The Temple - The Great Symbol of Our Membership

The older I get the more I appreciate the beautiful blessings Heavenly Father gives to me. One of the greatest blessings in my life is the temple. It has been a source of incredible peace, comfort, strength and learning. I love the temple! These promised blessings are available for anyone who seeks for them. Howard W. Hunter said, “The temple is a place of instruction where profound truths pertaining to the Kingdom of God are unfolded. It is a place of peace where minds can be centered upon things of the spirit and the worries of the world can be laid aside.” He invited all members of the Church to “establish the temple of the Lord as the great symbol of their membership and the supernal setting for their most sacred covenants.” In Chapter 13, President Hunter reminds us that “it is the Lord Himself who, in His revelations to us, has made the temple the great symbol for members of the Church. To have the temple indeed be a symbol unto us, we must desire it to be so.”

One of the sweetest blessings of the temple is knowing that my family can be together for eternity. While I always appreciated the significance of that blessing, it was one I cherished with all my heart when our daughter passed away. It brought peace that cannot be expressed in words. Of course death is painful! It is always difficult to have those we love leave us. But the peace that comes from knowing we will see them and live with them again surpasses the pain and grief. Gary E. Stevenson said, “Understanding the eternal nature of the temple will draw you to your family; understanding the eternal nature of the family will draw you to the temple.”1

The blessing of creating eternal families is just one of the blessings of the temple. Sometimes we think of the blessings that come from the temple only in the context of what comes in the next life. But so many blessings are available to us in this life! Consider these additional profound promises and blessings that prophets and apostles have taught:

“I promise you that your personal spirituality, relationship with your husband or wife, and family relationships will be blessed and strengthened as you regularly attend the temple.” Howard W. Hunter2

“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.” Thomas S. Monson3

“No work is more of a protection to this Church than temple work and the genealogical research that supports it. 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.” Boyd K. Packer4 “Life is not easy, nor was it meant to be. It is a time of testing and trial. Amid such trials, I promise you that living and maintaining temple-worthy lives will hold together all that really matters. The sweet blessings of peace, happiness, and joy, along with the blessings of eternal life and celestial glory with our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, will be realized.” Quentin L. Cook5

"Temple worthiness ensures that our lives are in harmony with the will of the Lord, and we are attuned to receive His guidance in our lives." Howard W. Hunter6

“Every foundation stone that is laid for a Temple lessens the power of Satan on the earth, and increases the power 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.” George Q. Cannon4

“Temple work … gives a wonderful opportunity for keeping alive our spiritual knowledge and strength. … The mighty perspective of eternity is unraveled before us in the holy temples; we see time from its infinite beginning to its endless end; and the drama of eternal life is unfolded before us. Then I see more clearly my place amidst the things of the universe, my place among the purposes of God; I am better able to place myself where I belong, and I am better able to value and to weigh, to separate and to organize the common, ordinary duties of my life so that the little things shall not oppress me or take away my vision of the greater things that God has given us.” John A. Widstoe7

“As we attend the temple, we learn more richly and deeply the purpose of life and the significance of the atoning sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us make the temple, with temple worship and temple covenants and temple marriage, our ultimate earthly goal and the supreme mortal experience.” Howard W. Hunter2

As I have studied more about the temple, it has made me wonder if this is another blessing that we fail to fully appreciate and by so doing fail to fully access its magnificent blessing and power. President Hunter said, “The temple is a place of beauty, it is a place of revelation, it is a place of peace. It is the house of the Lord. It is holy unto the Lord. It should be holy unto us.” May we accept his challenge to be a temple-loving and a temple-attending people.