Lessons on the Temple
Lesson No. Six

A Temple Dedication is an Opportunity to Re-Dedicate Our Lives

Great blessings Come From Participating in a Temple Dedication – With more temples the opportunity to attend a temple dedication is increased.  Families, including children aged 8 or older, in the temple district, are encouraged to prepare for and attend the dedication.  When a new temple is dedicated the dedicatory prayer and other traditions established by Joseph Smith at the Kirtland Temple dedication are followed.  However, the greatest blessing that comes from participating in a temple dedication is the opportunity to re-dedicate our lives to the Lord and His work.  In response the Lord pours out blessings, power, and protection on His people.  This is a wonderful time to introduce our children to the importance of the temple and the blessings that come from temple worship.

Spiritual gifts and power are given in the temple – At the dedication of the Kirtland Temple on March 27, 1836 the Prophet Joseph prayed:  “And do thou grant, Holy Father, that all those who shall worship in this house may…grow up in thee, and receive a fullness of the Holy Ghost, and be organized according to thy laws, and be prepared to obtain every needful thing” (D&C 109:14-15 emphasis added).  These phases contain wonderful promises:

Grow up in thee is to become like our Father.  As children of Heavenly Parents when we grow and develop properly we will become like Them.

Receive a fullness of the Holy Ghost – This is the only place in scripture where this phrase is used, and it contains a wonderful promise.  The Holy Ghost is the conduit through which we receive spiritual gifts and power.  Through the principles of physics we know that if the diameter of a pipe is increased, the volume that can flow through that pipe is dramatically enlarged.  These spiritual gifts and power will spill over into every aspect of our lives.

Be organized according to thy laws – In other buildings we organize wards and stakes but only in temples do we organize eternal families and where the fullness of the priesthood is received.  (See D&C 124:27-28)  Each partner in a celestial marriage enjoys equally the blessings that come from the fullness of the priesthood.

Be prepared to obtain every needful thing – This has reference to both this life and the next.  In temples we are “armed with righteousness and the power of God in great glory” (1 Nephi 14:14).  In the ordinances of the Melchizedek priesthood given in the temple “the power of godliness is manifest to men in the flesh” (D&C 84:19-21).  In the temple we “enter into this order of the priesthood” (celestial marriage) whereby we qualify for the fullness of celestial glory.  (See D&C 131:1-4)

Testimony – The Lord manifests Himself in the temple – A week after the dedication of the Kirtland Temple the Lord appeared and accepted the temple as His house. He said: “For behold, I have accepted this house, and my name shall be here; and I will manifest myself to my people in mercy in this house” (D&C 110:7). We testify that the Lord does manifest himself in mercy in the temple for we have experienced it in our lives and have observed it in the lives of our family and many others, both patrons and workers.