Parents to prepare children for the temple

Bishops and Branch Presidents,

This is the "season" when we typically have a few more young people submitting recommendations to serve missions.

Once they receive a mission call, as you know, they are eligible--even encouraged--to go to the temple and receive their endowments...and, if there's time before reporting, to serve in the temple.

Will you please remember the message taught at our last Stake Priesthood meeting: we look to the parents to bring their children to the door of the bishop and to declare their son or daughter is prepared to make sacred covenants in the temple (in the spirit of Exodus 40:12).

In short, it's the parents' responsibility to prepare their "new adult" children to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood (sons), be endowed in the temple and serve a full-time mission--not the ward or branch responsibility. Of course, for new adult members of the church (or youth without gospel support from parents), ward leaders are to step in and prepare them for the temple. 

But where parents are endowed and hold a current temple, please hold them responsible for conducting the Temple Preparation course with their son or daughter. This is simply one more way to help parents appreciate anew their responsibility in teaching their children (from their earliest years) the gospel and preparing each to make and keep sacred covenants with God.

Thank you,

President Lewis