“It is the deepest
desire of my heart to have every member of the Church worthy to enter the
temple.”
We are encouraged to
establish the temple as the great symbol of our membership.
1. "I invite the
Latter-day Saints to look to the temple of the Lord as the great symbol of your
membership" (Howard W. Hunter, October 1994 General Conference).
2. It is the Lord
Himself who, in His revelations to us, has made the temple the great symbol for
members of the Church. Think of the attitudes and righteous behaviors that the
Lord pointed us toward in the counsel He gave to the Kirtland Saints through
the Prophet Joseph Smith as they were preparing to build a temple. This counsel
is still applicable:
“Organize yourselves; prepare every needful
thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a
house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a
house of God” (D&C 88:119). Are these attitudes and behaviors indeed
reflective of what each of us desires and seeks to be? …
… To have the temple indeed be a symbol unto
us, we must desire it to be so. We must live worthy to enter the temple. We
must keep the commandments of our Lord. If we can pattern our life after the
Master, and take His teaching and example as the supreme pattern for our own,
we will not find it difficult to be temple worthy, to be consistent and loyal
in every walk of life, for we will be committed to a single, sacred standard of
conduct and belief. Whether at home or in the marketplace, whether at school or
long after school is behind us, whether we are acting totally alone or in
concert with a host of other people, our course will be clear and our standards
will be obvious.
The ability to stand by one’s principles, to
live with integrity and faith according to one’s belief—that is what matters.
That devotion to true principle—in our individual lives, in our homes and
families, and in all places that we meet and influence other people—that
devotion is what God is ultimately requesting of us. It requires
commitment—whole-souled, deeply held, eternally cherished commitment to the
principles we know to be true in the commandments God has given. If we will be
true and faithful to the Lord’s principles, then we will always be temple
worthy, and the Lord and His holy temples will be the great symbols of our
discipleship with Him.
Q How can we establish
the temple the great symbol of our
membership?
Each of us should
strive to be worthy to receive a temple recommend.
3. It is the deepest
desire of my heart to have every member of the Church worthy to enter the
temple. It would please the Lord if every adult member would be worthy of—and
carry—a current temple recommend. The things that we must do and not do to be
worthy of a temple recommend are the very things that ensure we will be happy as
individuals and as families.
4. As in [Joseph
Smith’s] day, having worthy and endowed members is the key to building the
kingdom in all the world. Temple worthiness ensures that our lives are in
harmony with the will of the Lord, and we are attuned to receive His guidance
in our lives.
5. It might be
interesting for you to know that the President of the Church used to sign each
temple recommend. That’s how strongly the early presidents felt about
worthiness to enter the temple. In 1891 the responsibility was placed on
bishops and stake presidents, who ask you several questions concerning your
worthiness to qualify for a temple recommend. You should know what is expected
of you in order to qualify for a temple recommend.
You must believe in God the Eternal Father,
in his Son Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.... We encourage you to work
daily on building your testimony of our Heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus
Christ.... You must sustain the General Authorities and local authorities of
the Church.... You must be morally clean to enter into the holy temple....You
must ensure that there is nothing in your relationship with family members that
is out of harmony with the teachings of the Church.... To enter the temple you
must be honest in all of your dealings with others.... To qualify for a temple
recommend, you should strive to do your duty in the Church, attending your
sacrament, priesthood, and other meetings. You must also strive to obey the
rules, laws, and commandments of the gospel. Learn … to accept callings and
other responsibilities that come to you. Be active participants in your wards
and branches, and be one your leaders can depend on. To enter the temple you
must be a full-tithe payer and live the Word of Wisdom.
6. "To sacrifice is
to give up something we value for the sake of something of greater worth"
(True to the Faith, Sacrifice).
Q Why are we invited to
sacrifice to get and stay worthy of a temple recommend? How have you been
blessed for doing so?
Doing temple work
brings great blessings to individuals and families. Let us hasten to the
temple.
7. Several things are
accomplished by our attendance at the temple—we comply with the instructions of
the Lord to accomplish our own ordinance work, we bless our families by the
sealing ordinances, and we share our blessings with others by doing for them
what they cannot do for themselves. In addition to these, we lift our own
thoughts, grow closer to the Lord, honor [the] priesthood, and spiritualize our
lives. ... Temple attendance creates spirituality. It is one of the finest
programs we have in the Church to develop spirituality. This turns the hearts
of the children to their fathers and the hearts of the fathers to their children
(Malachi 4:6). This promotes family solidarity and unity.
8. Let us be a
temple-attending and a temple-loving people. Let us hasten to the temple as
frequently as time and means and personal circumstances allow. Let us go not
only for our kindred dead, but let us also go for the personal blessing of
temple worship, for the sanctity and safety which is provided within those
hallowed and consecrated walls. The temple is a place of beauty, it is a place
of revelation, it is a place of peace. It is the house of the Lord. It is holy
unto the Lord. It should be holy unto us.
Q Why are we invited to
sacrifice to attend " the temple as frequently as time and means and
personal circumstances allow"? How have you been blessed for doing so?
Q What helps you to
regularly attend the temple?
9. "In our
customary Church vocabulary, we often speak of going to church, going to
the temple, and going on a mission.
Let me be so bold as to suggest that our rather routine emphasis on going misses the mark. The issue is not
going to church; rather, the issue is worshipping and renewing covenants as we
attend church. The issue is not going to or through the temple; rather, the
issue is having in our hearts the spirit, the covenants, and the ordinances of
the Lord’s house. The issue is not going on a mission; rather, the issue is
becoming a missionary and serving throughout our entire life with all of our
heart, might, mind, and strength" (David A. Bednar, October 2005 General
Conference).
Q How can we move
beyond just going to the temple and get "the spirit, the covenants, and
the ordinances" of the temple in our hearts?
10. Let us share with our
children the spiritual feelings we have in the temple. And let us teach them
more earnestly and more comfortably the things we can appropriately say about
the purposes of the house of the Lord. Keep a picture of a temple in your home
that your children may see it. Teach them about the purposes of the house of
the Lord. Have them plan from their earliest years to go there and to remain
worthy of that blessing. Let us prepare every missionary to go to the temple
worthily and to make that experience an even greater highlight than receiving
the mission call. Let us plan for and teach and plead with our children to
marry in the house of the Lord. Let us reaffirm more vigorously than we ever
have in the past that it does matter where you marry and by what authority you
are pronounced man and wife. It is pleasing to the Lord for our youth to
worthily go to the temple and perform vicarious baptism for those who did not
have the opportunity to be baptized in life.
Q How can we help our
children to love the temple?
Conclusion
11. "I invite the
Latter-day Saints to look to the temple of the Lord as the great symbol of your
membership. It is the deepest desire of my heart to have every member of the
Church worthy to enter the temple. It would please the Lord if every adult
member would be worthy of—and carry—a current temple recommend. The things that
we must do and not do to be worthy of a temple recommend are the very things
that ensure we will be happy as individuals and as families.... Let us be a
temple-attending and a temple-loving people. Let us hasten to the temple as
frequently as time and means and personal circumstances allow." (Howard W.
Hunter, October 1994 General Conference).
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