A House of God

The Lord said this to the Saints after instructing them to seek learning in section 88: “Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, 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.” We can certainly apply this instruction to multiple aspects of our lives, including in our homes and in our church meetings. It also is a guide to us as we worship in the house of God, in the temples. The temple should be for us a place of prayer, fasting, faith, learning, glory, and order. The next verse gives us guidance on how to worship in His house. He said, “That your incomings may be in the name of the Lord; that your outgoings may be in the name of the Lord; that all your salutations may be in the name of the Lord, with uplifted hands unto the Most High” (Doctrine and Covenants 88:119-120). As we worship there in the temple His name should be on our lips and in our minds, He should be the subject of our quiet conversations and our pondering there. As we go in and as we go out, as we participate there in the sacred ordinances, we should go forth with His name in our hearts. Everything in the temple centers symbolically around the Savior and His atoning sacrifice, but if we don’t focus adequately on Him we may fail to see it.

               The next verse gives us more instruction on how we should act in sacred places, especially the temple. The Lord commanded, “Therefore, cease from all your light speeches, from all laughter, from all your lustful desires, from all your pride and light-mindedness, and from all your wicked doings” (v121). In other words, we must learn to be holy, focusing our minds on the spiritual and casting out our idle thoughts and worldly desires. President Nelson instructed us, “Keep your temple covenants and blessings foremost in your minds and hearts.” If that is important for us outside the temple, then how much more need have we to focus on the things of the temple while we are there. As we worship in the temple, the majority of the experience comes as we listen and ponder—we don’t personally do much of the talking. Instead, the Lord asks us to be quiet as we are instructed and we must learn to focus our minds on the symbols and sacred ordinances that are presented to us. That takes effort to cast aside our “light speeches” and “light-mindedness” and clear our minds of any pride or wickedness so we can more fully take in the experience the Lord wants us to have.

            When the Lord spoke to Moses at the burning bush, He gave him the prophet this instruction: “Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground” (Exodus 3:5). Why was he told to remove his shoes? Perhaps that first injunction—draw not night hither—highlights one reason: the Lord did not want him to move and so he had him remove that which enabled Moses to easily go from one place to the next. He wanted Moses to stand still and have this experience where he was at, not anxious to get up and move somewhere else. When we go to the temple we also remove our shoes we come with, and surely as we do the Lord would similarly say to us: “The place whereon thou standest is holy ground.” He wants us to forget the cares and distractions of the world outside the temple, and putting our shoes away so that we cannot depart back into the world (at least during our time in the temple) can be a sign to Him that we are fully engaged mentally and spiritually in what is taking place in the temple. As we focus on His name in the temple and work to rid ourselves of our worldly thoughts and desires, surely we will see the fulfillment of this promise from the Lord: “The Spirit shall give utterance in all your doings in the house of the Lord” (Doctrine and Covenants 88:137).