Preparing to Enter the Holy Temple (continued)

Worthy to Enter

• "Once you have some feeling for the value of the temple blessings and for the sacredness of the ordinances performed in the temple, you would be hesitant to question the high standards set by the Lord for entrance into the holy temple."
• "You must possess a current recommend to be admitted to the temple" (recommend must be signed by the ward bishop and stake president).
• "The bishop has the responsibility of making inquiries into your personal worthiness. This interview is of great importance to you."
• "If anything is amiss in your life, the bishop will be able to help you resolve it."

First and Every Time

• "If you are going to the temple for the first time it is quite normal for you to be a little unsettled. We are naturally anxious about the unknown. We often become nervous over new experiences."
• "Be at peace." (Specifically the first time you enter into the temple)
• "When we enter the temple we should be reverent."
• Before entering..the members wait (in a chapel inside the temple) until the full company is assembled. Generally in life we would become impatient with waiting. To be first in a room and then be compelled to wait for the last to enter before proceeding would in other circumstances cause irritation. In the temple it is just the opposite. That waiting is regarded as a choice opportunity. What a privilege it is to sit quietly without conversation and direct the mind to reverent and spiritual thoughts! It is a refreshment to the soul."
• "When you come to the temple, remember that you are a quest in the house of the Lord."

To be continued...