I am a very disciplined person, and I like consistency. I have always been a weekly temple-goer, but recently it started to become monotonous and inconvenient. My sister, knowing that I live by a strict schedule, encouraged me to choose one activity I regularly do each week, and replace that with the temple. I decided to replace one of my gym days with the temple--doing this has helped me to make temple attendance a regular and expected part of my week, when I know exactly what day and time it will happen.
Why do we build temples?
LDS.org tells us: "From the days of the Old Testament, the Lord has commanded His people to build temples-sacred structures where He could teach, guide, and bless them. For example, the Lord told the Israelites to build a portable tabernacle that would be their temple while they traveled in the wilderness (see Exodus 26-27; 40:35). Additional Old Testament references to temples are found in 2 Chronicles 5:1-14; 7:1-2 (Temple of Solomon) and Ezra 3:1-13; 6:3 (Temple of Zerubbabel).
"When Jesus Christ was on the earth, the only existing temple was known as the Temple of Herod. Jesus was often found in this temple (see, for example, Luke 2:40-49; Matthew 21:10-14).
"After the rejection and deaths of Jesus's Apostles, there were no temples on the earth for many centuries. When the gospel of Jesus Christ was restored in the early 1800s, the Lord again commanded His people to build temples (see D&C 88:119; see also section 95). The earliest temples of the restored Church were built in Ohio, Illinois, and eventually in Utah. Today, the Church has 150 operating temples around the world. Regardless of the place or time period, temples are the most sacred place on earth--a place where earth and heaven meet and where we feel close to our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.
President Gordon B. Hinckley, former president of the LDS Church, taught, "Temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are sacred structures in which eternal questions are answered."
In temples we most often talk about the work we do for the dead, but what about the living who attend? What are the benefits of attending the temple regularly?
In 1993, Elder Dean L. Larsen of the presidency of the Quorum of the 70 taught, "There is [an] aspect of temple activity that has great importance for living members. I refer not only to the ordinances performed for the living but as well to the spiritually uplifting, strengthening influence in individual lives that results from regular temple attendance.
"In a world that is ripening in iniquity (see D&C 18:6), members of the Church face the challenge of sustaining a pattern of obedience to gospel principles that will result in their being increasingly different from the general behavioral trends of the world. This will require all of the spiritual reinforcement that can be drawn upon. Prayer, scripture study, participation in worship services, and the giving of service will become increasingly essential. The influence of the temple will be important as a part of this spiritual undergirding. . . .
"President Ezra Taft Benson has affirmed: 'Many parents, in and out of the Church, are concerned about protection against a cascading avalanche of wickedness which threatens to engulf [the world]. … There is a power associated with ordinances of heaven—even the power of godliness—which can and will thwart the forces of evil if we will but be worthy of those sacred [covenants made in the temple of the Lord]. … Our families will be protected, our children will be safeguarded as we live the gospel, visit the temple, and live close to the Lord.” (Atlanta Georgia Temple Cornerstone Laying, 1 June 1983.)
"Elder Boyd K. Packer has said, 'Our labors in the temple cover us with a shield and a protection, both individually and as a people.' (Boyd K. Packer, The Holy Temple, Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1980, p. 265.) He has also added: 'The Lord will bless us as we attend to the sacred ordinance work of the temples. Blessings there will not be limited to our temple service. We will be blessed in all of our affairs. We will be eligible to have the Lord take an interest in our affairs both spiritual and temporal.' (Ibid., p. 182.)
"In an address to the regional representatives of the Church on 6 April 1984, President Gordon B. Hinckley said, 'I am satisfied that if our people would attend the temple more, there would be less of selfishness in their lives. There would be less of absence of love in their relationships. There would be more of fidelity on the part of husbands and wives. There would be more of love and peace and happiness in the homes of our people.' (Regional Representatives’ Seminar, 6 Apr. 1984.)
"These are remarkable promises made by the Lord’s chosen servants to his people. Those who attend the temple regularly can attest to their validity. There is a definite connection between qualifying for the protecting and preserving powers of the Lord and regular temple attendance. The reverse is also true. When one does not go to the temple regularly, he is more susceptible to the world’s influence.
"As we contemplate the challenge of living faithful, happy, fulfilling lives in the 'perilous times' spoken of by the Apostle Paul (see 2 Tim. 3:1), we must draw upon all of the spiritual powers available to us. The temple is a principal source for the renewal of these powers.
"Heavenly Father will not fail in his promises to us if we do all that we can do to keep open the conduit of spiritual strength that is available to us. The temple will play an increasingly important role in this regard.
"In performing temple work, we not only provide an essential service for those who have passed on without opportunity to receive the ordinances of celestial life, but we also expose ourselves regularly to a spiritually refining influence that counteracts the growing forces of evil so commonly encountered in the world today. This is not the least of the blessings that come from regular temple activity."
So spiritual upliftment, strength, protection, power, love, and peace are but part of the blessings we receive from attending the temple. That sounds pretty good to me.
Another incredible blessing of attending the temple is that in there we are taught the most pure, natural doctrines of marriage and family. In a world that is quickly becoming confused about the order of the family, temple ordinances "reorient us to the natural order of the universe." Hugh Nibley taught, "'The earth temple [is] in the middle of everything, … around which all heavenly motions revolve, the knot that ties earth and heaven together.' Thus, the temple has the power to etch God’s natural laws of marriage and family life into our hearts" (Elder Bruce C. Hafen, "Temples and the Natural Order of Marriage").
So why should the temple be important for me?
I've read in the scriptures that God has commanded His people to worship in temples since ancient times. When the Lord restored His Church through the Prophet Joseph Smith, He directed that temples once again be built. I was blessed to born into the Church, so I have felt the presence of God as I've attended the temple. Having temples on the earth is a witness of God’s love for me and all His children.
Everything in the temple testifies that God is my Father and that Jesus Christ is His Son and the Savior of the world. This knowledge is the foundation for my life.
For me, the temple is sacred. It is a peaceful place where I can go to worship God. It is unique from all other places in the world, a refuge. It is centered around the family unit so it reminds me that my family can be united forever and that we can be blessed through sacred gospel ordinances. It is also a place where I can feel closer to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and a place to seek direction concerning life’s challenges.
The temple gives me an opportunity to serve. In addition to receiving my own temple ordinances, I can receive ordinances on behalf of my ancestors and others who have died without the opportunity to receive them. (Baptism, confirmation, and every other ordinance necessary for salvation.)
The temple helps me to access the atonement. It can help me during times of trial, if I'm really striving to turn to God. All the things we're commanded to do in the temple enable us to better access the atonement.
In order to even qualify to enter the temple we must live up to a very high standard. My desire to go to the temple pushes me to live a more righteous life outside the temple.
The temple teaches me things that remind me of the true order of marriage and family, so I will not get confused about false teachings of the world. I will have a stronger marriage: I'll be a better wife, mother, sister, and daughter.
In April 2016 Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Twelve Apostles taught about the keys of the priesthood. He emphasized temple attendance as an important way to "find the keys." The keys of the priesthood were restored by the prophet Elijah, and these keys "enable ordinances to take place in holy temples. Ordinances performed in these temples enable individuals and families to return to the presence of our heavenly parents."
An important part of going to the temple is researching our ancestors and findng names of those who never received temple ordinances. We have the opportunity to act as proxy in behalf of those who have died, to give them the chance to accept all the ordinances of the gospel and receive the full blessings of the priesthood. These keys allow families to be sealed together for eternity.
The temple is a place for us to receive knowledge and divine instruction from God. A temple dedicatory prayer in D&C 109 tells us:
13 And that all people who shall enter upon the threshold of the Lord’s house may feel thy power, and feel constrained to acknowledge that thou hast sanctified it, and that it is thy house, a place of thy holiness . . .
14 And do thou grant, Holy Father, that all those who shall worship in this house may be taught words of wisdom out of the best books, and that they may seek learning even by study, and also by faith, as thou hast said;
15 And that they may grow up in thee, and receive a fulness of the Holy Ghost, and be organized according to thy laws, and be prepared to obtain every needful thing;
16 And that this house may be a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of glory and of God, even thy house;
17 That all the incomings of thy people, into this house, may be in the name of the Lord;
18 That all their outgoings from this house may be in the name of the Lord;
19 And that all their salutations may be in the name of the Lord, with holy hands, uplifted to the Most High;
20 And that no unclean thing shall be permitted to come into thy house to pollute it;
21 And when thy people transgress, any of them, they may speedily repent and return unto thee, and find favor in thy sight, and be restored to the blessings which thou hast ordained to be poured out upon those who shall reverence thee in thy house.
22 And we ask thee, Holy Father, that thy servants may go forth from this house armed with thy power, and that thy name may be upon them, and thy glory be round about them, and thine angels have charge over them;
23 And from this place they may bear exceedingly great and glorious tidings, in truth, unto the ends of the earth, that they may know that this is thy work, and that thou hast put forth thy hand, to fulfil that which thou hast spoken by the mouths of the prophets, concerning the last days.
24 We ask thee, Holy Father, to establish the people that shall worship, and honorably hold a name and standing in this thy house, to all generations and for eternity;
25 That no weapon formed against them shall prosper; that he who diggeth a pit for them shall fall into the same himself;
26 That no combination of wickedness shall have power to rise up and prevail over thy people upon whom thy name shall be put in this house;
. . . 5 That the Son of Man might have a place to manifest himself to his people.
My closing thoughts...
Two verses that I think capture a significant lesson relating to the temple come from the story of Nephi building a ship in the Book of Mormon:
"Now I, Nephi, did not work the timbers after the manner which was learned by men, neither did I build the ship after the manner of men; but I did build it after the manner which the Lord had shown unto me; wherefore, it was not after the manner of men.
"And I, Nephi, did go into the mount oft, and I did pray oft unto the Lord; wherefore the Lord showed unto me great things" (1 Nephi 18:2-3).
To me, these verses are symbolic of the way we should live our lives in order to be worthy of the temple and receive divine revelation from the Lord. As we "work the timbers" or live our lives in the manner of the Lord, He will direct us in ways different than the "manner of men." Oftentimes in the scriptures the "mount" represents the temple--many prophets have gone to the mountains to pray and be with God, and they have come back changed or with new direction. As we go "into the mount" or into the temple oft, and "pray oft unto the Lord," He will show unto us "great things."
In 1992 April general conference, President Gordon B. Hinckley referenced Paul's description of Latter-day Saints as "a peculiar people." He said, "If the world continues its present trend, and if you walk in obedience to the doctrines and principles of this church, you may become even more peculiar in the eyes of others." Members of the Church are taught divine values based on the teachings of Jesus Christ, and these teachings constitute "a code of ethics, a code of values, a code of divine doctrine" which Latter-day Saints are expected to live by. Pres. Hinckley promised, "If you will shape your lives according to their pattern, I do not hesitate to promise that you will know much of peace and happiness, of growth and achievement. . . . I challenge you to rise above the sordid elements of the world about you."The temple is a refuge that allows us to "rise above" the world. As we live the values we are taught, we prepare ourselves to enter the house of the Lord where we are instructed further. And, most importantly of all, temples all around the world are preparing the world for the Second Coming of our Savior Jesus Christ: "And even so I have sent mine everlasting covenant into the world, to be a light to the world, and to be a standard for my people, and for the Gentiles to seek to it, and to be a messenger before my face to prepare the way before me" (D&C 45:9).
