Lessons on the Temple
Lesson No. Forty-One
Book Ends of the Prophet Joseph Smith’s Ministry
The Book of Mormon and the temple are the two bookends of the Prophet’s ministry – When Moroni first visited Joseph, he spoke about the coming forth of the Book of Mormon and of the coming of Elijah. (See Joseph Smith History 1:34-39) These two events are the bookends of Joseph’s ministry. During the next seven years Joseph’s focus was to bring forth the Book of Mormon. This was the first bookend of his ministry.
Less than a year after the Book of Mormon was published Joseph received his first revelation on the temple. The Lord commanded him to “go to the Ohio; and there I will give unto you my law; and there you shall be endowed with power from on high” (D&C 38:32). The rest of Joseph’s life was primarily focused on the restoration of temple worship. This is the other bookend of Joseph’s ministry.
The Book of Mormon restores the knowledge of the atonement of Christ – More has been revealed in our dispensation about the plan of salvation than in any previous dispensation. The plan of salvation is founded on three fundamental doctrines - the creation and our pre-mortal existence; the fall and our mortal probation; and the infinite and eternal atonement of Jesus Christ.
The atonement of Christ is central to and activates the plan of salvation. Without it the plan of salvation would only be a plan. The atonement of Christ ties the entire plan together and gives meaning and purpose to all that we do. The atonement Jesus Christ makes eternal life and exaltation possible.
In teaching about the atonement of Christ the Book of Mormon uses various names such as "the plan of restoration" (Alma 41:2), "the plan of happiness" (Alma 42:8), and "the plan of mercy" (Alma 42:15). However, most often the Book of Mormon speaks of the atonement of Christ as "the plan of redemption" (Jacob 6:8; Alma 12:25, 26, 30, 32,33; 17:16; 18:39; 29:2; 34:31; 39:18; 42:11).
Keeping temple covenants gives access to the full redemptive power of the atonement of Christ – Baptism puts on the path to eternal life; keeping temple covenants is the way we “press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope and a love of God and of all men.” Keeping temple covenants gives us access to the full redemptive power of the atonement of Christ. This enables us to endure to the end so that the Father’s promise of eternal life is realized. (See 2 Nephi 31:17-20)
The Book of Mormon will change our heart – Like the people of King Benjamin, we experience this change through “the Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent, which has wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually.” Then “we are willing to enter into a covenant with our God to do his will, and to be obedient to his commandments…all the remainder of our days” (Mosiah 5:2, 5). This includes keeping our baptismal and temple covenants.
The temple turns our heart to our family – Our hearts are turned to our family through the sealing keys restored by Elijah. The promise is that “[Elijah] shall plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers” (D&C 2:2). President Russell M. Nelson has said that the spirit of Elijah is “a manifestation of the Holy Ghost bearing witness of the divine nature of the family” (A New Harvest Time, Ensign, May 1998).
My testimony – The gospel of Jesus Christ as taught in the Book of Mormon changes our heart. The restoration of the sealing keys by Elijah turns our heart to our family. Furthermore, keeping temple covenants blesses and protect us and our family and makes the promise of eternal life a reality.