A few weeks ago (9 January 2015) I spoke in sacrament meeting. I thought I'd paste in my notes from my talk. (Speaking of church, as a side note, I was released last week from my calling as Relief Society instructor (many tears were shed, I was just LOVING that calling!) and called to be the Primary Secretary. I am having faith that the Lord sees the whole picture and the blessings and needed growth will come with this change. Here's to a new chapter of life!!)
A few months after
Elijah, our 3rd, was born Bry & I wanted to make it back to the
temple. We lived in St. Louis, so the
temple was only 20 minutes away, but it was proving challenging to get there
with such a young baby at home. We
decided to try out a friend's suggestion of taking our kids with us to the
temple grounds and taking turns strolling around while the other one went in to
do temple work. Friday morning we got
all showered and dressed in Sunday best and headed to the St. Louis
Temple. Brie was almost giddy as we
pulled up, "we've been here before, i saw it in our {blog}
book!" It was fun to be back at the
temple as a family since the last time had been when Alex was a baby. I stayed
with the kids first. We walked around
the beautiful grounds, smelled and admired the flowers and enjoyed the peaceful
spirit that is there. I couldn't help
but think that this was Elijah's first time on the temple grounds (with a
view...he'd been there several times while I was pregnant with him ;0)), and
how the Prophet Elijah's mission was all about temple work and eternal
families. Although so small, I was
grateful that he could be there with us.
After I was done in
the temple I came out to find Bry & the kids. I spotted them way past the fountain and
started walking in their direction.
Within a few seconds it was obvious that they had spotted me and they
started to run towards me. Once I
reached the end of the walk I stopped...It was so joyful watching them
excitedly make strides with their short little legs to reach me and made me
think that this must be a taste of the
joy that Heavenly Father feels when we come to Him. It brought tears to my eyes to embrace my
sweet Brie and Alex and to hear Brie say, "Mom it's so good to see you, we
missed you while you were in the temple."
It was such a sweet morning. I
bet a lot of you kids have been able to walk around the temple with your
families…smell the flowers, sing primary songs.
Your Heavenly Father loves to have you there, near to Him :0)
I’ve been asked to
speak today on the blessings of temple attendance.
For most of my life I
have lived within walking distance of a temple.
I grew up taking walks around the Provo temple grounds with my family on
Sundays. I didn’t know much about the temple
at that point, but recognized the peaceful spirit that was there. As a youth I remember a similar feeling of peace as I waited to be baptized for
individuals who had passed on without having the chance to be baptized.
Throughout my life,
whether walking on the temple grounds or serving within, I have always felt
such peace at the temple. I imagine that
many of you would agree that is one of the greatest blessings of attending the
temple. The peace we find there is like
the Savior spoke of in the Bible,
John 14:27 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 Ezra
Taft Benson, a former
prophet of the church spoke of this peace and accompanying blessings: “In the peace of
these lovely temples, sometimes we find solutions to the serious problems of
life. Under the influence of the Spirit, sometimes pure knowledge flows to us
there. Temples are places of personal revelation. When I have been weighed down
by a problem or a difficulty, I have gone to the House of the Lord with a
prayer in my heart for answers. These answers have come in clear and
unmistakable ways” (“What I Hope You Will Teach Your Children about the
Temple,” Ensign, Aug.
1985, p. 8).
Regardless of current
events, stresses at home, turmoil in the world or just in our souls… God always
has peace to offer us in His holy house.
When the noise of the world has been quieted, our minds become more
clear and God is able to inspire us
in the ways that we need. My mind often
feels over active and cluttered. Some of
my most important tutoring from the spirit has taken place in the temple. It’s as if all the noise and debris fades
away and my connection with God is much
clearer and stronger. What a
blessing, especially with the busy world we live in!
With the peace and quietness,
also comes such a strong yet sweet
spirit.
In a New Era article
about Temple Blessings (April 2004, Blessings of the Temple, New Era) several
youth shared similar sentiment. I love
what they have to say!...
“The Spirit hits you like a ton of bricks when you walk
in,” says Casey Hatch. “And you don’t have to worry about blocking things out
like you do at school. You don’t have to worry about what other people are
wearing or the words they’re using.”
Bethany, a 15 year old girl added, “It’s calm,” (says
Bethany Crandall, 15). “There’s no pressure. You feel free. You feel peace.”
When I was In high
school, one Saturday morning I was waiting at the temple baptistery surrounded
by other high school students, many of which had been at our high school formal
dance the night before. The guys had
been in tuxes, the girls in big beautiful dresses, here we were in the temple
simply dressed in white. I loved the way
that the temple brought a feeling of unity
and equality before God.
The feelings of unity
that I experienced then (and each time that I attend the temple) remind me of a
story that Julie B. Beck told in April 2006,
[APRIL 2006, AN OUTPOURING OF BLESSINGS, Ensign, Julie
B. Beck (Counselor in YW general presidency)]
In my travels, I usually have
the chance to visit members in their homes. Some of those homes are very basic
dwellings. At first I would say to myself: “Why am I blessed with a house that
has electricity and plumbing when this family does not even have water near
their home? Does the Lord love them less than He loves me?”
Then one day I sat in a temple
next to a sister who lives in a humble house. I spent two hours at her side. I
looked often into her beautiful eyes and saw the love of the Lord in them. As
we finished our work in the temple, I had a powerful realization. In all of the
eternal blessings, in all of our most important privileges and opportunities,
we were equals. I had been “baptized unto repentance,”18 and so had she. I had
spiritual gifts, and so did she. I had the opportunity to repent, and so did
she. I had received the Holy Ghost, and so had she. I had received temple
ordinances, and so had she. If both of us had left this world together at that
moment, we would have arrived equal before the Lord in our blessings and
potential.
I love that! And how true it is! How blessed we are each time we attend the
temple to be reminded that God loves each
of His children, irrelevant of our earthly status. Our worth transcends our looks, our
wardrobes, our jobs, our houses, cars and bank accounts. If we’ve lost sight of this, perhaps we can
return to the Lord’s house and be reminded :0)
God’s love is always communicated to my heart when I am in the
temple, regardless of where I am in the world.
There is something about walking in the doors and most often being
greeted by dear grey or white-haired brothers and sisters. To me they are angels and emanate love,
warmth and acceptance. A few years ago
there was a temple worker who truly seemed to represent the Savior as she put
this young mother’s anxious mind at ease.
Bryan and I had arrived just before 8pm as we often did—after getting
our 3 kids in bed, changing into Sunday best, instructing whichever couple was
babysitting for us, then rushing off to the temple as reverently as we
could. I felt bad about showing up so
late when much of the temple workers were getting ready to finish. I voiced my concerns to this sister as she
welcomed me in the dressing room. She
responded with such a sincere and loving answer, that the Lord was so happy to
have us here regardless of when we were able to arrive and was grateful for any
service that we did. Indeed a blessing
of the temple is feeling an outpouring of God’s love!
One of my favorite rooms in each temple is the Celestial
room. There is something remarkable about
stepping into a Celestial Room. It seems
to encompass so many of the blessings I’ve mentioned. Now that we live 2 ½-3 hours away from a
temple, and with 3 small and active children in tow :0), we typically have
taken part in shorter ordinances when we attend. In December, I hadn’t done an endowment
session for almost 6 months. So while
visiting family in Utah this last Christmas, one snowy morning my Mom, brother
and I got up extra early to attend a 7:00 session at the Mt. Timpanogos Temple
before starting a particularly busy day.
It was wonderful being in the session and being reminded of covenants
and blessings and being inspired with new and important insights. As I walked into the Celestial Room the
morning sunlight was streaming through the stained glass and the
chandelier. It was breath-taking with
pure beauty and I felt enveloped in light.
It was as if I was getting a glimpse into heaven. My eyes filled with tears, I was grateful to
be home. It took me back 8 years ago
when I entered the Montréal Temple at the end of my mission. I’d only been able to attend the temple 2
other times during my 18 months of service, and I felt such a sense of coming
home when I entered the celestial room.
I think that’s one of the greatest blessings is that we get to
experience a piece of heaven on earth.
We get to be reminded of how it feels to be home in the presence of our
Heavenly Father.
Now in all fairness, I have not always had the best attitude
about the temple. Bryan has sometimes
needed to tug a little to help make it a priority for us. On one such occasion we were trying to get
the kids to bed before our babysitting couple arrived. When they knocked at the door all 3 kids were
crying upstairs. I probably rolled my
eyes and may have even made some sort of exasperated commented about not
wanting to go. But we went anyway, bless
those two for staying and calming our kids!
I was silent on the 25 minute drive to the temple, still in a bad
mood. As we entered through the temple
doors, the stress from the day got the best of me and I melted into tears. I walked back to do initiatories and a sweet
sister, having noticed me crying, asked if I was touched by the spirit. Much to her surprise, through sobs I told her
that “no, it had just been a really hard evening with the kids!” As I changed into white and took part in the
ordinances my heart started to soften.
One of the sisters serving there reminded me so much of my deceased
Grandma, another sister’s name tag said “Deborah” like my Mom and the other’s
last name was Bryan. My Grandma, my Mom,
and my husband, three of my most favorite people. Although not something miraculous I felt like
the Lord was trying to get through to me and communicate His awareness of me. The Sarah leaving the temple that night was a
much different person than the one who had entered, thankfully! Although I dug my heels in a bit at the
beginning, I was grateful that I had followed my husband’s lead to attend the
temple, and the Lord had blessed me for being there.
With that being said, I will be the first to admit that attending
the temple is not always easy, and it’s honestly much harder now that we are a considerable
distance from any temple. The adversary
seems omnipresent when we are trying to make good choices and when we are
putting the Lord first. But if we can
push through the opposition the effort will be well worth it! Whether it’s the effort to gain enough of a
testimony to go to the temple in the first place, or preparing ourselves to be
worthy of a recommend. Figuring out the logistics
of how to make the temple a priority with young kids, or a busy work schedule
or no transportation…whatever seems like a stumbling block the Lord will pour
out great blessings upon us if we push forward!
He will bless us in ways that are meaningful and powerful for each of us
personally.
Elder David B. Haight, a sweet, simple and humble apostle who
has since passed on once said: “Come to the
temples worthily and regularly. Not only do you bless those who are deceased,
but you may freely partake of the promised personal revelation that may bless
your life with power, knowledge, light, beauty, and truth from on high, which
will guide you and your posterity to eternal life. What person would not want
these blessings, as expressed by the Prophet Joseph Smith at the dedication
of the Kirtland Temple. He said: ‘We ask thee, Holy Father, that thy servants
may go forth from this house armed with thy power, and that thy name may be
upon them, and thy glory be round about them, and thine angels have charge over
them.’ (D&C 109:22.)
In closing I want to share a final quote by President Gordon B. Hinckley, the President of the church just
before our current prophet: “I make you a promise that if you will go to
the house of the Lord, you will be blessed, life will be better for you. …
Avail yourselves of the great opportunity to go to the Lord’s house and thereby
partake of all of the marvelous blessings that are yours to be received there”
(fireside, Lima, Perú, 9 November 1996).
How blessed we are to have temples on the earth. As I talked about in the beginning of my
talk, our Heavenly Father is overjoyed when we make any steps to come to Him,
even if they are short and imperfect strides.
We will particularly feel of that joy and His love and an outpouring of
blessings as we come to the temple!
