Remote Surveillance Trailer in Farmington, NM

FARMINGTON, New Mexico — Attending the dedication of the Farmington New Mexico Temple will go down as one of the hallmark spiritual experiences in the young life of Akeakamailani Jurni Clah.

After touring the new house of the Lord with family and friends during the open house period on several occasions, the 18-year-old young woman from the Shiprock Ward was a speaker at the dedication. She was accompanied by her parents, Alohilani Rebekah Clah and Bishop Anthony L. Clah.

Thoughtfully selecting an outfit that represented her diverse family heritage — including Native American, Polynesian, Asian, German and Scottish — Clah felt undeniable peace, comfort and warmth as she shared her testimony of the Savior, listened intently to Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles as he gave the dedicatory prayer, participated in the Hosanna Shout and sang “The Spirit of God.”

“My overall experience at the temple dedication was amazing, but even that word is too small of a word to describe it,” Clah said, adding that it was a “celestial” and ”glorious" experience.

Clah said the presence of the Holy Ghost was so strong that it was like “my testimony was a tree receiving rain and sun at the same time, growing every second.”

Clah, who is now planning to attend Brigham Young University and serve a mission, loves the temple’s rich Native American design and symbolism. She dreams of one day getting ready in the bride’s room and being sealed to her future husband in the Farmington temple.

“I see myself getting married there — 100%," she said. “My husband doesn’t have a choice.”

Clah was one of several members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who felt the love of the Savior at the Farmington New Mexico Temple dedication on Sunday, Aug. 17.

Duke Davis, 86, and his wife, Lynna Davis, 82, drove two hours from their home in Vanderwagen, New Mexico, a community near Gallup, to attend the dedication. The couple now lives within roughly the same distance from three temples — Albuquerque New Mexico, Snowflake Arizona and now Farmington.

“It’s great to know that we have enough members and enough activity to support another temple in this area,” she said with a smile. “This will be our temple, and it’s a wonderful thing to be here today.”

Lynna Davis became a member of the Church in 1962, shortly before her 20th birthday. One of her parents warned her that she would regret that decision.

Standing outside the new house of the Lord, Davis confidently declared that she had no regrets about becoming a Latter-day Saint.

“It’s been the best thing I ever did in my life,” she said. “I made that choice, and I have never in my life been sorry. I have always been happy about it.”

A short distance away, President Nolan Stewart of the Kirtland New Mexico Stake and his wife, Megan, were accompanied by their four children, ages 11 to 17.

As Megan Stewart reflected on living in the area and many trips over the years to both the Albuquerque New Mexico and Monticello Utah Temples, she became emotional.

“We feel very honored as a family to be here,” she said. “We have grown up here our whole lives and waited for this day, and to have a temple so close — 15 minutes from our house — is going to be such a blessing for our area and for our family."

Olivia Stewart, a 17-year-old daughter, said: “It’s an amazing opportunity to feel the spirit of doing [temple work] for your family members and feeling their love for you. I go to school here, and see the temple and remember all of the special ordinances that happen here daily and all around the world, it fills me with so much joy and happiness.”

About 50 miles east of where four US states intersect, the Farmington New Mexico Temple stands as a new monument intersecting heaven and earth.

“This sacred house of the Lord testifies more than any other place of the immortality of the soul and that life continues beyond the veil,” said Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, who dedicated the temple on Sunday, August 17.

Jesus Christ is the “wonderful link” that binds families together eternally, said the Apostle. “Only through the incomparable gift of the Savior do we have power to bind in heaven what is bound on earth.”

Elder Andersen added, “Every ordinance in this holy house turns our hearts toward our Savior, Jesus Christ, and His atoning gift, and what that gift means for eternal marriage, our family and our posterity.”

In his dedicatory prayer on the Farmington temple, Elder Andersen said: “Let this, Thy house, be a sanctuary of peace, a refuge from the distractions of the world. We pray that here in this holy temple the incomparable value of each individual, each son or daughter of God, will be counted greater than all the treasures of the world, allowing the goodness of each disciple to shine in splendor beyond any consideration of cultural identity, personal prosperity or worldly notoriety.”

“We all know that evil is increasing in the world around us,” said Elder Andersen. “Spiritual dangers can pull us from our spiritual moorings.”

Yet, “amid this world in commotion, the Lord has said that He will prepare a righteous people.” Those who consecrate their lives to Him by attending His house, he said, “will receive the blessings and the power to become the person you desire to become.”

Elder Andersen referenced the blessings that President Russell M. Nelson promised from attending the temple, which include help to prepare for the Second Coming of the Lord.

“Nothing will help you more to hold fast to the iron rod than worshipping in the temple as regularly as your circumstances permit,” the Prophet said in April 2024 general conference.

Elder Andersen testified that “in this holy house, we will make ourselves ready” for the Lord to return. “As you have faith in Him and do your very best, He will lift you from your burdens, your difficulties and your weaknesses and prepare you for His return and the eternal life that awaits you.”

Accompanying Elder Andersen at the dedication were his wife, Kathy; Elder José L. Alonso, a General Authority Seventy and President of the Church’s United States Southwest Area, and his wife, Rebeca; Elder Steven R. Bangerter, a General Authority Seventy and Executive Director of the Temple Department, and his wife, Susan; and Presiding Bishop Gérald Caussé and his wife, Valérie.

After arriving at the site, Elder Andersen shook hands with Latter-day Saints and expressed his love for them and his appreciation for their attendance.

“I love these people. They have been dedicated and devoted,” he said of Farmington Latter-day Saints. “It is an unbelievable blessing to think that here in the beauty of the desert, suddenly you see this sacred house of the Lord.”

Angie McDaniel — of the Rio Vista Branch (Spanish), Bloomfield New Mexico Stake — has seen enthusiasm for the temple throughout her entire community, member and nonmember alike.

Attending the temple as a branch has been difficult in the past, said McDaniel. “Going to Albuquerque was difficult and expensive. It was especially difficult to drive new members to baptisms or to support those who were doing so for the first time. Having a temple here allows us to attend whenever we want without worrying about money.”

The new temple in Farmington is the Church’s 208th temple in operation. It was the fifth temple Elder Andersen dedicated and the first he has dedicated in North America.