All of these questions are great and it would be really good if I could address all of them, but mormon.org already did. My purpose in talking about temples today is to give us all a clearer understanding of why temples would be important today and along with that why we need make attending the temple one of our top priorities, I pray that as I speak today I may do so with the assistance of the Holy Spirit and I also pray that all of you may be able to have the same assistance in learning from the words that I will speak.
First I would like to talk about where temples even came from: In the bible dictionary it explains all about ancient temple worship and why they used them, it reads: A temple is literally a house of the Lord, a holy sanctuary in which sacred ceremonies and ordinances of the gospel are performed by and for the living and also in behalf of the dead. A place where the Lord may come, it is the most holy of any place of worship on the earth. Only the home can compare with the temple in sacredness.
Whenever the Lord has had a people on the earth who will obey his word, they have been commanded to build temples in which the ordinances of the gospel and other spiritual manifestations that pertain to exaltation and eternal life may be administered. In cases of extreme poverty or emergency, these ordinances may sometimes be done on a mountaintop (see D&C 124:37–55). This may be the case with Mount Sinai and the Mount of Transfiguration. The tabernacle erected by Moses was a type of portable temple, since the Israelites were traveling in the wilderness.
From Adam to the time of Jesus, ordinances were performed in temples for the living only. After Jesus opened the way for the gospel to be preached in the world of spirits, ceremonial work for the dead, as well as for the living, has been done in temples on the earth by faithful members of the Church. Building and properly using a temple is one of the marks of the true Church in any dispensation, and is especially so in the present day.
So what do we do in temples today? One of the things that I would like to expound upon would be Covenants, what is a covenant? A covenant is a two way promise that is made between God and man, God sets the conditions that he will bless us with certain things as we obey his word and teachings. For example: Baptism is a covenant that we make with God, we promise to keep the commandments, to take upon ourselves the name of Christ, and to always remember him. I return we are promised with the Gift of the Holy Ghost. But this promise is only good when we hold up to our half of the bargain, luckily we can repent and have the constant companionship of the Holy Spirit, and it is important that we do continually repent so that we can have continual Blessing from the Lord.
Likewise in the Temple we make very similar covenants where we promise things and then are promised blessings in return. In the temple we also perform sacred Ordinances such as baptism and other sacred Ordinances in behalf of those who have passed on and did not have the opportunity to perform those things for themselves.
Something that I feel is important to include is that the ancient tradition of Temple practice is something that we currently practice. Because the Church of Jesus Christ has been restored again to the Earth, Jesus Christ’s original church is again on the earth. Along with that church comes all of the teachings and practices which were anciently taught and practiced.
This is Made Possible because of the Priesthood Authority or in other words Gods Power given to man. This Authority is described in the scriptures as Christ calls and ordains his disciples: John 15:16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have achosen you, and bordained you, that ye should go and bring forth cfruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in myd name, he may give it you.
The Power and Authority of God has been Given to man, so that we can perform Ordinances, so that we can perform Blessings and act in God’s name, and it is because this Authority has been restored that we can do Temple work today! These things would not be available to us if we didn’t have the priesthood, but because the church has been restored and because God once again has given us his power to act in his name and has called prophets again to the earth we don’t have to question the work being done and we don’t have to worry about it not being done. Because God loves us and he has restored His Power and Authority again on the earth.
On my mission I had the opportunity to see one of my recent converts go through the temple. Since then I have contacted her and I asked her to share what a difference the Church and attending the Temple has made in her life, she explained that to me in a letter she wrote:
Justin (Elder McNew),
I want to thank you for allowing me the opportunity to tell you how much the church has helped me in my life since converting to the church. I am also grateful to you for sharing the gospel with me and my family. It has been almost two years since you and your companion Elder Profit first knocked on my front door. I’m so fortunate you did because I’m not sure where I and my family would be today if you hadn’t. My family was in a dark place and desperately needed a change. That change was having Heavenly Father and the gospel in our life.
I think one of the most important changes was having daily prayer in my life. I really didn’t know how to pray before. But I kept at it and didn’t give up. I learned through prayer I am able to communicate with heavenly father. I’ve learned to confide in him, express my love for him and to seek guidance from him. I’m blessed to have built a relationship with him. One of the sweetest, most wonderful moments for me is having my son say prayer and him building his own relationship with heavenly father.
Reading the scriptures has also changed my life. The scriptures are the word of God. They have taught me the love heavenly father has for me and how much he cares for me. I’ve learned I am never without him; he is always by my side.
Prayer and reading the scriptures are only two of the many wonderful changes I’ve made since having the gospel in my life. For me it was a great start to a new beginning to a virtuous life. Prayer led to scripture study. Scripture study led to faith. Faith led to repentance. Repentance then led to baptism and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. All those wonderful gifts heavenly father has given me has led me to one of the greatest gifts here on earth……the temple.
I feel so blessed to be able to go to the temple and be closer to heavenly father. The temple is so spiritual. I had such a wonderful experience I didn’t want to leave. I look forward to the day when I am sealed forever to my husband and children in the temple. It will be the most spiritual experience they will ever have. The gospel has strengthened my family and the love we have for each other. The gospel has brought us closer together and helps us live righteously. I know an eternal family is in our near future.
I am so grateful to have the gospel in my life and my family’s life and to be an example to them. It brings me so much joy and comfort knowing heavenly father is always here for me. Without the strength he gives me I wouldn’t be able to do it. There is not a day that goes by where I don’t think about how gracious and loving Heavenly Father is to me.
Justin I hope you know how much my family and I appreciate you. We cannot thank you enough for sharing the gospel with us. You have helped us so much. We are forever grateful to you. Thank you for serving us and Heavenly Father.
I hope this will help you with your talk on Sunday. I know you’ll be great! We miss you here in Yucaipa.
So we can see that making covenants with God and also going to the temple can and will bring us closer to God, give us strength and can assist in changing our lives for the better. I’ve personally seen huge blessings and strength come to me by attending the temple. The spirit Floods into your life and you are more capable of making righteous decisions and doing what the lord wants you to do. I know that there are 3 things that I learned on my mission that can help keep a person strong and if any of these 3 things are missing usually something is amiss or vice versa. Those 3 things are saying your Prayers, Attending Church and, Reading your Scriptures. In addition to that I want to add attending the Temple, it’s an additional strength, Before my mission my mom and I made it a point to regularly attend the Temple and I was able to be safe and withstand many temptations that came my way. I have a personal Testimony of regular temple attendance and the strength that it brings into my life and the strength it can bring to yours.
I also want to encourage anyone who has not made it to the temple yet to make it a goal, long or short term whatever it takes it is worth the sacrifice that is made, nothing in this world should be more important than doing what God would have us do. Along with that anyone who is debating going on a mission and that includes senior couples and single sisters do not even give it a second thought. Neither the time that I spent on my mission I would not have given that time to any other thing nor done it any other way. It was a time of great learning and growth for me and I can promise the same for you if you go and do what the lord would have you do. Or in McNew Terms DO WORK! Which means do your best and constantly rely on the spirit of lord. He will never lead you astray in anything that you do, as long as it is a righteous decision and as you are doing what he wants you to do.
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