Finding Home and Heaven on Earth

I've heard that there is a lot of mention of temples in the news recently.  With Mitt Romney running for President "Mormonism" has become somewhat of the religion of the moment to be talking about. I'm not one to dive into political topics or debates and what I think of the Presidential race will remain a secret to the rest of the world. Only my voter's ballot will know what I think. What I would like to do is to share how important temples are to me.

There have been times where people have asked me questions about what goes on inside these holy edifices. Please know that they are sacred houses of God and what goes on inside is not a secret but they are sacred. The best way that I know how to answer these questions is with the words of Latter-Day Prophets and Apostles. I keep the following quote from Brigham Young in my wallet so that I can share it at any time. Its getting a bit ragged around the edges because I've had it since I was just a young girl, maybe 13 or 14 years old.

 

Your endowment is, to receive all those ordinances in the house of the Lord, which are necessary for you, after you have departed this life, to enable you to walk back to the presence of the Father, passing the angels...being enabled to give them the key words, the signs and tokens, pertaining to the holy Priesthood and gain your eternal exaltation...-Brigham Young

 

It would be almost another 10 years from the time I first read this quote until I would enter God's house and take part in this ordinance myself. The endowment, however is not the only covenant, or promise, that we make in the temple. We do baptisms in behalf of those who have died without a knowledge of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. To learn more about that read this talk by Elder D. Todd Christofferson. He explains it much better than I ever could. If you don't have the time/aren't interested in reading that much at the moment you can check out this page on Mormon.org. 

 

Someday in the hopefully not too far away future I will be married in a temple for time and eternity. Marriages that are solemnized in temples of God do not end when we die. There is no "til death do you part" in the ceremony because it is a sacred union of a man and woman and God. I have seen the blessing of a temple sealing in my parent's marriage and I know that it gives them a better focus on things that really matter. They will be together forever and my siblings and I will be right there beside them. Forever is a darn long time and I get a better perspective of how much I should show my love to my parents and siblings.

 

I know this isn't the most comprehensive view of temples and there is so much to be said, taught, experienced and enjoyed about them. Absolutely anyone can enter a temple, so long as they are living worthily. I would encourage anyone who reads this to make a commitment to be more active in temple worship if already a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and if you are not, to learn more about why these buildings are so vital to us by inviting a set of missionaries to your home or asking a friend who is a member of the church. If you do not know anyone that you could ask I would be happy to share more with you on facebook and you can find me here.

 

 

Just a brief last note: Thank you SO MUCH to those who participated in the September Book of Mormon reading challenge. It finishes up tomorrow and then the best month of the year begins! Make sure you start October off right by participating in General Conference on October 6th and 7th. Click this handy little banner for more information. Oh yeah..and don't forget to celebrate my birthday on the 5th! [It's an international holiday nowyaknow.]