Lessons on the Temple
Lesson No. Seventy-Four
The Temple is a House of Fasting
An illustration of the Widow’s Mite.
The temple is a house of fasting when we put aside worldly things and focus on things of eternity – Early in our temple service we discussed why the Lord refers to the temple as a “house of fasting” (D&C 88:119, 109:8, 16). We usually do not connect the temple to the common definition of fasting by refraining from food and drink. However, the following describes how we can make the temple a house of fasting: “Fasting is the most effective way to slacken the grasp of this telestial world on the mind and move toward another ambience. To fast is to do without some normal necessities; your everyday considerations must be put aside because you will be doing other things that require a totally different mind-set. To fast is to disengage from the temporal and wasteful activities of the ‘real world’” (Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, Vol. 17, p 325-26).
Isaiah’s writings about the law of the fast can be applied to the temple – “Is not this the fast that I have chosen? To lose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?” (Isaiah 58:6) These words about the law of the fast may not have been intended for the temple, yet they apply to it in a most remarkable way. As we worship and serve in the temple we can “undo the heavy burdens, and let the oppressed go free, and...break every yoke” for people both in this life and in the spirit world.
To worship in the temple we must make the temple a house of fasting – Joseph Smith introduced the concept of temple worship in the dedicatory prayer of the Kirtland Temple. He spoke of “all those who shall worship in this house” and about “the people that shall worship, and honorably hold a name and a standing in this thy house” (D&C 109:14, 24).
Temple worship requires putting aside the concerns of the temporal world. It means that every time we go to the temple we should be fasting. We fast as we leave behind the temporal things that normally occupy our thoughts and actions. We could, for example, do as Elder Richard G. Scott suggested and remove our watches in order to focus on the temple. (Temple workers need a watch to insure they meet their various assignments) To those who leave the world outside, the temple becomes a house of fasting.
Testimony – Fasting requires that we loosen our grip on the things of the world. Fasting includes our monthly fast Sunday where we abstain from food. However, every Sabbath day should be a fast Sunday as we set aside the things of the world. Every time we attend the temple we should go there worshiping and fasting as we leave the world outside.
Illustration of early Modern-Day Saints crossing the American Plains on their way to Zion.
As part of our desire to worship in the temple we have made a personal commitment to make the temple a house of fasting by leaving the world outside whenever we are in the temple. We have learned that by doing this we enjoy our time in the temple much more, and the time spent there is much more beneficial. We know this pleases the Lord, and that as we worship in the temple he will continue to bless our family in every needful way.
An illustration of early Modern-Day Saints descending through what is now known as Emigration Canyon down into Zion; the desert valley now known as the Salt Lake Valley.
Note – This week we are celebrating the arrival of the Pioneers in the Salt Lake Valley, 176 years ago, on 24 July 1847. Lesson 61 of this online book, Sustained by Faith, Sacrifice, and Sacred Temple Covenants, may add to your celebration of this pivotal event in Church history.