Yes, it is true, I have been with President Hinckley in the Celestial Room of a temple. This was in the Campinas, Brazil temple during the dedication. It was one of the most incredible spiritual experiences I have had.
I almost didn’t go to the temple dedication. I was living and working in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil at the time. Campinas is an hour away by plane, and I wasn’t sure if I could get away during the week. But a friend had tickets to sit in the Celestial Room during the dedication, and he convinced me to go. Boy am I glad I did.
Like many temples, the Campinas site sits on a hill overlooking a valley. You can see the temple for miles around, and it sits white and gleaming above the green fields and buildings. I arrived at the temple by taxi and joined a long line of well-behaved, well-dressed Brazilians filing into the building. After putting white covers on our shoes, we were taken straight to the Celestial Room.
Here are some excerpts from my journal, notes that I wrote down right after leaving the temple:
“I sat three rows back from President Hinckley and his wife. People began to weep as soon as the prophet entered the room. I cannot describe what a phenomenal experience it is to be near a man who causes people to weep with joy just by entering a room. President Hinckley…said the people in the room were some of the best in Brazil. He said all men who had not yet done so should bring their wives to the temple. He was sure that he and his wife would live together forever. He asked converts to compare their lives now to their lives in the past. All of us wept listening to him talk. His eyes were filled with love. When he said, ‘I love you,’ I knew he really did. I have never felt so good in my life. I have never felt so full of the spirit of God. I can finally understand what it must have been like to be in the Kirtland temple. What a great experience.”
There is no doubt in my mind that Pres. Hinckley is happy now, communing with his wife, his other deceased family members and past presidents of the Church, as well as the Great Jehovah. I am so thankful for him living a righteous life so I could feel the Spirit so strongly during my short experience at the Campinas temple. I will miss President Hinckley, but the Church goes on, and our new prophet will have the same Spirit.
Thank you for sharing this at this time. You did a good job of evoking the scene. I’m tearing up just from that much.
Thank you Geoff, this was nice.
Wow. Powerful entry. Thank you for sharing.
I used to wonder if I’d lived during Christ’s time if I would have been someone who would drop everything to follow him down the street, or if I would’ve been someone who thought, “The carpenter’s son? Whatever.”
Then I had the occasion to be in the same room as the Prophet. OK, it was a stadium. But the Spirit was so strong, it made me cry. And I was better able to understand how people were willing to give up everything to be with Christ.
I am so jealous! What an experience!
My goal, before I die, is to go back to Brasil and visit every operating temple there. When I served my mission back in 1990, Sao Paulo was the only temple in the country. My how things have grown.
Thank you for sharing that experience.
Geoff, I was in one of the chapels in Campinas where that dedication was being broadcast. I brought my wife to visit my mission area and our trip coincided with the Campinas temple dedication.
In fact, I have a funny tale to tell about the Campinas temple. It was built in a suburb on the outskirts of Campinas called Sousas. I served in Sousas, which at the time was just a struggling branch with a small house to meet in. During fast and testimony mtg, a member got up and bore his testimony, in which he said, “Who knows, we might even have a temple here in Sousas some day!” He was a fairly uneducated and recent member of the church who had been known for his less than tactful outbursts at other members and for his frequent ignorant statements.
I remember thinking self-righteously as only a relatively ignorant young American can, “What a joke! That’ll be the day. These people can’t even do their home teaching, and they’re talking about getting a temple.” Well, the joke was on me! I was shocked and humbled when I learned, years later, that there was going to be a temple in Campinas, and that it would be built in–of all places–Sousas!
Carl, that’s a great story. Campinas must have been a great place to serve a mission. Pretty good weather by Brazil standards — not as hot as the coastal areas and cool at night. Good for tracting!
Great account. I really felt the spirit whilst reading your journal entry. This post caught my attention for 2 reasons, for one the title of course and two, I’m living in Brazil at the moment. What a beautiful country it is. 🙂 (Salvador, BA by the way)
Thank you for sharing that experience, Geoff. What a great man President Hinckley is. I sure love Him. His love was powerful, and you could tell that he did love you when he spoke. I have had multiple opportunities to be in the Conference Center during General Conference, and it is such an awesome experience to be there when the Prophet walks in. A hush falls over the whole congregation that is incredible, and everyone stands together in reverence for the prophet of God. It is a powerful and special experience to be in the presence of a prophet of God.