For some, the suffering is extraordinary. In the early days of the Church Stillman Pond was a member of the second quorum of the seventy in Nauvoo. He was an early convert to the Church, having come from Hubbardston, Massachusetts. Like others, he and his wife, Maria, and their children were harassed and driven out of Nauvoo. In September 1846 they became part of the great western migration. The early winter that year brought extreme hardships, including malaria, cholera, and consumption. The family was visited by all three of these diseases.

Maria contracted consumption, and all of the children were stricken with malaria. Three of the children died while moving through the early snows. Stillman buried them on the plains. Maria's condition worsened because of the grief, pain, and the fever of malaria. She could no longer walk. Weakened and sickly, she gave birth to twins. They were named Joseph and Hyrum, and both died within a few days.

The Stillman Pond family arrived at Winter Quarters, and like many other families, they suffered bitterly while living in a tent. The death of five children coming across the plains to Winter Quarters was but a beginning.

The journal of Horace K. and Helen Mar Whitney verifies the following regarding four more of the children of Stillman Pond who perished:

"On Wednesday, the 2nd of December 1846, Laura Jane Pond, age 14 years, . . . died of chills and fever." Two days later on "Friday, the 4th of December 1846, Harriet M. Pond, age 11 years, . . . died with chills." Three days later, "Monday, the 7th of December, 1846, Abigail A. Pond, age 18 years, . . . died with chills." Just five weeks later, "Friday, the 15th of January, 1847, Lyman Pond, age 6 years, . . . died with chills and fever."

Four months later, on May 17, 1847, his wife, Maria Davis Pond, also died. Crossing the plains, Stillman Pond lost nine children and a wife. He became an outstanding colonizer in Utah and later became a leader in the quorums of the seventy. Having lost these nine children and his wife in crossing the plains, Stillman Pond did not lose his faith. He did not quit. He went forward. He paid a price, as have many others before and since, to become acquainted with God.

"The proving of one's faith goes before the witnessing, for Moroni testified, 'Ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith.' This trial of faith can become a priceless experience."

• These people obviously were so poor that they did not have anything else to give to the morg other than their fillings. It is a sick institution that would even think of taking them to help pay for a building.
• Those deceived people who had those fillings removed exposed their bloodstream to bacteria from their mouth which can be carried to the heart and other organs which can cause a myriad of health problems, including death.
• You can bet this was NO sacrifice on the part of Faust to buy this gold. What a scum bag.
• This was the late 1990's. The morg had more than enough money to pay for the whole temple!!!!! I lived in Utah Valley when the Mt. Timp temple was built and we were never asked to sacrifice or donate for that temple. Why these poor people in South America, some of whom can barely scrape together enough money for food!!!!!
• When I told my children about this, my 14-year old son said, "The church has enough money! What the hell!?!", and my daughter, who was eating breakfast, lost her appetite. This is so sick and wrong!!!

The Porto Alegre Brazil Temple is the third temple to be dedicated in the nation of Brazil. The temple's location overlooks the city from the east toward a large river and port for which the city is named.

President Faust turned the ceremonial first shovelful of earth during the groundbreaking ceremony. After, he invited a young girl and boy to come help him with the digging. They not only came forward and assisted him, but the little girl also waited for him the next day at the Campinas regional conference to give him a hug of appreciation.

He emphasized the need for saints to sacrifice for temple building. He told how members in Argentina found ways to donate during the construction of the Sуo Paulo Temple. They gave the gold from the dental work in their mouths to help pay on the temple. He said that he had purchased some of the gold fillings for more than the market price to impress upon the minds of congregations the nature of the sacrifice made by these members.

"9. If you can find any parallel at all between an alleged group of ancient people and a real group of ancient people, no matter how distant or unrelated the parallel and the two groups, you can claim to have shown circumstantial evidence that the alleged ancient group of people really existed without needing to show any evidence that the alleged ancient group and the real ancient group ever actually interacted with each other."

When it was first published in 1830, there was little scientific or historical evidence to substantiate the claims of Joseph Smith that the record came from metallic plates and told of ancient civilizations on the North and South American continents. Today such outward evidences have been discovered and help confirm that Joseph Smith was telling the truth about the Book of Mormon.

I have heard some say, “Well, I can believe all of the revelations but one.” It is hard to understand this logic. If one believes that revelations come from a divine source, how can one pick and choose? Acceptance of the gospel should be complete and absolute, with full heart and soul.