First and foremost, this post may take longer than five minutes to read.
While I was in Utah, United States during February this year, I went to total of eleven different Temples within fifteen days. Do you think I was crazy or was spiritual high?
This post is actually based on a April 2011 General Conference talk and it is called, "The Holy Temple - A Beacon to the World" by President Thomas S. Monson. I would like to share with you some highlights while I was reading the talk.
President Monson mentioned, "My brothers and sisters, temples are more than stone and mortar. They are filled with faith and fasting. They are built of trials and testimonies. They are sanctified by sacrifice and service. The first temple to be built in this dispensation was the temple at Kirtland, Ohio.
The Saints at the time were impoverished, and yet the Lord had commanded that a temple be built, so build it they did. Wrote Elder Heber C. Kimball of the experience, “The Lord only knows the scenes of poverty, tribulation and distress which we passed through to accomplish it.”
And then, after all that had been painstakingly completed, the Saints were forced to leave Ohio and their beloved temple. They eventually found refuge although it would be temporary on the banks of the Mississippi River in the state of Illinois.
They named their settlement Nauvoo, and willing to give their all once again and with their faith intact, they erected another temple to their God. Persecutions raged, however, and with the Nauvoo Temple barely completed, they were driven from their homes once again, seeking refuge in a desert.
The struggle and the sacrifice began once again as they labored for 40 years to erect the Salt Lake Temple, which stands majestically on the block just south of those of us who are here today in the Conference Center.
Some degree of sacrifice has ever been associated with temple building and with temple attendance. Countless are those who have labored and struggled in order to obtain for themselves and for their families the blessings which are found in the temples of God.
Why are so many willing to give so much in order to receive the blessings of the temple? Those who understand the eternal blessings which come from the temple know that no sacrifice is too great, no price too heavy, no struggle too difficult in order to receive those blessings. There are never too many miles to travel, too many obstacles to overcome, or too much discomfort to endure.
They understand that the saving ordinances received in the temple that permit us to someday return to our Heavenly Father in an eternal family relationship and to be endowed with blessings and power from on high are worth every sacrifice and every effort.
If you have been to the temple for yourselves and if you live within relatively close proximity to a temple, your sacrifice could be setting aside the time in your busy lives to visit the temple regularly. There is much to be done in our temples in behalf of those who wait beyond the veil. As we do the work for them, we will know that we have accomplished what they cannot do for themselves.
President Joseph F. Smith, in a mighty declaration, stated, “Through our efforts in their behalf their chains of bondage will fall from them, and the darkness surrounding them will clear away, that light may shine upon them and they shall hear in the spirit world of the work that has been done for them by their children here, and will rejoice with you in your performance of these duties.”
In my own family, some of our most sacred and treasured experiences have occurred when we have joined together in the temple to perform sealing ordinances for our deceased ancestors.
My brothers and sisters, the work is ours to do. If you have not yet been to the temple or if you have been but currently do not qualify for a recommend, there is no more important goal for you to work toward than being worthy to go to the temple.
Your sacrifice may be bringing your life into compliance with what is required to receive a recommend, perhaps by forsaking long-held habits which disqualify you. It may be having the faith and the discipline to pay your tithing. Whatever it is, qualify to enter the temple of God. Secure a temple recommend and regard it as a precious possession, for such it is.
Until you have entered the house of the Lord and have received all the blessings which await you there, you have not obtained everything the Church has to offer. ..
Now, my young friends who are in your teenage years, always have the temple in your sights. Do nothing which will keep you from entering its doors and partaking of the sacred and eternal blessings there.
To you parents of young children, may I share with you some sage advice from President Spencer W. Kimball. Said he: “It would be a fine thing if … parents would have in every bedroom in their house a picture of the temple so their children from the time they are infants could look at the picture every day [until] it becomes a part of their lives. When they reach the age that they need to make the very important decision concerning going to the temple, it will have already been made.
I plead with you to teach your children of the temple’s importance. The world can be a challenging and difficult place in which to live. We are often surrounded by that which would drag us down. As you and I go to the holy houses of God, as we remember the covenants we make within, we will be more able to bear every trial and to overcome each temptation. In this sacred sanctuary we will find peace; we will be renewed and fortified.
I encourage you to read the whole talk in your own time, here's the link below.
www.lds.org/general-conference/2011/04/the-holy-temple-a-beacon-to-the-world
That is all from me for now, I still have not been able to start doing a Vlog because I am still shy and I still need to work on getting out of my comfort zone to share a Vlog post. I plan to post again sometime on next Monday.
While I was in Utah, United States during February this year, I went to total of eleven different Temples within fifteen days. Do you think I was crazy or was spiritual high?
As I look back now, I think I was a little crazy about going many Temples within fifteen days but I would like to go to many Temples as I can while I was in Utah. I hope to go to the other seven Temples next time while I am in Utah. I would like to go to Jordan River Temple, Logan Temple, Cedar Temple, Bountiful Temple, St George Temple, and Monticello Temple.
I went to Provo City Temple, Oquirrh Mountain Temple, and Salt Lake City Temple with my boyfriend while he was in Utah, United States. I went to Manti Temple, Payson Temple, and Salt Lake City Temple with my friend Kharissa while she has time off work.
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I went to Brigham City Temple, Ogden Temple, Vernal Temple, and Mount Timpanogos Temple on my own. I went to Provo Temple, and Draper Temple with my friend JaLisa.
This post is actually based on a April 2011 General Conference talk and it is called, "The Holy Temple - A Beacon to the World" by President Thomas S. Monson. I would like to share with you some highlights while I was reading the talk.
President Monson mentioned, "My brothers and sisters, temples are more than stone and mortar. They are filled with faith and fasting. They are built of trials and testimonies. They are sanctified by sacrifice and service. The first temple to be built in this dispensation was the temple at Kirtland, Ohio.
The Saints at the time were impoverished, and yet the Lord had commanded that a temple be built, so build it they did. Wrote Elder Heber C. Kimball of the experience, “The Lord only knows the scenes of poverty, tribulation and distress which we passed through to accomplish it.”
And then, after all that had been painstakingly completed, the Saints were forced to leave Ohio and their beloved temple. They eventually found refuge although it would be temporary on the banks of the Mississippi River in the state of Illinois.
They named their settlement Nauvoo, and willing to give their all once again and with their faith intact, they erected another temple to their God. Persecutions raged, however, and with the Nauvoo Temple barely completed, they were driven from their homes once again, seeking refuge in a desert.
The struggle and the sacrifice began once again as they labored for 40 years to erect the Salt Lake Temple, which stands majestically on the block just south of those of us who are here today in the Conference Center.
Some degree of sacrifice has ever been associated with temple building and with temple attendance. Countless are those who have labored and struggled in order to obtain for themselves and for their families the blessings which are found in the temples of God.
Why are so many willing to give so much in order to receive the blessings of the temple? Those who understand the eternal blessings which come from the temple know that no sacrifice is too great, no price too heavy, no struggle too difficult in order to receive those blessings. There are never too many miles to travel, too many obstacles to overcome, or too much discomfort to endure.
They understand that the saving ordinances received in the temple that permit us to someday return to our Heavenly Father in an eternal family relationship and to be endowed with blessings and power from on high are worth every sacrifice and every effort.
If you have been to the temple for yourselves and if you live within relatively close proximity to a temple, your sacrifice could be setting aside the time in your busy lives to visit the temple regularly. There is much to be done in our temples in behalf of those who wait beyond the veil. As we do the work for them, we will know that we have accomplished what they cannot do for themselves.
President Joseph F. Smith, in a mighty declaration, stated, “Through our efforts in their behalf their chains of bondage will fall from them, and the darkness surrounding them will clear away, that light may shine upon them and they shall hear in the spirit world of the work that has been done for them by their children here, and will rejoice with you in your performance of these duties.”
In my own family, some of our most sacred and treasured experiences have occurred when we have joined together in the temple to perform sealing ordinances for our deceased ancestors.
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| "Always have the Temple in your sights" - Thomas S. Monson. |
Your sacrifice may be bringing your life into compliance with what is required to receive a recommend, perhaps by forsaking long-held habits which disqualify you. It may be having the faith and the discipline to pay your tithing. Whatever it is, qualify to enter the temple of God. Secure a temple recommend and regard it as a precious possession, for such it is.
Until you have entered the house of the Lord and have received all the blessings which await you there, you have not obtained everything the Church has to offer. ..
Now, my young friends who are in your teenage years, always have the temple in your sights. Do nothing which will keep you from entering its doors and partaking of the sacred and eternal blessings there.
To you parents of young children, may I share with you some sage advice from President Spencer W. Kimball. Said he: “It would be a fine thing if … parents would have in every bedroom in their house a picture of the temple so their children from the time they are infants could look at the picture every day [until] it becomes a part of their lives. When they reach the age that they need to make the very important decision concerning going to the temple, it will have already been made.
I plead with you to teach your children of the temple’s importance. The world can be a challenging and difficult place in which to live. We are often surrounded by that which would drag us down. As you and I go to the holy houses of God, as we remember the covenants we make within, we will be more able to bear every trial and to overcome each temptation. In this sacred sanctuary we will find peace; we will be renewed and fortified.
I encourage you to read the whole talk in your own time, here's the link below.
www.lds.org/general-conference/2011/04/the-holy-temple-a-beacon-to-the-world
That is all from me for now, I still have not been able to start doing a Vlog because I am still shy and I still need to work on getting out of my comfort zone to share a Vlog post. I plan to post again sometime on next Monday.
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