The Blessings of the Temple

Tomorrow at church I'm giving a talk on the blessings of the temple. So here's my final product. Enjoy!



Salt Lake City Utah Temple

When President Roell asked me to speak today on the blessings of the temple, I was ecstatic…and for multiple reasons. First, because I don’t get to give talks often. The last talk I gave was on Father’s Day, and that just feels like forever ago. Even though there’s the incredible anxiety that accompanies standing at this podium and speaking to you all, I thoroughly enjoy it. Second, because the temple is an amazing place. End of story. But then the more I thought about this talk I had to give, the more I became really nervous, and the more I started to doubt myself. The blessings of the temple? How could I be a good person to talk about the blessings of the temple? I’ve only been able to go about 3 times since I was baptized just over two years ago, and I’ve only ever been able to do baptisms. There’s SOOO much about the temple that I have yet to learn and experience. There’s so much about the temple that I have yet to understand. But then I realized, just because I haven’t experienced all there is to experience with the temple, doesn’t mean that I have missed out on the opportunity to experience the wonderful blessings that come with making the temple a part of our lives.

The Washington DC Temple

Stepping into the temple is like stepping into a whole new world. In Matthew 6, verses 19-21, the Lord tells us: “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.” When we walk through the doors of the temple, the worldliness in our lives is lost, and we instead find the sacredness of our lives – we find the treasures of eternity. Just simply being inside the temple brings one blessings. Just by being in the house of our Lord we can feel our burdens lifted off our shoulders; we can feel the warmth enter our souls; we can feel the peace flow through our veins; and we can feel the love of our wonderful merciful Savior.

The temple is quite literally the House of the Lord – so how can we feel anything but positive blessings when we visit the temple? The temple can be a source of comfort and peace, a source of strength and courage, and a source of hope and love.

The San Diego Temple

Just by entering the House of our Lord, we can feel the weight lifted off our shoulders. When we set foot through those doors, it’s as if we are walking through a cleansing, purifying waterfall. Once through those doors, our worries, our stresses, our burdens are simply washed away, and instead they are replaced with a feeling of complete peace, a feeling of pure comfort. We can feel the love of our Savior. The temple provides purpose for our lives. Our earthly life is just a part of our eternal journey, and the temple serves as an instrumental tool in our earthly life to complete our journey back to our Heavenly Father. The sacred ordinances that are performed within the walls of the temple are crucial stepping stones that allow us to someday live in the Celestial Kingdom.

Laie Hawaii Temple

Along with bringing a sense of comfort, peace, and purpose to our lives, the temple blesses us with strength and courage. When we make attendance of the temple a regular part of our lives, we are blessed with the strength to face our worldly struggles. And when you think about it, it makes complete sense. Look at the difference regular prayer and scripture study makes in our lives. Whenever we have hurdles to jump and mountains to climb, prayer and our scriptures are a surefire way to find the strength and courage we need to overcome those obstacles. So wouldn’t it make sense, that if we can use those simple tools as a source of strength, that the temple, where our Father lives, where the presence of the Holy Spirit can be overwhelming, would be an even greater and perhaps more powerful source of strength? Upon entering the temple we feel washed with comfort. Upon performing sacred ordinances in the temple, we can be consumed by the fire of the Holy Spirit. We can have that fire light inside our souls. The Holy Spirit can be our constant companion, and can give us the strength we need outside of the temple to face all the adversity Satan tries to bring into our lives.



The St.Paul, Minnesota Temple



Perhaps one of the greatest blessings that the temple brings to our lives is a feeling of hope and love. I know for me, personally, the temple shines as a beacon of hope in my life. Anytime I drive home from school, I drive right past the temple. As I’m cruising down 694, I always scan the horizon in the hopes of catching a glimpse of that golden Moroni statue shining between the leafless trees – I can only look during the winter months because when the trees are full, that precious Moroni is hidden. But those times when I do have the chance to catch a glimpse, I always strain my eyes in the vain hopes to just see it for a moment. And when I do see it, my heart fills with joy, and a feeling of warmth washes over me. And that’s just from catching a glimpse of it, not even entering the temple. But I think it’s because the temple is such a strong source of hope for me. The temple serves as a reminder to me that families can be together forever. The immense love that surrounds a family can be sealed for time and all eternity.

Hong Kong China Temple

Now, I have not been fortunate enough to have the best relationship with my family. But even with all the baggage that accompanies my family, I still dream of the day when we will be sealed forever…like I mentioned earlier, I am a convert, so I can’t be sealed to my parents anytime soon. But there is a fire of hope inside my heart that someday, eventually, we will be. In the meantime, I just dream about being sealed to Tom and our future family. For those of you who don’t know, Tom has been my wonderful boyfriend for nearly five years now…and he’s currently a missionary out in Idaho (he’ll be home in 115 days, but who’s counting, right?). We talk about temple sealings and making the temple a regular part of our lives in the future quite frequently. And think about it: when we simply have our sights set on what the temple has to offer, it brings blessings to our lives – even before we can actually partake in what the temple has to offer, without even setting foot in the temple. By simply wanting to go through the temple, we are blessed. We strive to live righteously and to follow our Lord’s commandments, so that we may enter His house. And we know from the scriptures that when we do live righteously, we receive the blessings our Father has to offer us. In Mosiah chapter 2, verse 41 we are told: “I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness.” Keeping our eye on the temple serves as a reminder to keep God’s commandments, and to live righteously every day.

Caracas Venezuela Temple

The temple also serves as a source of deep love for those who attend. What a selfless love it is that takes place in the house of our Lord. The temple allows us the opportunity to complete ordinances not only for ourselves, but for our brothers and sisters who have perished without the opportunity to fulfill these sacred ordinances themselves. It’s such a wonderful feeling to be a part of such an unselfish and loving work; to be a part of helping our brothers and sisters complete the necessary stepping stones to finish their eternal journey and return to live with our Heavenly Father. These ordinances for the dead serve as a source of hope: there is hope for our loved ones who have perished without the opportunity to receive the fullness of the gospel in this life.

Madrid Spain Temple

The blessings that the temple has to offer are countless. When we strive to live our lives in a way that allows us to be temple-going people, we are eternally blessed. We can receive these blessings before we even set foot in the temple, as soon as we walk through the temple doors, while we perform the sacred ordinances within the temple walls, and even upon leaving the temple and as we live our daily lives afterward. I testify to you all, the temple truly is a miraculous place. It is a place where we can be close to our Heavenly Father. A place where we can be consumed with the fire of the Spirit. A place where we can build covenants with our Lord. A place of comfort, strength, hope, and love. It is the dwelling place of our Lord and Savior, and we, as children of God, will be blessed eternally when we make the temple a cornerstone in our daily lives. I say these things in the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.