Temple
Attendance: A spiritual recharge, an
opportunity to leave the turmoil of the world and to enhance our relationship
with our Heavenly Father and His Son
Elder Franklin D. Richards (Of The First Quorum Of
The Seventy)
Our Father in Heaven is a
loving parent. He has said: “For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring
to pass the immortality and
eternal life of man” (Moses
1:39).
To this end, He restored the gospel in this dispensation.
Pres Monson
Until you
have entered the house of the Lord and have received all the blessings which
await you there, you have not obtained everything the Church has to offer. The
all-important and crowning blessings of membership in the Church are those
blessings which we receive in the temples of God.
Elder Richards:
A temple is a place where the divine spark in man, or the infinite in man, can
seek the infinite in God.
In the temple we are taught, we make covenants, and we are promised
blessings. We receive ordinances that enable us to live in the presence of God.
If we don’t live the law set out,
we cannot expect to have the blessings. If we want to live in the Celestial
Kingdom we have to live by the conditions set by Heavenly Father to be allowed
to gain entry. Just like you can’t get into university without meeting the
requirements, and with good reason. You won’t be ready or able to be there.
Endowment
One
ordinance we receive in the temple is the endowment. The word endowment means “gift” or
“bestowal.” As part of this ordinance, we are taught about the purpose of
life, the mission and Atonement of Jesus Christ, and Heavenly Father’s plan for
His children. We gain a glimpse of what it will be like to live in
His presence as we feel the peaceful atmosphere of the temple.
Sealing
Another
temple ordinance is the sealing ordinance, in which husbands and wives are
sealed to each other and children are sealed to their parents in eternal
families. This means that if we are faithful to our covenants, our family
relationships will continue for eternity. People sometimes also refer to this
ordinance as “temple marriage” or “eternal marriage.”
Ordinances for the Deceased
In addition
to receiving these ordinances for ourselves, we can receive them for our
deceased ancestors. In this way, people who died without receiving essential
ordinances such as baptism and confirmation, the endowment, and sealing have
the opportunity to accept these ordinances.
Look at family. Imagine not
having them in the eternities.
Have to be sealed to qualify to
have them.
D&C 131
1 IN the celestial glory there are three
heavens or degrees;
2 And in order to obtain the highest, a man
must enter into this order of the priesthood [meaning the new and everlasting
covenant of marriage];
3 And if he does not, he cannot obtain it.
4 He may enter into the other, but that is the
end of his kingdom; he cannot have an increase.
D&C 132
4 For behold, I reveal unto you a new and an
everlasting covenant; and if ye abide not that covenant, then are ye damned;
for no one can reject this covenant and be permitted to enter into my glory.
5 For all who will have a blessing at my hands
shall abide the law which was appointed for that blessing, and the conditions
thereof, as were instituted from before the foundation of the world.
…
7 And verily I say unto you, that the
conditions of this law are these: All covenants, contracts, bonds, obligations,
oaths, vows, … that are not made and entered into and sealed by the Holy Spirit
of promise, of him who is anointed, both as well for time and for all eternity,
… are of no efficacy, virtue, or force in and after the resurrection from the
dead; for all contracts that are not made unto this end have an end when men
are dead.
…
15 Therefore, if a man marry him a wife in the
world, and he marry her not by me nor by my word, and he covenant with her so
long as he is in the world and she with him, their covenant and marriage are
not of force when they are dead, and when they are out of the world; therefore,
they are not bound by any law when they are out of the world.
16 Therefore, when they are out of the world
they … are appointed angels in heaven, which angels are ministering servants,
to minister for those who are worthy of a far more, and an exceeding, and an
eternal weight of glory.
17 For these angels did not abide my law;
therefore, they cannot be enlarged, but remain separately and singly, without
exaltation, in their saved condition, to all eternity; and from henceforth are
not gods, but are angels of God forever and ever.
…
19 And again, verily I say unto you, if a man
marry a wife by my word, which is my law, and by the new and everlasting
covenant, and it is sealed unto them by the Holy Spirit of promise, by him who
is anointed, unto whom I have appointed this power and the keys of this
priesthood; … it … shall be of full force when they are out of the world; and
they shall pass by the angels, and the gods, which are set there, to their
exaltation and glory in all things, as hath been sealed upon their heads, which
glory shall be a fulness and a continuation of the seeds forever and ever.
Have to do everything in our
power to have those sealing ordinances. Church will help you get there for your
first time even so there is no excuse about finances.
Devastated if a parent or child
dies. How will you feel for all eternity? We WILL be resurrected and live for
eternity. Wouldn’t want to do that without our families.
Even if family , members have
major issues, we will all be perfected at the stage of going to the celestial
kingdom, including ourselves!
But if you have been to the
temple...
Security of knowing you're sealed
to your spouse and parents and children. Accident on the way home from our
sealing.
Temple sealing a comfort and
security for children in the family.
Going to temple itself brings
many blessings to you
Change in life to be worthy, and
then stay worthy – obedience to all commandments will bring us joy and
happiness
The blessings of the ordinances –
the knowledge, sealing
Learning about the plan of
Salvation. See the fall of Adam, and the need for a saviour.
Coming closer to the Saviour
Feeling the Spirit during the
ordinances, and in the celestial room.
(www.lds.org) Temples
are places of learning.
Their principal purpose is to provide ordinances necessary for the children of
God to enable them to return to dwell with Him. Temple ordinances lead to the
greatest blessings available through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Everything
in the Church—the meetings and activities, the missionary efforts, the lessons
taught and the hymns—all lead to the work done in holy temples.
One ordinance received in the temple is called the endowment. The word endowment
means “gift,” and the temple endowment truly is a gift from God. The
ordinance consists of a series of instructions and includes covenants to live
righteously and follow the requirements of the gospel. The endowment focuses on
the Savior, His role in Heavenly Father's plan, and the personal commitment of
each member to follow Him.
Another temple ordinance is celestial marriage. In this ordinance
husband and wife are sealed to one another for eternity. A sealing performed in
the temple continues forever if the husband and wife are faithful to the
covenants they make.
Children born to parents who have been sealed in the temple are born in
the covenant. These children automatically become part of an eternal family.
Children who are not born in the covenant can also become part of an eternal
family once their natural or adoptive parents have been sealed to one another.
The ordinance of sealing children to parents is performed in the temple.
Change in your life focus which
brings peace.
Talk by Elder Cook
“The peace to which I am referring is not just a temporary tranquillity.
It is an abiding deep happiness and spiritual contentment.
it is priesthood authority in the Church that provides for sacred
ordinances and covenants that bind families together and qualify each of us to
return to God the Father and Jesus Christ in the celestial kingdom. These
ordinances bring peace because they are covenants with the Lord.
Temples are where many of these sacred ordinances occur and are also a
source of peaceful refuge from the world.”
Peace is different to being happy
all the time. Things do still go wrong but you are better able to deal with it.
Possibly why the pioneers were strengthened by first going to the temple.
Eternal perspective, and knowing family is sealed.
Pres Faust
As
the pioneers had the larger vision in their daily challenge for survival, so
also we need to have a greater vision and understanding of our eternal destiny.
Our challenges are more subtle but equally hard. Maintaining our spiritual
strength is also a daily challenge. The greatest source of that spiritual
strength comes, as it did in their time, from our temples.
D&C 124:36
36 For it is ordained that in Zion, and in her
stakes, and in Jerusalem, those places which I have appointed for refuge, shall
be the places for your baptisms for your dead.
The Lord has actually appointed
the temple as the place we should go as a refuge.
Spiritual recharge. Grandpa said every 6 months.
“I think there is no place in the world where I feel closer to the Lord
than in one of His holy temples.”
—President Thomas S. Monson
In addition to the closeness we feel to the Lord when we are in the
temple, we can continue to receive blessings even after we have returned to our
everyday lives. Attending the temple gives us a clearer perspective and a sense
of purpose and peace. President
Thomas S. Monson described temple blessings as follows:
“As we go to the holy house, as we remember the covenants we make
therein, we will be able to bear every trial and overcome each temptation. The
temple provides purpose for our lives. It brings peace to our souls—not the
peace provided by men but the peace promised by the Son of God when He said,
‘Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be
troubled, neither let it be afraid.’”
President Boyd K. Packer, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles,
described additional blessings of attending the temple:
“When members of the Church are troubled or when crucial decisions
weigh heavily upon their minds, it is a common thing for them to go to the
temple. It is a good place to take our cares. In the temple we can receive
spiritual perspective. There, during the time of the temple service, we are
‘out of the world.’
“Sometimes our minds are so beset with problems, and there are so many
things clamoring for attention at once that we just cannot think clearly and
see clearly. At the temple the dust of distraction seems to settle out, the
fog and the haze seem to lift, and we can ‘see’ things that we were not able to
see before and find a way through our troubles that we had not previously
known.
“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” (“The Holy Temple,”Ensign,
Feb. 1995).
In addition to being a place where sacred priesthood ordinances are
performed, the temple is a place of peace and revelation. It is a place where
spiritual guidance can be received for crucial decisions or concerns.
The Lord blesses those who attend to the sacred ordinance work in the
temple. And the blessings He gives will not be limited to the time spent in the
temple. Those who do temple work will be blessed in all aspects of their lives.
Their labors in the temple will strengthen them and refine them spiritually.
Pres Monson
The world can be a
challenging and difficult place in which to live. We are often surrounded by
that which would drag us down. As you and I go to the holy houses of God, as we
remember the covenants we make within, we will be more able to bear every trial
and to overcome each temptation. In this sacred sanctuary we will find peace;
we will be renewed and fortified
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