The Kingston Jamaica Stake and the Jamaica Kingston Mission has launched a “Week of Holiness” to be held August 2-8, 2020, under the theme, “Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing, and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God;…” (D&C 109:8).
Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Jamaica usually participate in an annual one to two-weeks trip to the Panama Temple in July of each year. However, the COVID-19 pandemic, which has caused many restrictions to be placed on travel as well as the temporary closure of temples worldwide, has resulted in the cancellation of the annual trip. It is hoped that the week of activities will put those who take part back into the habit of temple worship and family history work, helping them to realize, that despite the chaos of our times we can feel the presence of the Lord in our homes if we consecrate our time to Him. Elder Kevin Brown, an Area Seventy, said, “We want each home… to be pitched with their doors towards the temple, we want to move all our members to desire the blessings of the temple.”
A series of activities have been planned for each day of the week, that is seven days filled with holiness. The week of planned activities include:
- Reading the booklet, “Preparing to Enter the Holy Temple” by Boyd K. Packer.
- Indexing – aimed at helping others to discover their family history.
- Watching videos about the temple and family history work to increase understanding of the importance of and the blessings that come from going to the House of the Lord; and
- Temple and Family History work – to include adding names of family members and memories to our Family trees and reserving names for temple ordinances, thereby turning “the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to the fathers…” (Malachi 4:6).
Members of the Church are being asked to serve this week by participating in the daily activities for at least two hours, spending time thinking about the covenants they have made or hope to make and recording the impressions and testimonies they receive each day. Brother and Sister Patrick Medley, Temple and Family History Multi-Stake Consultants for the Jamaica Kingston Mission, hopes that it will, “take our minds from the things of the world and help us to recall the covenants we have made or the covenants we will make in the future.”
Members of the Church from the Jamaica Kingston Mission which includes the island of Jamaica and the Nassau Caribbean District inclusive of the Grand Cayman Branch, the Grand Bahama Branch, New Providence Branch and Providenciales Branch - are expected to participate in the “Week of Holiness”. It is the first in a long time that the entire mission has done an activity like this and Sister Medley hopes that it will bring a sense of unity, love, hope and faith to everyone at a time when we are the furthest apart. It is hoped that the week’s activities will draw participants closer to God, giving them an opportunity to “Hear Him” and give them a sense of hope as they lay aside all the worries and challenges of this world. All are invited to share their experiences at #templeandfamilyweekjkm.