Lessons on the Temple
Lesson No. Seventy-Seven
The Many Blessings that Come From Worshiping and Serving in the House of the Lord
Photograph of (from left) Bishop Dean M. Davies, Elder Larry Y. Wilson, Elder Dallin H. Oaks, Elder M. Russell Ballard, Elder Kent F. Richards, and Sister Linda S. Reeves standing outside the Provo City Center Temple on Sunday, March 20, 2016 prior to the second dedicatory session. Photo sourced from lds.org. Photograph taken by Sarah Jane Weaver.
Temple worship and temple service brings many blessings – The recent adjustments to the temple endowment speaks of worshiping and serving in the temple. All worthy members of the Church have the privilege and responsibility to worship and serve in the temple as patrons. We should worship and serve in the temple frequently enough that it is a sacrifice, meaning that we are choosing to be in the temple over something else that we would like to do. Temple worship and temple service has and will always require sacrifice. Some members in addition to being temple patrons have the opportunity to serve as temple workers. Personal and family circumstances are important considerations when deciding how often we can worship and serve in the temple as patrons and as temple workers.
Some of the blessings that attend temple worship and temple service include the following:
- A greater knowledge and understanding of the plan of salvation and a desire to stay on the covenant path – The temple endowment is a symbolic presentation of the plan of salvation where we learn by what we hear, see, and what we experience and feel. We learn things that can only be learned in the temple. A more detailed discussion of this topic can be found in this book’s Lesson 2 entitled The Temple (the Lord’s University) and Our Spiritual PHD (Peace, Hope, and Direction).
Photograph of a Japanese family walking around the grounds of the Fukuoka, Japan Temple. Photo sourced from lds.org.
- Temple worship and temple service blesses and strengthen families – Children and grandchildren are strengthened in their testimonies of the Gospel of Jesus Christ as they see their parents and grandparents worship and serve in the temple. This is a true principle that applies in all Church service generally, and it particularly applies to temple service and worship.
Serving as a temple worker brings unique blessings – In addition to our responsibility to worship as temple patrons, many members have the wonderful opportunity and privilege to serve as temple workers. Temple workers include ordinance workers, baptistry workers, sealers, and temple service missionaries. The unique blessings enjoyed by temple workers include the following:
- Temple workers have the opportunity to learn and develop their mind in unique ways – Ordinance workers become very familiar with temple ordinances. Prior to the massive seismic upgrade of the Salt Lake Temple, the temple endowment was done by ordinance workers who performed the various parts. I memorized and performed all of the male parts of the endowment, and I can still recite them in my mind. Now the endowment is presented on a screen in all temples, and ordinance workers by participating often in the various ordinances of the temple learn and develop their mind in unique ways.
- Temple workers have the opportunity to develop a pleasing personality – Those who serve in the House of the Lord are expected to smile, to be kind and gentle with patrons and with each other, and make sure everything they do brings the Spirit of the Lord.
- Temple workers have the opportunity to make life-long friends – One of the great blessing in my life is to know and learn to love people I have served with in the Salt Lake Temple, the Louisville Kentucky Temple, and the Jordan River Temple. These servants of the Lord come from many family heritages, cultures, and life experiences. They all love the Lord and desire to serve Him.
Testimony – I have set apart many temple workers as a member of the presidency of the Salt Lake Temple and the Louisville Kentucky Temple. Now one of my additional assignments in the Jordan River Temple is to set apart workers in the Jordan River Temple by delegation of authority from the president of the Jordan River Temple. Usually, when I set apart a temple worker, I refer to D&C 109:14-15 which states in part: “And do thou grant, Holy Father, that all those who shall worship in this house….that they may grow up in thee, and receive a fulness of the Holy Ghost.” (For a more complete explanation of this scripture, see Lesson 11 of this Book) I then suggest what this might mean to them personally. I have found that almost without exception, these new temple workers are touched with this thought and possibility in their life. These experiences also touch me personally and the Holy Ghost confirms in my mind and heart that those who worship and serve in the temple can receive a fulness of the Holy Ghost if they desire it and live worthy for it.