Holiness to the Lord and Keystones

The awaited "Holiness to the Lord, House of the Lord" stone block has been placed.


It is the "keystone" of the beautiful arched window over the entrance on the east side of the Temple.


Ever since I saw the first picture of this stone, I have been anticipating it's placement and envisioned exactly where it would be. Thoughts and images of "keystones" have been racing through my head for a week.


Keystone:  "The central wedge-shaped stone of an arch that locks its parts together"or "the central supporting element of a whole."


"The Book of Mormon is a keystone because it establishes and ties together eternal principles and precepts, rounding out basic doctrines of salvation.  It is the crowning gem in the diadem of our holy scriptures."
"It is a keystone for other reasons also.  In the promises of Moroni previously referred to--namely, that God will manifest the truth of the Book of Mormon to every sincere inquirer having faith in Christ--we have a key link in a self-locking chain." 
President James E. Faust


I've also thought a lot about what our earlier ancestors and pioneers accomplished in making sacrifices for temples to be built.  In a talk by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland in the May 2000, Ensign...he too reflected on the blessings of their sacrifices.


He mentions the story of John R. Moyle...the man who hand carved the inscription on the Salt Lake City Temple.


"John R. Moyle lived in Alpine, Utah, about 22 miles as the crow flies to the Salt Lake Temple, where he was the chief superintendent of masonry during its construction. To make certain he was always at work by 8 o’clock, Brother Moyle would start walking about 2 a.m. on Monday mornings. He would finish his work week at 5 p.m. on Friday and then start the walk home, arriving there shortly before midnight. Each week he would repeat that schedule for the entire time he served on the construction of the temple.

Once when he was home on the weekend, one of his cows bolted during milking and kicked Brother Moyle in the leg, shattering the bone just below the knee. With no better medical help than they had in such rural circumstances, his family and friends took a door off the hinges and strapped him onto that makeshift operating table. They then took the bucksaw they had been using to cut branches from a nearby tree and amputated his leg just a few inches below the knee. When against all medical likelihood the leg finally started to heal, Brother Moyle took a piece of wood and carved an artificial leg. First he walked in the house. Then he walked around the yard. Finally he ventured out about his property. When he felt he could stand the pain, he strapped on his leg, walked the 22 miles to the Salt Lake Temple, climbed the scaffolding, and with a chisel in his hand hammered out the declaration “Holiness to the Lord.”

Here at the Kansas City Temple many decades later...a crane hoisted and lifted a plaque very similar to the one created by Bro. Moyle...under very different circumstances...this very week.

How blessed we are to live in this day and age.  To have the fulness of the Gospel.  To have the "keystone", the Book of Mormon and to have all this built on the faithfulness of those who have gone before.

I am humbled.  I am pleased to share exquisite photos of the Kansas City Temple "Holiness to the Lord, The House of the Lord" stone affixed.  

It is a glorious occasion on a beautiful day at the Kansas City Temple.