In August of 1994, our family moved to the Dominican Republic. This island country in the Caribbean has some of the warmest, most loving people anywhere, but I didn’t know that yet. We were beginning our tenth year of living in Spanish-speaking countries. My Spanish was good by that time, but certainly not fluent. My skin color was not the same as those that I saw around me, and I just felt different and odd, once again. One morning soon after we had arrived, I took our toddler out in the stroller and we went for a walk in a park along the ocean. It was a beautiful morning, in the most picturesque setting imaginable, yet I was blue and lonely. Feeling sorry for myself, I prayed, “Heavenly Father, when am I ever going to feel like I belong somewhere? When am I going to feel like I’m at home?” The Lord whispered to me through the Spirit something that I have never forgotten. He said, “Everyone is a stranger here. You won’t be home until you’re back here with Me.”
In that moment my eternal life was brought into focus and I was taught who I really was; that I was my Heavenly Father’s daughter, that He loved me and missed me and even though He was glad that I was away for a while, He was looking forward to the time that I would come Home, to my real home with Him.
We are temporarily here on the earth, learning as we go through this mortal experience. At times we all feel lost and alone and need to be reminded of the words that are engraved on every temple, “Holiness to the Lord. The house of the Lord”. Everything within the temple points to Christ and His ministry. It points to His desire that we become of one heart and one mind. It is His home here on the earth, and since we are His children, it is our home too. When we go to the temple, we are in reality “going home”. Maybe the source of the peace and comfort that we feel when we enter the temple is our spirits remembering the loving feeling that we had in the presence of our Father before we came to earth.
Elder Boyd K. Packer counseled, “Say the word temple. Say it quietly and reverently. Add the word holy. Holy Temple. Say it as though it were capitalized, no matter where it appears in the sentence. Temple. One other word is equal in importance to a Latter-day Saint. Home. Put the words holy temple and home together, and you have described the house of the Lord!”
Pres. James E. Faust once said, “We unavoidably stand in so many unholy places and are subjected to so much that is vulgar, profane, and destructive of the Spirit of the Lord that I encourage our Saints all over the world, wherever possible, to strive to stand more often in holy places. Our most holy places are our sacred temples. Within them is a feeling of sacred comfort.
Going to our temple home as often as possible gives our lives and the lives of our families an eternal focus, and the possibility of purity and unity that that will bless us now and forever.
As we consider temple worship in our lives, we might ponder the message in Doctrine & Covenants Section 52 verse14.
4 And again, I will give unto you a pattern in all things, that ye may not be deceived; for Satan is abroad in the land, and he goeth forth adeceiving the nations—
When we make temple worship a pattern in our lives; when, in fact, our family life revolves around receiving temple ordinances and keeping temple covenants, a vision of the eternities opens to us, our lives come into focus and we are promised that Satan will not be able to deceive us. We can work toward having a current temple recommend. Once we have the recommend, we could decide which days we will attend the temple, and plan the rest of our activities around this decision. We can choose to use some of our leisure time at the computer searching for names of ancestors who have not yet received their temple ordinances. This kind of observance brings about a broken heart and contrite spirit that allows us to enjoy more fully the infinite blessings of the Atonement.
In his talk at the dedication of the Oquirrh Mountain temple, Elder David A. Bednar defined these patterns of temple worship, as opposed to the chaos that we find in the world. He said: (paraphrasing)
“In the world, we feel hectic and hurried. In the temple, we find stillness. Indeed, we have the opportunity to follow the commandment; “Be still; and know that I am God.” Psalms Chapter 46 verse 10.
We frequently find the world to be noisy, loud and unruly. In the temple we find quiet, reverence, orderliness.
In the world, people can often be self-centered and display great selfishness. In the temple, we find just the opposite: selfless service and love of God and our fellowman.
In the world, good is portrayed as evil, and evil portrayed as something good. In the temple, truth is taught and the gospel of Jesus Christ answers questions of the soul.
In the world, we find pollution and immoral influences that break apart marriages and families. In the temple we receive priesthood ordinances that seal families.
In the world, people are differentiated by class, color, and income. In the temple, all wear modest white clothing, equal in the bonds of spirituality, where the individual spirit can shine through.
In the world, opportunities for advanced learning are offered to a mere few. In the temple, the teaching of the Holy Ghost can reveal the mysteries of the kingdom to all.
It is my witness that as we plan our lives so that we can “go home to the temple” as often as possible, it will be our privilege to be still, to reflect on the sacrifice of our Savior and His love for us, to be purified and to see ourselves and our lives as they really are, as the Lord would have us see them.
