This is from the Ensign October 2010 issue
By President Boyd K. Packer
In temples we can participate in the most exalted of the redeeming ordinances
"When you enter any dedicated temple, you are in the house of the Lord...In the temples, members of the Church who make themselves eligible can participate in the most exalted of the redeeming ordinances that have been revealed to mankind...in a sacred ceremony, an individual may be washed and anointed and instructed and endowed and sealed...when we have received these blessings ourselves, we may officiate for those who have died without having had the same opportunity. In the temples sacred ordinances are performed for the living and for the dead alike."
The ordinances and ceremonies of the temple are simple, beautiful, and sacred
"A careful reading of the scriptures reveals that the Lord did not tell all things to all people. There were some qualifications set that were prerequisite to receiving sacred information. Temple ceremonies fall within this category...Someday every living soul and every soul who has ever lived shall have the opportunity to hear the gospel and to accept or reject what the temple offers. If this opportunity is rejected, the rejection must be on the part of the individual...Preparation for the ordinances includes preliminary steps: faith, repentance, baptism, confirmation, worthiness, a maturity and dignity worthy of one who comes invited as a guest into the house of the Lord."
Those who are worthy may enter the temple
"All who are worthy and qualify in every way may enter the temple, there to be introduces to the sacred rites and ordinances...If anything is amiss in your life, the bishop will be able to help you resolve it. Through this procedure, you can declare or can be helped to establish your worthiness to enter the temple with the Lord's approval...The bishop is instructed that confidentiality in handling these matters with each interviewee is of the utmost importance."
Teaching in the temple is symbolic
"the teaching in the temples is done in symbolic fashion...The temple is a great school. It is a house of learning. In the temples the atmosphere is maintained so that it is ideal for instruction on matters taht are deeply spiritual...[Elder John A. Widtsoe]...'The temple ordinances encompass the whole plan of salvation, as taught from time to time by the leaders of the Church, and elucidate matters difficult of understanding. There is no warping or twisting in fitting the temple teachings into the great scheme of salvation. The philosophical completeness of the endowment is one of the great arguments for the veracity of the temple ordinances. Moreover, this completeness of survey and expounding of the Gospel plan, makes temple worship one of the most effective methods of refreshing the memory concerning the whole structure of the Gospel'...The teaching plan is superb. It is inspired. The Lord Himself, the Master Teacher, taught His disciples constantly in parables--a verbal way to represent symbolically things that might otherwise be difficult to understand...The house of the Lord, bathed in light, standing out in the darkness, becomes symbolic of the power and the inspiration of the gospel of Jesus Christ standing as a beacon in a world that sinks ever further into spiritual darkness."
Temple marriage is the ultimate ordinance of the temple
(Before the couple comes to the alter[for a temple marriage] for the sealing ordinance, it is the privilege of the officiator to extend, and of the young couple to receive, some counsel. These are among the thoughts that a young couple might hear on this occasion.)
"'Baptism, a sacred ordinance, is symbolic of a cleansing, symbolic of death and resurrection, symbolic of coming forward in a newness of life...The sacrament of the Lord;s Supper is a renewal of the covenant of baptism, and we can, if we live for it, retain a remission of our sins...In that endowment you received an investment of eternal potential...You now become a family, free to act in the creation of life to have the opportunity through devotion and sacrifice to bring children into the world and to raise them and foster them safely through their mortal existence; to see them come one day, as you have come, to participate in these sacred temple ordinances...To accept one another in the marriage covenant is a great responsibility, one that carries with it blessings without measure.'"
The sealing power binds on earth and in heaven
"The Prophet Joseph Smith said he was frequently asked the question ''Can we not be saved without going through with all those ordinances, etc?' I would answer, No, not the fullness of salvation. Jesus said, 'There are many mansions in my Father's house, and I will go and prepare a palce for you.' [John 14:2]"
Temple work is a source of spiritual power
"Temples are the very center of the spiritual strength of the Church. We should expect that the adversary will try to interfere with us as a Church and with us individually as we seek to participate in this sacred and inspired work. Temple work brings so much resistance because it is the source of so much spiritual power to the Latter-day Saints and to the entire Church. [Logan Utah Temple cornerstone, President George Q. Cannon]...'Every foundation stone that is laid for a Temple, and every Temple completed according to the order the Lord has revealed for his holy priesthood, lessens the power of Satan on the earth, and increases the pwoer of God and Godliness, moves the heavens in mighty power in our behalf, invokes and calls down upon us the blessings of the Eternal Gods, and those who reside in their presence'...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'...At the temple the dust of disctraction 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.
Our labors in the temple cover us with a shield and a protection
"No work is more of a protection to this Church than temple work...No work is more spiritually refining. No work we do gives us more power. No work requires a higher standard of righteousness. Our labors in the temple cover us with a shield and a protection, both individually and as a people. So come to the temple--come and claim your blessings. It is a sacred work."
(LDS.ORG)
Those who are worthy may enter the temple
"All who are worthy and qualify in every way may enter the temple, there to be introduces to the sacred rites and ordinances...If anything is amiss in your life, the bishop will be able to help you resolve it. Through this procedure, you can declare or can be helped to establish your worthiness to enter the temple with the Lord's approval...The bishop is instructed that confidentiality in handling these matters with each interviewee is of the utmost importance."
Teaching in the temple is symbolic
"the teaching in the temples is done in symbolic fashion...The temple is a great school. It is a house of learning. In the temples the atmosphere is maintained so that it is ideal for instruction on matters taht are deeply spiritual...[Elder John A. Widtsoe]...'The temple ordinances encompass the whole plan of salvation, as taught from time to time by the leaders of the Church, and elucidate matters difficult of understanding. There is no warping or twisting in fitting the temple teachings into the great scheme of salvation. The philosophical completeness of the endowment is one of the great arguments for the veracity of the temple ordinances. Moreover, this completeness of survey and expounding of the Gospel plan, makes temple worship one of the most effective methods of refreshing the memory concerning the whole structure of the Gospel'...The teaching plan is superb. It is inspired. The Lord Himself, the Master Teacher, taught His disciples constantly in parables--a verbal way to represent symbolically things that might otherwise be difficult to understand...The house of the Lord, bathed in light, standing out in the darkness, becomes symbolic of the power and the inspiration of the gospel of Jesus Christ standing as a beacon in a world that sinks ever further into spiritual darkness."
Temple marriage is the ultimate ordinance of the temple
(Before the couple comes to the alter[for a temple marriage] for the sealing ordinance, it is the privilege of the officiator to extend, and of the young couple to receive, some counsel. These are among the thoughts that a young couple might hear on this occasion.)
"'Baptism, a sacred ordinance, is symbolic of a cleansing, symbolic of death and resurrection, symbolic of coming forward in a newness of life...The sacrament of the Lord;s Supper is a renewal of the covenant of baptism, and we can, if we live for it, retain a remission of our sins...In that endowment you received an investment of eternal potential...You now become a family, free to act in the creation of life to have the opportunity through devotion and sacrifice to bring children into the world and to raise them and foster them safely through their mortal existence; to see them come one day, as you have come, to participate in these sacred temple ordinances...To accept one another in the marriage covenant is a great responsibility, one that carries with it blessings without measure.'"
The sealing power binds on earth and in heaven
"The Prophet Joseph Smith said he was frequently asked the question ''Can we not be saved without going through with all those ordinances, etc?' I would answer, No, not the fullness of salvation. Jesus said, 'There are many mansions in my Father's house, and I will go and prepare a palce for you.' [John 14:2]"
Temple work is a source of spiritual power
"Temples are the very center of the spiritual strength of the Church. We should expect that the adversary will try to interfere with us as a Church and with us individually as we seek to participate in this sacred and inspired work. Temple work brings so much resistance because it is the source of so much spiritual power to the Latter-day Saints and to the entire Church. [Logan Utah Temple cornerstone, President George Q. Cannon]...'Every foundation stone that is laid for a Temple, and every Temple completed according to the order the Lord has revealed for his holy priesthood, lessens the power of Satan on the earth, and increases the pwoer of God and Godliness, moves the heavens in mighty power in our behalf, invokes and calls down upon us the blessings of the Eternal Gods, and those who reside in their presence'...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'...At the temple the dust of disctraction 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.
Our labors in the temple cover us with a shield and a protection
"No work is more of a protection to this Church than temple work...No work is more spiritually refining. No work we do gives us more power. No work requires a higher standard of righteousness. Our labors in the temple cover us with a shield and a protection, both individually and as a people. So come to the temple--come and claim your blessings. It is a sacred work."
(LDS.ORG)
