿，原以為就衹有我們黃會長夫婦和小沈玖琍姐妹和王丹平姐妺，尢其後來看到廿幾位弟兄姐妹一起在聖殿裡面，内心特感溫馨，參加敎會多年终於有機會學習建立家譜，輸入家人資料和照片，感謝羊羊和Wesley 特別耐心到我家來敎我和大沈姐妹如何印製為我母親洗禮和記錄生平事蹟，為後世代代傳承我們努力奮鬥為人子和父母的自我改變和承擔責任，並遵守聖約，服從和跟從耶穌基督的敎導，完成今生的使命. 2019 年初能獲得神的祝福，今日又是中國春節,愐懷加入敎會學習到耶穌基督的福音，受到所有的祝福，謹此祝福各位弟兄姐妹春節如意. 主內平安！
From Kevin Wu:
First Temple Visit
After becoming a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I finally visited the Pennsylvania Temple on Saturday, January 26th for the first time to perform baptism for the dead. A day prior to the temple trip, my heart was filled with mixed emotions of joy, excitement, surprisingly, anxiety. As a first time visitor, I worried about my own worthiness despite already obtaining the temple recommend after an interview with my branch president. Additionally, the idea of entering the temple and conducting temple ordinances, at the time, was so abstract and unknown to me that it became an indescribable pressure which agitated me. Nevertheless, out of both curiosity and the desire to be an assistance in the Lord’s great Plan of Salvation, I departed with church members for Pennsylvania. After several hours on the highway, we eventually arrived at the Pennsylvania Temple.
Despite passing by and seeing the D.C. Temple (which was under reconstruction at the time) numerous times in the past, I had never been so close to a temple as the holy architecture stood solemnly next to me. I marveled at the beauty and intricacy of the craftsmanship of the temple while waiting with other church youths in the visitor center neighboring the temple. The visitor center was packed with church members from various wards and branches, who, just like us, drove miles after miles to the temple so that they may perform temple ordinances; the fact that so many members were willing to devote their time and energy for the Lord’s work and the salvation of souls strengthens my testimony that, although the members, individually, might not be perfect--as we all gather together and focus on serving Christ--the church, without a doubt, is perfect and true. Finally, the critical moment came as it was our turn to enter the temple.
As I enter the temple, I was amazed by its magnificent white marble interior which was exceedingly clean and shining. After receiving baptismal wears and changing in the locker room, we entered a room adjacent to the baptismal pool that was separated by a large glass window. The temple workers then gave each of us a card with 5 names on it--all of which belonged to the dead we would be representing. As we sat and waited, the president of the temple came and explained the importance of the baptism for the dead. From his explanation, we learned that people who passed away without knowledge of the church cannot be baptized without a physical body; therefore, only through the baptism for the dead, the deceased can receive the opportunity to become a member of the church and obtain celestial glory if he/she were willing to learn the gospels in the afterlife. After the president’s talk, we entered the baptismal pool room and began the ordinance: Two at a time, the branch members walked into the pool and stood next to each other--one baptizing and one being baptized. When the time came for me to be baptized, I got to the center of the pool, put my right arm into the palm of the baptizing brother, closed my eyes, listened to the baptismal prayer, and sunk into the pool as the baptizing brother’s hand guided me into the water. During my brief time in the state of submergence, I felt warmth--not only the physical warmth due to the gentle temperature of the baptismal water, but also the spiritual warmth of happiness, serenity, and fulfillment. As I rose from the pool--although unknown of the appearance, voice, story, current knowledge of the gospels, and virtually everything except for the name of the person who I just substituted baptism for--I felt happy for this person as I knew that this person could now receive salvation if he/she were willing. As the baptismal service reached a conclusion, I baptized and was baptized five times each. Although whether to accept the baptism remained the choices of the souls of the dead who were baptized, I nevertheless rejoiced in my participation in bringing others unto Christ.
As I left the temple with my church brothers and sisters, I realized my initial anxiety disappeared. Temple and temple ordinances were no longer obscure and intimidating concepts to me; they were, instead, holy places of God that connect all to His Spirit to the world and beyond. After the temple trip, I gained a new found appreciation for the temple ordinances and my honor to be a part of them; I am grateful for the Lord’s works and His gifts for us to obtain salvation through His ordinances.
From Amelia Ly,
On a cold, windy Saturday morning my dad, brother, and myself left the comforts of home at 9 am on a 3 hour trip to Philadelphia to visit the temple. I had already visited the temple in 2016 during the time of the open-house, but this time I was old enough and ready to do the ordinances, which means doing baptisms for the deceased.
At the time I was unsure of what to feel. I wanted to do service for those who had passed and didn’t have a chance to be baptized but I really liked the weekends. When I had gotten my temple recommend, there was a little worrying here and there, nervousness, and excitement. When we had gotten to the temple, I learned that I was the youngest member there and also the only one in Young Women. Almost everybody there had done this ordinance and there was plenty of anxiety to go around. But after everyone had been gathered and we headed into the House of the Lord, there was a reassuring, almost like a “hand on your shoulder.”
Now there I was fidgeting but jumpy in white baptismal clothes about to be baptized for the dead. The water was warm and came up to my shoulders as I went down the steps into the font. Being the first wasn’t what I had originally planned, but I guess that wasn’t up to me!
The baptisms didn’t take as long as I remembered my own baptism, but I can still remember each time that my dad pulled me up from the water and there was a sense of peace and calm. After all of the baptisms had been done and mostly everyone had dried and changed, the final step in the process was the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. First went my older brother, then me. Immediately when prayer was bestowed I felt the Spirit inside of me.
I’d say that the temple trip was like a once-in-a-lifetime experience, though there are probably many more opportunities for me to do this again. I’m grateful for the opportunity I was given to go to the temple and do this service, despite the fact that I-was-the-only-girl issue. I I enjoyed the temple thoroughly and urge all youth and more Young Women to take this chance that I got 
