Talk: Blessings of the temple

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.

(www.lds.org) What Happens in Temples

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.

(www.lds.org) Blessings of the Temple

“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).

(www.lds.org) Blessings from Attending the Temple

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

So how am I doing?

It's been over two months since I did a post, and the reality has been that I've just been too busy... But things are slowing down for the year, so hopefully I can catch up on the news that I've missed, especially with my kids. I've been making notes and taking photos so it's just getting a chance to sit down and blog it all.

But just before I went AWOL someone responded to all my news about my kids asking how I'M doing. So I thought I'd catch you all up on my life a bit.

I came back to work on 13 September, 4 days after my last post, and almost 2 months ago now. And that was definitely a huge contributing factor to my silence. Thankfully I can honestly say that coming back was not at all traumatic. When I went back to work after having Joshua I really struggled at first, and was never really happy until I finished my articles. I think that coming back to UCT has definitely made a huge difference. And I think that all working moms with more than one child will say that it's easier the second time because you know what it's like being a working mom, and you know that your child will be okay. Having Hannah going to the same day mother as Joshua, who I know that I can trust completely, also made a huge difference in my peace of mind.

I came back at a hectic time of year, with things building up to the climax of the final exams. But I've just finished my marking (finally) and now it's pretty much planning for next year, finishing my work on the textbook I'm helping with and a few other projects. But nothing like the mad frenzy I've felt for the last little while. Not that the work I've been doing has been so hectic, but it's been the work on top of everything else that has been a bit much at times.

The other work related thing is that I applied for a permanent position as a lecturer at UCT, and after a mock-lecture presentation that I had to do, and a reasonably gruelling interview, I was appointed, along with a few other contract employees and some new staff. It's great to have that out of the way now. And it's only when I apply for promotion in a few years (after I do my Masters) that I'll have to go through something like that again.

So that's pretty much me on the work front. In terms of my calling at church we've been preparing for our annual Primary presentation, which will be this Sunday. All of the kids have parts to say, and there are 9 songs that I've been teaching them and hopefully they'll do me proud. I must say that they've managed to bring me to tears every year I've been involved, and I hope that they'll do the same again this year ;o)

And then the big news in terms of Church is that Andrew was called as the Bishop of our ward at the beginning of October.

Just to explain, in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints we have a lay clergy. So all of our leadership have regular jobs and then do their Church work in addition to it. As a result you will hold any calling for a limited period of time, and then move onto something else so that the heavy callings are not permanently on a single person. The average period of time that a Bishop serves for is 5 years, although our previous Bishop had served for 8 years. I hope that Andrew's time will be more towards average ;o)

None of our leaders have a formal theological qualification like happens in many other churches. Rather you become "qualified" through your faithfulness, experience and through your personal study. But then you rely very much on the Spirit to make up the difference. We believe that all callings are decided on through revelation and inspiration, so it is literally the Lord who is calling you to whatever responsibility you have, and "whom the Lord calls, He qualifies".

Most callings in the Church are decided on at a local level, so for a ward calling the Bishop and his counsellors will pray to know who should fill each position, and the Stake Presidency will pray about Stake callings etc. But the calling of a Bishop is unique, in that every Bishop who is called around the world (and there are over 20 000 wards worldwide) is recommended by the local Stake Presidency, but their names are then submitted to the Prophet and his counsellors and they will authorise the call (and I know of at least once when the First Presidency sent back to say that the name submitted was not correct and the Stake leadership had to relook at it). It's quite something to know that President Monson, who we sustain as a Prophet, personally signed off on Andrew's call.

The members do then give a sustaining vote by showing an uplifted hand whenever a name is presented for any calling, so everything is done by common consent, and it's not like a decision is made and then inflicted on the members.

You don't "apply" for any positions for the Church, and we certainly did not look for this calling. I think that when we got the phone call asking us to come and meet with the Stake President both of us had very sinking hearts, because we both know deep down what the interview was going to result in. No one who has ever been a Bishop, or had one in their family, will tell you that it's easy. As we've spoken to other people though they tell us that the blessings are significant, and I think at times that may be all that keeps them, and often particularly the wives, going.

So what does all of this mean. Well, Andrew is now the spiritual leader of the 250 odd people who live within our ward, and he has ultimate responsibility for seeing that everything in the ward runs well. But delegation is a wonderful thing, and just about all of us have responsibilities that we need to carry out, so he doesn't have to do it all alone.

But there is lots of time sacrifice - we're literally being asked to live up to the covenant we've made to consecrate our time and talents to the Lord. Just this week: Monday Andrew went to visit a family, Tuesday was Youth, Wednesday he's hoping to be able to visit another family, Thursday is free at this point, but who knows, Friday he has to go to the Priesthood Preview for the new Deacons, Saturday morning I've got a Primary activity/practice, Saturday afternoon we're going to watch Annie at the Artscape ;o) and then Sunday he'll be home much later than us after church... So yes, I miss him already... We have to learn how to make maximum use of the time that he is home, and he's trying to do as much as possible after the kids go to bed etc, so that he still has time with them. And where it's practical and not something confidential we want to try and involve the kids, so we've gone as a family to visit a few people.

Up until last week he was having also to fit in studying in addition to everything else, but his exams are now over and hopefully he's passed them and then just has 2 more courses to do.

And I've already seen changes in Andrew, it's been amazing to see him settling into this role and the responsibilities that it brings. It's hard to put it into words, but he's almost "grown in stature". And in fact I saw these changes starting to happen even before he was called, but as he was being prepared by the Spirit for this. I know he'll be a good bishop - I married a good man.

So life is hectic, and I hope you understand why I haven't had time to tell you all about my life. Thankfully I have quieter times of year with my job, and I'm heading into one right now!

Religions of South Africa

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints will be on featured on an upcoming episode of a new television series called “Religions of South Africa” which runs on SABC 1 on Tuesdays at 21h00 (9:00 pm). The 8–minute episode discussing the Church will air this coming Tuesday, 3 August 2010.

Primary

I was called as the second counsellor in the Primary presidency last week. I haven't been released as Primary music leader, and for the foreseeable future I will do both.

I'm excited to be properly back into helping to run Primary. I'm hoping that I'll be able to translate all of my wishes and intentions into me being a solid support to Debbie, the president.

So the beginning of another chapter. Some people might think this weird, but I like change, and I get excited when I get to start something new (most of the time...)

Sunday...

Today was quite a cool day... We got to church and they had put some of the decorations from the Valentine's dance last night into the Primary room... Well, this was just too irresistible for Joshua!

And Primary in general went really well today! I was starting to teach the children "How Firm a Foundation", which I thought was going to be quite challenging, because it's in the hymn book, instead of the Children's Song Book, and they normally struggle a bit more with the hymns. But they completely blew me away! Little Mikhail was especially amazing. He somehow was completely taken with this hymn. He sang out, and had the words almost completely memorised by the end of the 20 minutes or so that I had with them. I used and idea that I found on someone else's blog, where I used coloured blocks of paper to make bricks, and the words for the song were on all of these bricks. So as we went line by line we built up the foundation, and then we started turning over the bricks when they got to know the words. And there were only 4 children, but they sang louder than the whole Primary do sometimes! It was so fantastic!

And then after sacrament Mikhail came to me and he's been writing out the words out of the hymnbook during sacrament so that he can practice at home! How sweet is that!

We were over at my parents this afternoon... And Joshua just loves their piano! Just look at how hard he's trying to play!

My two boys in their matching shirts...

And then he wanted to play some more...

I think we'll all be very surprised if we don't have a musician here... He is so interested in music. He loves to dance, whether just sitting by himself, or me dancing with him. He's singing with for a lot of things. And people who are more musical than me are saying that he's actually singing the right note... And any musical toys he loves - Paige has a toy guitar that he loves, his xylophone (which he now manages to consistently hit), his toy that plays different tunes... But then it shouldn't really surprise us I guess. I have a strong family history of music on both sides, and Andrew's family is reasonably musical too.

But we'll be guided by him... I want to do the same as my parents did - force us to do music for one year so that we can make an educated choice, and then we got to choose if we wanted to continue. Us three girls did music to matric (and Cindy's planning on doing a BMus next year). The two guys are musically inclined, but weren't into the structured stuff. So Andrew is learning to play the guitar, had drums, can play to piano when he wants to learn something specific, and Richard took singing last year, and he's still singing in my ward choir. So I think my parent's strategy was successful, and that's my plan for my kids.

But somehow I don't think we'll have a problem with this specific child!