It feels like Christmas morning every Tuesday, because
I have the wonderful blessing of being an ordinance worker in the Washington DC
temple. I love being there; I feel complete and whole while I am in the temple.
Everyone is so kind and I feel like I see "the face of God"
every time I go, even though I don't see Him in person.
Each week I am given a different assignment: on any
given week I might help on an endowment session, answer phones, fold clothes in
the laundry, or transcribe names from the prayer roll voicemail. Almost every
week I help in the initiatory ordinance.
Last week, I was assigned to be the hostess to greet
patrons as they enter the temple. In the Washington DC temple, patrons come to
the recommend desk, show their temple recommend, and then proceed across a
bridge or a long hall lined with huge windows to the main body of the temple.
The view from the windows is spectacular: it looks out onto the flowers and
greenery that make this part of the world so beautiful. Still, to me, walking
across this bridge is when one leaves "the world" and crosses into
"where God lives; the House of the Lord". The hostess stands at the
end of this bridge to greet the people entering the temple.
That's one duty, at least. A less obvious duty is to
be a sentinel. Those who look carefully can spot a huge set of enclosed metal sliding
doors at the far end of the bridge, as you enter the temple proper. The
temple workers at the recommend desk or security personnel can close these
doors quickly and electronically, if there is an imminent threat. I don’t know
if they have ever been used, but unfortunately, it is not unknown to have
people, who do not have temple recommends, somehow slip past the recommend desk
and make their way into the temple. The hostess needs to follow the Spirit and
be aware of all those coming in.
On Tuesday, I was pondering the duties of the "hostess/sentinel", and thinking, “Boy, I would sure want to be on
the inside of those doors if they ever came down!” Then the Spirit gave me a
little lesson: I realized that this assignment is very
symbolic of a role of women, wives and mothers. The men are out in the world, working
hard and sifting through right and wrong. We women/wives/mothers are the
sentinels of our homes. We need to be very watchful of who comes into our homes
and what influences enter our homes. Of course, we are welcoming of people from
all walks of life, but we need to be careful. Even more important is being
hyper-watchful of what comes into our homes through the TV and Internet. We
need some spiritual doors that will slam down when something threatens our
peace to destroy, right? What would those doors be??
Prayer? Personal revelation? Scripture study? Honoring
and renewing covenants?
We are women of covenant.
“When covenant women keep our covenants with the Lord, we are
filled with power from God. When covenant women keep our covenants, we are
given access to the literal ministry of angels. Angels are dispatched to
our need.” We heard this from Elder Nelson's
wife, Wendy, at the BYU Women's conference. Ever since then, I have prayed at
times that angels will be dispatched to help a loved one. Elder Holland also
testified that angels are sent to help us.
I know that the Holy Ghost
will guide us, if we are paying attention, and that those who have already crossed to the next world will
From Sister Beck's talk, "Mothers Who Know":
Who will
prepare this righteous generation of sons and daughters? Latter-day Saint women
will do this—women who know and love the Lord and bear testimony of Him, women
who are strong and immovable and who do not give up during difficult and
discouraging times. We are led by an inspired prophet of God who has called
upon the women of the Church to “stand strong and immovable for that which is
correct and proper under the plan of the Lord.”6 He has asked us to “begin in
[our] own homes”7 to teach children the ways of
truth.
I would add to this that women/wives/mothers can teach the adult men in their life as well. Elder Nelson,
after the death of his first wife, said, "Dantzel was not only a loved and loving
companion. She was a teacher: by her noble example, she taught faith, virtue,
obedience, and mercy. She taught me how to listen and to love. Because of her,
I know all the blessings that can come to a husband, father, and grandfather.”
Hey, if an apostle of the Lord can and needs to be taught by his wife, I
say go for it.
I digress.
Stand as a sentinel; be strong and immoveable. Keep those spiritual doors
at the ready. Never ever give up.