Something in my reading to day stuck out to me: the teaching of the the word of God during this wicked time in Nephite history, began in the city of Bountiful.
Bountiful was were the temple stood. It is where the Savior appeared and taught and blessed and instituted the sacrament among the Nephites following His resurrection.
This has made me think me deeply of the power of God's word and the power of our temple covenants.
And how I can invite others to come unto Him.
Showing posts with label temples. Show all posts
Showing posts with label temples. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 28, 2018
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
What the Cleansing of the Temple Has to do with Me
I've been thinking about how the Savior's cleansing of the temple (found in John 2:13-16), has to do with me. I've decided, first and foremost, it is a warning to all parents: "Don't Have Pets!"
But I digress, aside the animals at the temple, I think the Savior was more concerned about what was happening with the animals at the temple. They were being sold for money, for lucre, making the House of the Lord look more like the Great and Spacious Building.
As members of the Church, we are taught that the temple is "a place the Lord may come, it is the most holy of any place of worship on earth." It is a place for retreat, for reflection, for revelation.
But this story of cleansing the temple has more meaningful insight when I am reminded that "only the home can compare with the temple in sacredness." It causes me to question, "Is our little family temple a place where there is holiness to the Lord or are we making it a cozy Babylon Bungalow? Do we allow to be sold out by the things of the world, or are we carefully and diligently laying up treasure in heaven that will last for eternity?
I am reminded that one temple cleanse wasn't enough for the Jews. Just two years later, the Savior had to cleanse it again because the same things were happening. Because Satan never sleeps and life continues to move on, my temple/home will always be in need to cleansing. But I am promised that if I "Organize [myself and]; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order," . . .I can attain "a house of God" (D&C 88:119).
But I digress, aside the animals at the temple, I think the Savior was more concerned about what was happening with the animals at the temple. They were being sold for money, for lucre, making the House of the Lord look more like the Great and Spacious Building.
As members of the Church, we are taught that the temple is "a place the Lord may come, it is the most holy of any place of worship on earth." It is a place for retreat, for reflection, for revelation.
But this story of cleansing the temple has more meaningful insight when I am reminded that "only the home can compare with the temple in sacredness." It causes me to question, "Is our little family temple a place where there is holiness to the Lord or are we making it a cozy Babylon Bungalow? Do we allow to be sold out by the things of the world, or are we carefully and diligently laying up treasure in heaven that will last for eternity?
I am reminded that one temple cleanse wasn't enough for the Jews. Just two years later, the Savior had to cleanse it again because the same things were happening. Because Satan never sleeps and life continues to move on, my temple/home will always be in need to cleansing. But I am promised that if I "Organize [myself and]; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order," . . .I can attain "a house of God" (D&C 88:119).
Friday, June 7, 2013
Family Home Evening - Covenants and Ordinances
Our children learned about covenants and ordinances on Sunday. As we had a family discussion,our children could readily define what a covenant is, but it took a while to be able to define and better understand what an ordinance is.
So, I drew this picture and here is the summary of our discussion. (To be honest, it wasn't much better with a crayon, but it illustrates our discussion.)
Heavenly Father's Plan
We lived with our Heavenly Father before we were born. Before we came to earth Heavenly Father created a plan. That plan, if followed, would help us return and live with Him again. That plan included keeping His commandments and making and keeping covenants.
What is a covenant?
A covenant is like a contract or a promise. Instead of being between two people, it is a sacred promise between God and you and me! God sets the conditions or the rules of the covenant. We promise to obey the conditions. As we obey, we are blessed. When we disobey we cannot receive the blessings that can be ours.
What is an ordinance?
An ordinance is the way we to say to Heavenly Father, I want to make a covenant!! On earth, when two people enter a contract they usually sign have an important document, witnessed by someone with legal authority. In the gospel of Jesus Christ, we don't sign a document to say we are making a covenant. Instead, individuals perform a special sacred act, usually during a ceremony. These ordinances must be performed by the authority of the priesthood. An ordinance is like signing a contract with our Heavenly Father. Ordinances also come with set prayers. These prayers must be said exactly - word for word - for they are the covenants the Lord has made for us!
Baptism and Receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost - The First Ordinances of the Gospel
The very first covenant we make with God is the covenant of Baptism by immersion. It is the first ordinance we perform in order to make it back to our Heavenly Father's home. In the scriptures it tell us that baptism is the GATE which opens up to the path that leads to eternal life. This is followed by the ordinance of receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost.
The Sacrament
Each week we partake of the sacrament. The sacrament is an ordinance. We must partake of it weekly in order to return to our Heavenly Father. The sacrament reminds us that we have covenanted to 1) take upon us the name of Jesus Christ, 2) that we will remember Him and 3) that we will keep His commandments. If we do our part, we are promised that the Holy Ghost will always be with us.
The Temple
Keeping our baptismal covenants prepares us to enter into the temple, or the House of the Lord. In the temple we make additional covenants. The covenant of eternal marriage is the highest of all the covenants we make in the temple.
Enduring to the End
After we have made our covenants, the most important thing we can do is LIVE them. We must live them every day - until the very end of our lives - even when things in life get hard.
Celestial Glory
This is where Heavenly Father and Jesus dwell. This is the place from where God's love emanates and where families are forever. Making and keeping sacred covenants - by having sacred, saving ordinances performed - qualify us to live here forever and ever.
So, I drew this picture and here is the summary of our discussion. (To be honest, it wasn't much better with a crayon, but it illustrates our discussion.)
We lived with our Heavenly Father before we were born. Before we came to earth Heavenly Father created a plan. That plan, if followed, would help us return and live with Him again. That plan included keeping His commandments and making and keeping covenants.
What is a covenant?
A covenant is like a contract or a promise. Instead of being between two people, it is a sacred promise between God and you and me! God sets the conditions or the rules of the covenant. We promise to obey the conditions. As we obey, we are blessed. When we disobey we cannot receive the blessings that can be ours.
What is an ordinance?
An ordinance is the way we to say to Heavenly Father, I want to make a covenant!! On earth, when two people enter a contract they usually sign have an important document, witnessed by someone with legal authority. In the gospel of Jesus Christ, we don't sign a document to say we are making a covenant. Instead, individuals perform a special sacred act, usually during a ceremony. These ordinances must be performed by the authority of the priesthood. An ordinance is like signing a contract with our Heavenly Father. Ordinances also come with set prayers. These prayers must be said exactly - word for word - for they are the covenants the Lord has made for us!
Baptism and Receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost - The First Ordinances of the Gospel
The very first covenant we make with God is the covenant of Baptism by immersion. It is the first ordinance we perform in order to make it back to our Heavenly Father's home. In the scriptures it tell us that baptism is the GATE which opens up to the path that leads to eternal life. This is followed by the ordinance of receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost.
The Sacrament
Each week we partake of the sacrament. The sacrament is an ordinance. We must partake of it weekly in order to return to our Heavenly Father. The sacrament reminds us that we have covenanted to 1) take upon us the name of Jesus Christ, 2) that we will remember Him and 3) that we will keep His commandments. If we do our part, we are promised that the Holy Ghost will always be with us.
The Temple
Keeping our baptismal covenants prepares us to enter into the temple, or the House of the Lord. In the temple we make additional covenants. The covenant of eternal marriage is the highest of all the covenants we make in the temple.
Enduring to the End
After we have made our covenants, the most important thing we can do is LIVE them. We must live them every day - until the very end of our lives - even when things in life get hard.
Celestial Glory
This is where Heavenly Father and Jesus dwell. This is the place from where God's love emanates and where families are forever. Making and keeping sacred covenants - by having sacred, saving ordinances performed - qualify us to live here forever and ever.
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Family Field Trip
One mom picking up after eight children under eight years old, eight years ago. . . tolerable.
One mom picking up after nine children ages 2 - 16, today. . . absolutely, positively worthless!!
And today I had HAD it!
It's not like my husband and I haven't sat down and discussed the matter with our children both individually and collectively. In fact, if I had to count, I am mathematically positive we have spent the equivalent amount of hours addressing this issue as there are days in a century!!
Just yesterday I caught a listen as my husband sat down quietly with the five oldest and encouraged and invited and pleaded for them to do their chores and not complain about work. I even heard him say, "I don't like seeing your mother work so hard all the time when you are old enough to help out!" I am sure Providence was smiling down at that husband of mine because those directives came straight from his mouth, right from his heart, without me having put them there.
And yet . . . just one day later, our house looked like, well . . . I'm not even going to go there.
So I'm honest when I say that today I had HAD it.
But on the other hand, I had also had it with the current Lecture Series 505 we have on WORK! So how in tarnation was I supposed to address this issue AGAIN and make it meaningful?
Pretty sure the heavens were on my side this evening because moments after that contemplating thought, inspiration came. And when it came, I didn't hesitate one bit to act upon it!
So I gleefully and spontaneously exclaimed that we were going on a field trip!
Oh boy! Excitement! All of our children came a running!! Our younger ones filled with sheer delight (because it was already WAY past their bedtime) and the older ones filled with complete disbelief (because who in their right mind goes on a field trip at 8:30 at night with a house looking like ours??)
We started our field trip showing THESE pictures. I asked each of my children to take a few moments to observe what they saw and how they felt. Then we shared.
And then we started out on our exciting field trip. It was a SILENT field trip. No one was allowed to speak. We walked into EVERY. SINGLE. ROOM. of our house. And we stopped and waited for several minutes in every single room of our house. And to be quite honest, I was about to cry in every single room of our house. And it wasn't because I felt like I was a loser of a mother who couldn't keep a clean house, because I'm SO not OCD about that. No, I wanted to cry for I saw on my children's faces the realization of the importance of doing their chores and fulfilling their responsibilities. Because I think they got it. Or at least they got something!
After traveling to every room on the house, we ended of our field trip reading THIS:
"A temple is literally a house of the Lord, a holy sanctuary in which sacred ceremonies and ordinances of the gospel are performed by and for the living and also in behalf of the dead. A place where the Lord may come, it is the most holy of any place of worship on the earth. Only the home can compare with the temple in sacredness."You know, I'm pretty sure we'll still have talks and discussions. I'm sure we may even add another 42 dozen hours to our Housecleaning/Work Lecture Series. But tonight, each of us felt something strong enough to remember that we want our home to feel more like the temple.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Saturday Morning Session of General Conference in Six Words
"Hello!" Memorize scriptures. God hearts me.
What six words describe what you learned during the Saturday morning session of General Conference??
What six words describe what you learned during the Saturday morning session of General Conference??
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Time Management Part II
So I'm learning more about Time Managment.
This time my learning took place in the temple.
Now I can't say this of all temples, but I will say it of the temple I attend: There are NO clocks in any of the ordinances room!
Not one.
I know.
Because when I looked all around to find the time, I came up short . . .
Which immediately filled my brain with this counsel given by Elder Richard G. Scott:
Whoa, Nelly! Watch = Clock
For because watching the clock means a whole lot of rush, rush, rush, go, go, go, do, do, do, gone, gone, gone, and not enough listening and learning and worshipping.
Which listening and learning and worshipping is what I am supposed to be doing in the temple - the whole "staying still" so I can see the salvation of the Lord.
Because watching a clock means being on my schedule, not His!
And there I was, in the temple, feeling so pleased I had learned something more about God's time.
But later on that very evening - that! very! evening! - I found this (even better) explanation in the Doctrine and Covenants as to why I have been asked to remove my watch when I enter a house of the Lord . . .
Hello bright lightbulb above my head!
Satan. is .BOUND. to. TIME.
And because he is bound to time, his time is running out. And he knows it.
And in order for his influence NOT to be felt in the one place on earth that is God's House, I have been asked to remove one of Satan's influences - my watch.
And this time, instead of feeling so pleased for learning, I was humbly grateful for God's tender love in teaching me more about His time and His ways.
This time my learning took place in the temple.
Now I can't say this of all temples, but I will say it of the temple I attend: There are NO clocks in any of the ordinances room!
Not one.
I know.
Because when I looked all around to find the time, I came up short . . .
Which immediately filled my brain with this counsel given by Elder Richard G. Scott:
"Remove your watch when you enter a house of the Lord."
Whoa, Nelly! Watch = Clock
For because watching the clock means a whole lot of rush, rush, rush, go, go, go, do, do, do, gone, gone, gone, and not enough listening and learning and worshipping.
Which listening and learning and worshipping is what I am supposed to be doing in the temple - the whole "staying still" so I can see the salvation of the Lord.
Because watching a clock means being on my schedule, not His!
And there I was, in the temple, feeling so pleased I had learned something more about God's time.
But later on that very evening - that! very! evening! - I found this (even better) explanation in the Doctrine and Covenants as to why I have been asked to remove my watch when I enter a house of the Lord . . .
"Satan is bound and time is no longer."
(Doctrine and Covenants 84:100)
Hello bright lightbulb above my head!
Satan. is .BOUND. to. TIME.
And because he is bound to time, his time is running out. And he knows it.
And in order for his influence NOT to be felt in the one place on earth that is God's House, I have been asked to remove one of Satan's influences - my watch.
And this time, instead of feeling so pleased for learning, I was humbly grateful for God's tender love in teaching me more about His time and His ways.
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Four Weeks = An Eternity
For me, the Temple is one of the B.E.S.T. places to see people I haven't see in years.
And last night was no exception as I, quite literally, ran into my first missionary companion (a.k.a. Trainer) in the temple.
And as we had time to only visit for just a few minutes, I was amazed that one person could have had so much influence in my life in such a short amount of time.
For because we were only companions for four weeks!
Four weeks!
Because when I got to the mission field, she had 28 days or so before she went home from her mission!!
She being a seasoned 20 month missionary (yes, you read right, TWENTY MONTHS) and I, being the incoming eight-weeks-of-MTC greenie.
And yet, in that short period of time, her testimony of the gospel and her zeal for building the kingdom of God left an indelible impression upon my heart.
Just for the record, as soon as we left the apartment to work, my trainer spoke nothing but Spanish to me as we were walking and talking and teaching and knocking!! Spanish. And it wasn't the Spanish I heard in the MTC! No, this one actually had a real accent and persons who talked back an wanted you to respond!!!
I laugh now because I did not understood a word. Not one single word! And yet, in those sweet moments of listening to her Spanish, the Lord was trying to teach me that if I worked as hard as my trainer, I would come to love the people and love the work as much as she did!
And do you know what else I discovered? I discovered that sometimes, four weeks is long enough to be blessed for an eternity!
And last night was no exception as I, quite literally, ran into my first missionary companion (a.k.a. Trainer) in the temple.
And as we had time to only visit for just a few minutes, I was amazed that one person could have had so much influence in my life in such a short amount of time.
For because we were only companions for four weeks!
Four weeks!
Because when I got to the mission field, she had 28 days or so before she went home from her mission!!
She being a seasoned 20 month missionary (yes, you read right, TWENTY MONTHS) and I, being the incoming eight-weeks-of-MTC greenie.
And yet, in that short period of time, her testimony of the gospel and her zeal for building the kingdom of God left an indelible impression upon my heart.
Just for the record, as soon as we left the apartment to work, my trainer spoke nothing but Spanish to me as we were walking and talking and teaching and knocking!! Spanish. And it wasn't the Spanish I heard in the MTC! No, this one actually had a real accent and persons who talked back an wanted you to respond!!!
I laugh now because I did not understood a word. Not one single word! And yet, in those sweet moments of listening to her Spanish, the Lord was trying to teach me that if I worked as hard as my trainer, I would come to love the people and love the work as much as she did!
And do you know what else I discovered? I discovered that sometimes, four weeks is long enough to be blessed for an eternity!
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Love to See the Temple
CHECK THIS OUT!!! Turned sideways, a pedigree chart is a sketch drawing of a temple!
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Houses of the Lord
So today, while driving through the valley my four year son blurts out, "MOM! I can see two Temples."
"Yes!" I respond. "Do you know whose house the temple is?"
He looked at me blankly.
"I know!" shouted my five year daughter from the back of the van. "The Temple is Jesus' house."
"That's right!" I said.
After a moment or two of silence as the two of them gazed at the temples before them, I heard her whisper to her brother, "Man, Jesus is so lucky to have so many houses in the world!"
"Yes!" I respond. "Do you know whose house the temple is?"
He looked at me blankly.
"I know!" shouted my five year daughter from the back of the van. "The Temple is Jesus' house."
"That's right!" I said.
After a moment or two of silence as the two of them gazed at the temples before them, I heard her whisper to her brother, "Man, Jesus is so lucky to have so many houses in the world!"
Friday, April 9, 2010
A Taste of Heaven
I attended a temple sealing today.
BTW - It was far more beautiful than any civil ceremony I have ever seen in person or on TV!
I knew the bride. Last year she was only 12 (well, at least it seems that way to me)!
She grew up overnight!
And today she was old enough (and worthy!) to be sealed in the temple for eternity to a worthy young man.
The wonderful thing about weddings is that it brings friends, from afar, together.
I was able to visit a couple who moved from our neighborhood eight years ago!
My husband and I had really only known them for a year. That's only 12 months. A mere 52 weeks.
And yet, this couple is so near and dear to my heart.
As I sat there next to them it felt as if we never did part.
As if we had been together these last eight years.
And I had to catch myself wondering why that is so.
How is it that there are people with whom our hearts knit together in love, in admiration, in gentle affection that no matter how short the earth time of being together, the time apart seems so trivial?
How can that closeness be felt when our earth time together was so immensely short?
I suppose that is the answer of heaven!
For heaven, I believe, is a sweet reunion of loved ones whose hearts have been knit together since the very beginnings of time.
And for some of those knitted hearts, the Lord has allowed earthly paths to cross and intertwine, even if it is for a short time.
So this morning, there in the temple sealing room, my heart swelled in faith-filled gratitude for the taste I had of what heaven will feel like!
BTW - It was far more beautiful than any civil ceremony I have ever seen in person or on TV!
I knew the bride. Last year she was only 12 (well, at least it seems that way to me)!
She grew up overnight!
And today she was old enough (and worthy!) to be sealed in the temple for eternity to a worthy young man.
The wonderful thing about weddings is that it brings friends, from afar, together.
I was able to visit a couple who moved from our neighborhood eight years ago!
My husband and I had really only known them for a year. That's only 12 months. A mere 52 weeks.
And yet, this couple is so near and dear to my heart.
As I sat there next to them it felt as if we never did part.
As if we had been together these last eight years.
And I had to catch myself wondering why that is so.
How is it that there are people with whom our hearts knit together in love, in admiration, in gentle affection that no matter how short the earth time of being together, the time apart seems so trivial?
How can that closeness be felt when our earth time together was so immensely short?
I suppose that is the answer of heaven!
For heaven, I believe, is a sweet reunion of loved ones whose hearts have been knit together since the very beginnings of time.
And for some of those knitted hearts, the Lord has allowed earthly paths to cross and intertwine, even if it is for a short time.
So this morning, there in the temple sealing room, my heart swelled in faith-filled gratitude for the taste I had of what heaven will feel like!
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Going to the Temple
Four year old son: Mom, what do you do in the temple?
Me: I make and keep sacred covenants.
Son: Cool!
Me: And what do you do when I go to the temple?
Son: I go to Nana's and eat! I love it when you go to the temple!
Me: I make and keep sacred covenants.
Son: Cool!
Me: And what do you do when I go to the temple?
Son: I go to Nana's and eat! I love it when you go to the temple!
Saturday, March 20, 2010
A Day at the Temple
Today my husband, my 12 year-old son and I went to the temple to perform some baptisms and confirmations for the dead.
The baptistry was f.u.l.l.
We waited almost two hours to be baptized.
Some of the family names we took to the temple today have been waiting for as long as 270 years to receive the ordinances of salvation!
This particular family of 15 had had the chance for over a year to be baptized. But for unknown circumstances they were not baptized until today.
So while I waited, I watched.
Beautiful, worthy young women filled the temple this Saturday morning.
One young woman turned 12 today! She was at the temple for the first time with her family!
And while I watched these youth dressed in white, also waiting happily with me, my mind recalled the scene opened to President Joseph F. Smith in 1918 as he was given a glimpse into the Spirit World (see Doctrine and Covenants 138).
In the Ensign, December 2009, George S. Tate wrote an article about this vision. In it he wrote:
After a mere two hours on this world. . . it was SO worth the wait!
The baptistry was f.u.l.l.
We waited almost two hours to be baptized.
Some of the family names we took to the temple today have been waiting for as long as 270 years to receive the ordinances of salvation!
This particular family of 15 had had the chance for over a year to be baptized. But for unknown circumstances they were not baptized until today.
So while I waited, I watched.
Beautiful, worthy young women filled the temple this Saturday morning.
One young woman turned 12 today! She was at the temple for the first time with her family!
And while I watched these youth dressed in white, also waiting happily with me, my mind recalled the scene opened to President Joseph F. Smith in 1918 as he was given a glimpse into the Spirit World (see Doctrine and Covenants 138).
In the Ensign, December 2009, George S. Tate wrote an article about this vision. In it he wrote:
"The vision shows how the work of redemption was and is organized among the dead, how the Lord’s servants “carry the message of redemption unto all the dead” (Doctrine and Covenants 138:37). It shows that a way has been provided for all to receive the saving ordinances, reconfirming the connection of temple work to the redemption of the dead (see Doctrine and Covenants 138:48, 54). And it invites us, the living, to actively participate, through seeking after the dead by performing vicarious ordinances (see Doctrine and Covenants 138:33), and in so doing drawing the two worlds together."And today, for my family, these two worlds were brought together.
After a mere two hours on this world. . . it was SO worth the wait!
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