Round About the Temple
In general conference six months ago, President Nelson focused his messages on the temple. In his introductory talk he said this: “We rejoice that more temples are being built across the world. With the dedication of each new temple, additional godly power comes into the world to strengthen us and counteracts the intensifying efforts of the adversary.” In his message about overcoming the world, he told a story of a group going through the Washington D.C. Temple open house and related how a young boy looked at the altar in an endowment room and said, “Oh, that’s nice. Here is a place for people to rest on their temple journey.” He commented, “I doubt that the boy knew just how profound his observation was. He likely had no idea about the direct connection between making a covenant with God in the temple and the Savior’s stunning promise: ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; … and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’” He further elaborated, “Each person who makes covenants in baptismal fonts and in temples—and keeps them—has increased access to the power of Jesus Christ. Please ponder that stunning truth!” He summarized with this invitation: “Spend more time in the temple, and seek to understand how the temple teaches you to rise above this fallen world.” And then in his final address he taught, “It is significant that the Savior chose to appear to the people at the temple. It is His house. It is filled with His power. Let us never lose sight of what the Lord is doing for us now. He is making His temples more accessible. He is accelerating the pace at which we are building temples.” After announcing eighteen new temples to be built, he ended with this invitation: “My dear brothers and sisters, may you focus on the temple in ways you never have before.” Clearly he wants us to increase our time in the temple and center our lives around the covenants we make there.
In that final address President Nelson
was referring to this passage in the Book of Mormon: “And now it came to pass
that there were a great multitude gathered together, of the people of Nephi,
round about the temple which was in the land Bountiful; and they were marveling
and wondering one with another, and were showing one to another the great and
marvelous change which had taken place. And they were also conversing about
this Jesus Christ, of whom the sign had been given concerning his death.” They
were gathered at the temple and they were speaking to one another about Jesus Christ.
It was then that the voice of the Lord came to them: “They heard a voice as if
it came out of heaven; and they cast their eyes round about, for they
understood not the voice which they heard; and it was not a harsh voice,
neither was it a loud voice; nevertheless, and notwithstanding it being a small
voice it did pierce them that did hear to the center, insomuch that there was
no part of their frame that it did not cause to quake; yea, it did pierce them
to the very soul, and did cause their hearts to burn.” Eventually the
understood the voice to be that of the Father: “Behold my Beloved Son, in whom
I am well pleased, in whom I have glorified my name—hear ye him.” It was then
that the crowning event of the whole book took place as they sought to indeed hear
Him: “And it came to pass, as they understood they cast their eyes up again
towards heaven; and behold, they saw a Man descending out of heaven; and he was
clothed in a white robe; and he came down and stood in the midst of them; and
the eyes of the whole multitude were turned upon him, and they durst not open
their mouths, even one to another, and wist not what it meant, for they thought
it was an angel that had appeared unto them. And it came to pass that he
stretched forth his hand and spake unto the people, saying: Behold, I am Jesus
Christ, whom the prophets testified shall come into the world. And behold, I am
the light and the life of the world; and I have drunk out of that bitter cup
which the Father hath given me, and have glorified the Father in taking upon me
the sins of the world, in the which I have suffered the will of the Father in all
things from the beginning” (3 Nephi 11:1-11). What a supernal experience that
must have been for this people who were gathered at the temple. Perhaps then what
we are to learn from this is that as we gather to the temple and as we focus on
Jesus Christ there like this people did, we will hear the Lord’s voice and come
to know Him better. Likely we will not see Him with our physical eyes as this
people did, but as we focus on its teachings of Him and the covenants we make there
we will truly “hear Him” as the Father invited them and us.
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