Lessons on the Temple
Lesson No. Sixty-Five

Homes Are Sacred Like Unto the Temple

“A temple is literally a House of the Lord, a Holy Sanctuary in which sacred ceremonies and ordinances of the gospel are performed for the living and also in behalf of the dead.  A place of worship on this earth.  Only the home can compare with the temple in sacredness.” (Bible Dictionary, emphasis added)

There are many things we can learn from the temple that should be applied to our homes –  As children of God, and as a husband and wife, mother and father, and as grandparents knowing that our homes should be sacred, even as the temple, has great importance and responsibility.  The covenants we make should be the most important thing we take home from the temple.  We can also dedicate our homes and invite the Spirit of the Lord to dwell there, just as we do temples.

Because we are not perfect, striving for a sacred home will always be a work in progress – How wonderful to know we are put on this earth to learn how to become “perfect in Christ” (see Moroni 10:32; also Gerrit W. Gong, Perfect in Christ, October 2019 General Conference), and the Lord will bless us as we align our desires with His desires for us.  Just like the temple, our homes are places of learning. As we fill our homes with righteous examples, scripture study and prayer we can learn the Savior’s will. Prayer has an important place in temple worship.  Starting and ending our day with the power of personal and family prayer is essential in our homes and our lives. 

People speak with quiet voices in the temple, and we should do the same at home –  Harsh voices are inconsistent with the Spirit.  Contention seems to be magnified in the temple because it is out of place.  We have also observed the youth in the baptistery where there is an expectation that in the temple they will not only be reverent but kind. Because of this they worship the Lord and treat each other with great respect.  There is also a feeling of happiness and righteous joy in the temple because it is filled with love and service for one another and the Lord.   Our homes should be a place of peace where the expectation is one of love, kindness and service.  Just like the temple our actions are magnified in our homes.

Sacred music and pictures invites the Spirit of the Lord – In many temples there is beautiful organ music that greets you as you enter so we can feel the spirit and leave the world outside.  What a perfect reminder of the power of good music in our homes, and the effects it can have on us and our families.  In all the temples great care is taken to display beautiful pictures that draws us closer to the Savior.  We can display in our homes pictures of family, the Savior and of the temple. 

Technology is a great blessing in temple worship and in family history responsibilities – The temple endowment is presented in most languages.  This allow people worldwide to be taught in the temple in their own language.  With developing technology billions of people and families, on both sides of the veil, will receive the blessings of the temple.  Modern technology can bless our homes, as it does in the temple, with the spirit and power of Elijah and turn our hearts toward our ancestors.

Testimony – We know that we can learn from the temple’s example and see our homes through temple eyes so that we can feel in our homes the peaceful spirit of the Savior.  D&C 109:8 is applicable both in the temple and in our homes because this is the Lords desire:  “Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing, and establish a home, 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, a house of God.”