Have you ever wanted to do something for someone but due to the distance between you and the person you wanted to help, it prevented you from offering your help or assistance? Or perhaps there were other extenuating circumstances that prevented you from personally offering your help. Have you ever prayed that someone would help or assist a loved one or a friend in your absence?
During Bishop Gerald Causse April 2025 General Conference address, he may have given us comfort for those times when we are not physically there to bless someone but still want that “someone” blessed.
Bishop Causse said, “One of the most powerful ways we can contribute to God’s compensating blessings is through the vicarious work we do for our ancestors in the house of the Lord. As we perform ordinances on their behalf, we actively participate in the Lord’s great work of salvation, using our gifts and abilities to provide blessings to those who did not have the opportunity to receive them during their mortal lives.”
“The loving service we offer in holy temples reminds us that the Savior’s grace extends beyond this life. In the life to come, we may be given new opportunities to accomplish what we could not do in this mortal life.”
As we do for others what they can’t do for themselves, we can ask the Lord for His compensating blessings to be given to those we do know and love. We can be confident that through our Savior’s grace, our actions in helping others may bring blessings to those we love but are unable to personally attend too.
While the work we do for our ancestors will certainly be a blessing to them, that same work could very well bring blessings to those we love and wish we could help, but find ourselves unable to assist for one reason or another.
If you have ever needed a little motivation or an additional push to participate in temple ordinances for those who didn’t have the opportunity to receive them while living, perhaps the opportunity to bless those you do know, through time spent in the temple, is just the encouragement you need to recommit to this important work.
I hope we will all commit to spending more time in the temple, showering blessings not only on those that have passed on, but bringing blessings to those we love and care about who are still with us.
– Doug Nielsen, Director, Granite FamilySearch Center