Preparing to Enter The Temple

“I think there is no place in the world where I feel closer to the Lord than in one of His holy temples.”

—President Thomas S. Monson

Beautiful quote, huh? Soon I will be able to feel and peace and joy that the Temple brings and I am so excited for it. This is what I have been waiting for and preparing myself for since the time I was little. It will be so neat to be able to feel as close to heaven as possible here on earth. :)

Right now, I am waiting for my little brother to get his mission call so we can go into the Temple for the first time together. I leave for my mission August 20th. I will probably be going through the Temple sometime around July 20th! I will list a few of the things that have helped me prepare for this exciting spiritual experience.

First of all, try to find a Temple Prep class in your ward. Mine was during the second hour of church each Sunday! It was very helpful and I always felt the spirit so strongly each week during the class. If you are unsure of when or where the Temple Prep class for your ward is, just ask your Bishop and he will fill you in.

If you have already missed the prep class session in your ward.. no need to worry! I will give you a few other resources that you can look over and ponder as you prepare.

In my prep class we often referred to the little booklet called "Preparing to Enter the Holy Temple." Here is the link to it on the LDS website.

Preparing to Enter the Holy Temple

I have come to love this little booklet so much! It is very informative and I would definitely recommend for anyone who is about to enter the Temple to read it. Here is a little bit of a segment from it directed towards those entering for the first time.

First and Every Time

"If you are going to the temple for the first time it is quite normal for you to be a little unsettled. We are naturally anxious about the unknown. We often become nervous over new experiences.Be at peace. You are going to the temple. You will have someone to assist you at every turn. You will be carefully guided—be at peace."

Now, in order to prepare to enter the Temple, it is first necessary to understand the background and purpose of this holy place. I am a History Major (nerd..) and I love learning historical backgrounds. On the lds.org website it has a neat little study guide with the history of Temples in the Bible and Book of Mormon. It also has a list of scriptures to read for further information!

Temple, House of the Lord - Study Helps

In this study help, it has questions and a list of scriptures. I will list the ones that stood out most for me here!

• Who shall stand in his holy place?:Ps. 24:3–5;

We must keep ourselves pure and worthy to enter the Temple.

• Establish a house of God:D&C 88:119; ( D&C 109:8; )

The Temple is the house of the Lord! 

• I have accepted this house, and my name shall be here:D&C 110:7–8;

The Lord will come unto us and speak to us through the Temple if we keep His commandments.

• The great work to be done in the temples includes the sealing of children to their parents:D&C 138:47–48;

By entering the Temple, we will help families to be together for all eternity! 

Next... I absolutely love this little segment from the lds.org website. It is a very beautiful passage! 

Blessings of the Temple

I will highlight my favorite quote from the passage...

President Thomas S. Monson described temple blessings as follows:

“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 when He said, ‘Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.’”

It is just so amazing that we have such a place of peace where we can to go counsel with the Lord and receive personal revelation. It really is just so beautiful. 

This passage from the church website is also wonderful. It gives you a little summary of each of the rooms in the Temple and what they are used for. It also has pictures! 

Inside the Temple

“At the temple the dust of distraction seems to settle out, the fog and the haze seem to lift, and we can ‘see’ things that we were not able to see before and find a way through our troubles that we had not previously known.”
—President Boyd K. Packer

In an attempt to prepare myself to enter such a wonderful, sacred place, I have been studying my scriptures diligently and trying to better my personal faults and imperfections. I have felt myself draw nearer to my Heavenly Father as I have done these things. I urge you to continuously say your prayers and diligently study your scriptures. Then you will also be able to feel the peace that I have felt! And, someday soon, we will be able to enter into the most sacred place on this earth.

Isn't it amazing that we have so many Temples here on earth? The growth is just astounding! Sometimes I love to just glance at the current gallery with pictures of all of the Temples we have. Click the link if you want to look at the gallery.

Temples around the world

xoxo

Christine