The Holy Temple

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)

Blessings of the Temple

 The First Presidency Message for October 2010

By President Thomas S. Monson

In the temple we cam feel close to the Lord

I think there is no place in the world where I feel closer to the Lord than in one of His holy temples. To paraphrase a poem:

How far is heaven?

It's not very far.

In temples of God,

It's right where we are.

The Lord said:

"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:

"But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal;

"For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

To members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the temple is the most sacred place on earth. It is the house of the Lord, and just as the inscription on the exterior of the temple states, the temple is "holiness to the Lord"

The temple lifts and exalts us

In the temple, the precious plan of God is taught. It is in the temple that eternal covenants are made. The temple lifts us, exalts us, stands as a beacon for all to see, and points us toward celestial glory. It is the house of God. All that occurs within the walls of the temple is uplifting and ennobling.

The temple is for families, one of the greatest treasures we have in mortality. The Lord has been very explicit in talking to us fathers, indication that we have a responsibility to love our wives with all of our hearts and to provide for them and for our children. He has indicated that the greatest work we parents can do is performed in our homes, and our homes can be heaven, particularly when our marriages are sealed in the house of God.

The late Elder Matthew Cowley, who was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, once recounted the Saturday afternoon experience of a grandfather as hand in hand he took his small granddaughter on a birthday visit...With permission of the groundskeeper, the two walked to the large doors of the temple. He suggested that she place her hand on the sturdy wall and then on the massive door. Tenderly he then said to her, "Remember that this day you touched the temple. One day you will go inside." His gift to the little one was not candy or ice cream but an experience far more significant and everlasting--an appreciation of the house of the Lord. She had touched the temple, and the temple had touched her.

The temple brings peace to our souls

As we touch the temple and love the temple, our lives will reflect our faith. 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."

There is great faith among the Latter-day Saints. The Lord gives us opportunities to see if we will follow His commandments, if we will follow the pathway that Jesus of Nazareth followed, if we will love the Lord with all our heart, might, mind, and strength, and love our neighbors as ourselves.

I believe in the proverb “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”

So it has always been; so it shall always be. If we do our duty and trust fully in the Lord, we will fill His temples, not only doing our own ordinance work, but also having the privilege of doing work for others. We will kneel at sacred altars to be proxies in sealings that unite husbands and wives and children for all eternity. Worthy young men and young women as young as 12 years of age can be proxy for those who have died without the blessings of baptism. This would be our Heavenly Father’s desire for you and for me.

A miracle occurred

Many years ago, a humble and faithful patriarch, Brother Percy K. Fetzer, was called to give patriarchal blessings to Church members living behind the Iron Curtain.

Brother Fetzer went into the land of Poland in those dark days. The borders were sealed, and no citizens were permitted to leave. Brother Fetzer met with German Saints who had been trapped there when the borders were redefined following World War II and the land where they were living became part of Poland.

Our leader among all of those German Saints was Brother Eric P. Konietz, who lived there with his wife and children. Brother Fetzer gave Brother and Sister Konietz and the older children patriarchal blessings.

When Brother Fetzer returned to the United States, he called and asked if he could come visit with me. As he sat in my office, he began to weep. He said, “Brother Monson, as I laid my hands upon the heads of the members of the Konietz family, I made promises which cannot be fulfilled. I promised Brother and Sister Konietz that they would be able to return to their native Germany, that they would not be held captive by the arbitrary decisions of conquering countries and that they would be sealed together as a family in the house of the Lord. I promised their son that he would fill a mission, and I promised their daughter that she would be married in the holy temple of God. You and I know that because of the closed borders, they will not be able to receive the fulfillment of those blessings. What have I done?”

I said, “Brother Fetzer, I know you well enough to know that you have done just what our Heavenly Father wanted you to do.” The two of us knelt down beside my desk and poured out our hearts to our Heavenly Father, indicating that promises had been given to a devoted family pertaining to the temple of God and other blessings now denied to them. Only He could bring forth the miracle we needed.

The miracle occurred. A pact was signed between the leaders of the Polish government and the leaders of the Federal Republic of Germany, permitting German nationals who had been trapped in that area to move to West Germany. Brother and Sister Konietz and their children moved to West Germany, and Brother Konietz became the bishop of the ward in which they resided.

The entire Konietz family went to the holy temple in Switzerland. And who was the temple president who greeted them in a white suit with open arms? None other than Percy Fetzer—the patriarch who gave them the promise. Now, in his capacity as president of the Bern Switzerland Temple, he welcomed them to the house of the Lord, to the fulfillment of that promise, and sealed the husband and wife together and the children to their parents.

The young daughter eventually married in the house of the Lord. The young son received his call and fulfilled a full-time mission.

"We'll see you in the temple!"

For some of us, our journey to the temple is but a few blocks. For others, there are oceans to cross and miles to go before they enter the holy temple of God.

Some few years ago, before the completion of a temple in South Africa, while attending a district conference in what was then Salisbury, Rhodesia, I met the district president, Reginald J. Nield. He and his wife and lovely daughters met me as I entered the chapel. They explained to me that they had been saving their means and had been preparing for the day when they could journey to the temple of the Lord. But, oh, the temple was so far away.

At the conclusion of the meeting, the four lovely daughters asked me questions about the temple: “What is the temple like? All we have seen is a picture.” “How will we feel when we enter the temple?” “What will we remember most?” For about an hour I had the opportunity to talk to four girls about the house of the Lord. As I departed for the airport, they waved to me, and the youngest girl said, “We’ll see you in the temple!”

One year later I had the opportunity to greet the Nield family in the Salt Lake Temple. In a peaceful sealing room I had the privilege to unite for eternity, as well as for time, Brother and Sister Nield. The doors were then opened, and those beautiful daughters, each of them dressed in spotless white, entered the room. They embraced mother, then father. Tears were in their eyes, and gratitude was in their hearts. We were next to heaven. Well could each one say, “Now we are a family for eternity.”

This is the marvelous blessing that awaits those who come to the temple. May each of us live worthy lives, with clean hands and pure hearts, so that the temple may touch our lives and our families.

How far is heaven? I testify that in the holy temples it is not far at all—for it is in these sacred places that heaven and earth meet and our Heavenly Father gives His children His greatest blessings.

(You can find this on LDS.org, or in the Ensign issue for October 2010)