October 20, 2013 YSA TALK ON TEMPLES
What does the temple mean to you? When you think of temples
what do you think of? These are two questions that I asked my nieces and
nephews, my brother, a dear friend and myself.
To a 6 year old little girl her answer was, the temple is a
place I feel the spirit. When I think of the temple I think about my brother
and that he can come back alive.
To a 7 year old boy he answers, the temple is a place of
love. When I think of the temple I think about the church and how the temple
and church both tell about Jesus
Two 9 year old girls respond these answers. 1. Very pretty
place where I feel happy. I think of joseph smith and how he helped build the
earlier temples. The 2nd. It’s a house of God, it’s really cool.
When I think of it I think of church, god, Jesus, spiritual stuff and white.
To an 11 year old girl she answers. It’s a holy place for
people to meet. It’s a place where I can meet up with god. When I think of
temples I think of a place where people do baptisms for the dead and get
married. I want to get married there.
To a 13 year old boy. It is a place where I can pray and
strengthen my testimony, where I can talk to god with no distractions and I can
read scriptures in peace. When I think of the temple I think of love, beauty,
strength and prayer.
To a 15 year old boy. It is a place where I can grow
spiritually, when I think of it I think of holy ordinances.
To an 18 year old boy. It is the house of god, the holiest
place that we can be. It is the end zone where we are trying to get to every
day of our lives. When I think of it I
think of my brother, and sealing’s.
A 19 year old preparing for mission- The temple is a house
of worship, the house of god, where we can go to feel closer to our heavenly
father and Jesus Christ, it is my favorite place in the world. It is where I go
when I have questions and need answers. It is pure. It is the place where the
lord is present. We make promises there. It is where families are sealed
together forever. When I think of temples I think of a castle that I want to
always be worthy to enter.
My 22 year old brother says: it is a place where I can be
closer to God. It is the place that he resides at here on the earth. He thinks
of Moroni, and how if it wasn’t for Heavenly Father sending Moroni to Joseph
Smith we wouldn’t have temples.
And lastly to a 25 year old women who is preparing to enter
the temple. Place of hope, opportunity for my love ones, place of safety and
security, heaven on earth there is no evil. When I think of temples I think of
happiness, covenants we can make and the sacred ordinances we can perform for god’s
children and those who we don’t know.
I thought it was amazing how innocent these answers were
from my family and my dear friend. I asked them right on the spot, didn’t give
them any time to think and their answers were all spot on, the temple really is
all of those things.
It’s not only in the book of Mormon that we hear about
temples. 2nd Samuel 7:5 talks
about how the Lord wants David to build him a temple so that he can dwell in
it. As my brother said it is where he
resides. He is always in the temple, walking the halls it is his home, his
house!
Isaiah 56:7 says “for mine house shall be called a house of
prayer for all people.” One of my
nephews said he goes to the temple to pray to his father in heaven and the
temple is probably the best place anyone can pray in. I have never received an
answer as fast as I do when I pray inside the temple rather than outside.
The temple is a place for education it is a house 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.
The temple
is not only white on the outside like my niece thinks of it, she has never been
inside but the workers, us patrons are all dressed in white as well, but why?
Dressed in white, we can feel a oneness and a sense of equality with others in
the temple, for everyone around us are similarly dressed. It is also a symbol
of purity.
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.
I have been able to witness my family members who are old
enough go through and do baptisms for the dead and it is the best feeling in
the world. To see a dear friend search for her family with the help of my mom
and to do family names for the first time ever was a very spiritual and
uplifting moments. I love attending the temple to do the sacred ordinances.
Before I went to byui I didn’t go to the temple often maybe twice a year depending
on my work schedule. I went through some tough trials while at byui and I found
myself going to the temple every Friday after choir class and my trials weren’t
as hard. Now that I’ve been home it’s been harder for me to attend the temple.
But I have made a commitment to attend the temple each week before my mission
to do those sacred ordinances. And I have to say I have never been more
blessed!
So why go to the temple?
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:
“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 temple is a
place of peace and revelation. It is a place where spiritual guidance can be
received for crucial decisions or concerns. Because we forget about the
outside world we are able to ponder and think about the things that really are
troubling us.
Because of the
priesthood we are able to be sealed to our families for eternity in the temple.
I am so thankful that my niece knows that because she is sealed she will see
her brother again.
4 points I want
you guys to remember
1.Temples are places
where we make covenants to obey the laws of God and where promises extending
into eternity are made to us, conditioned upon our faithfulness, and where this
same work may be done vicariously for the dead.
2. In His revelations to
the Prophet Joseph Smith, the Lord has made temples a great symbol for members
of His church.
3. The Lord desires that
His people be a temple-motivated people.
4. President Hunter has
encouraged every adult member to be worthy of and have a current temple
recommend, regardless of proximity to a temple.
**Testimony** not exactly what I said at the pulpit but it
is my testimony**
I know with all my heart that we have temples on this earth
for a reason. These 141 operating temples are here so we can bring our families
back to Christ so that we can return to our father in heaven as well. I love
the temple with all my heart. I have made it a priority to visit the temple
each week so that I will be constantly reminded of the covenants that I have
made and to receive those blessings that I receive when I go to the temple. I have
never received more blessings than I have these past weeks and I know that it’s
all because I’ve been attending the temple. It will be hard not going to the
temple for the next 18 months but I know that because I will be serving the
Lord in his Army that I will still receive those blessings. I love the temple
with all my heart
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