Sunday, October 31, 2010

A Temple-Motivated People - Talk

Assigned to pull from A Temple-Motivated People, by President Howard W. Hunter

My parents, my brother, and I joined the Church in Indiana when I was 14.  Over the almost twenty-five years since then I have seen every state around Indiana get a temple and have seen temple after temple be announced and built in Utah.

When I heard the words Indianapolis Indiana be spoken by the prophet as he announced the new temples in last conference I was overcome with powerful emotions.  Since then I have tried to comprehend what I was feeling.  Even though I know that the Lord’s hand is everywhere that stakes are organized and even just where two or three are gathered in his name, it was hard to feel that Indiana was less deserving of a temple than say places like Detroit.  To hear the the prophet speak the words, it was good to remember that he is aware of the saints in Indiana.

Once the temple is completed, it will still likely be closer for my parents to drive the two hours or so to go to the Chicago temple and many in the southern parts of the state will probably still go to the Louisville temple, but what an honor to have Indiana be a place that is home to a temple of the Lord.

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Many of us have small children.  Here’s what a trip to the temple in most parts of Indiana looks like if you have small children.  Find some one who has six to eight hours to watch your kids.  Right, cause you are going to be a minimum of two hours driving to the temple and a minimum of 2 hours at the temple and a minimum of two hours driving back.  If you have to go to Chicago and deal with Chicago traffic who knows what you’ll get.

Since it is embarrassing to ask someone for eight hours of their time, which will likely be on a Saturday, you will usually have to team up with another couple with small children and all go together.  Might as well plan on all day for this one.  Drive the two hours.  One couple goes to the temple, while the other stays with the children.  Then the next couple goes.  After that, it has been at least six hours.  The kids are screaming that they are hungry, so another 30 minutes to an hour for you to eat.  After the meal that brings us to at least 7 hours and you still have at least a two hour drive home.

Now that I live in Ogden, I find my self grumbling about having to drive all the way to Bountiful when the Ogden temple get remodeled.  Living in the little town I grew up in, our stake center was as far away as Bountiful is from Ogden and there was not a temple there or anywhere in between and I believe there was only one ward building between the two towns.

It is important that we do not take for granted the blessings of having temples close to us.  Bountiful is still close to us.

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A friend of mine who I grew up with says that he will drive to work and have the Draper, Oquirrh Mountain, and Jordan River temples all in his view at the same time and occasionally finds himself just going through his commute and forgetting that he is so blessed to see such a wonder and a blessing of temples encompassing the valley and to live and work close to them.

How often do we drive around downtown and pass the temple without considering what we have?  We have a temple not just in our state, but in our town.  Our hearts should be filled with gratitude every time it only takes us a few minutes to get to the temple and anytime we get to have it near us when we are running errands.

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In speaking of the temple President Howard W Hunter stated, “It is the house of the Lord. It is holy unto the Lord. It should be holy unto us.”

He also said, “I would hope that every adult member would be worthy of—and carry—a current temple recommend, even if proximity to a temple does not allow immediate or frequent use of it...”  ”Let us be a temple-attending and a temple-loving people. Let us hasten to the temple as frequently as time and means and personal circumstances allow. Let us go not only for our kindred dead, but let us also go for the personal blessing of temple worship, for the sanctity and safety which is provided within those hallowed and consecrated walls.”

In Doctrine and Covenants 88:119 we read:
“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”

Our homes and bodies are often referred to as being like the temple.  Are we establishing houses of prayer, of fasting, of faith, of learning, of glory, and of order?

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Jesus expressed his passion for the temple, in John 2:13-16
13 ¶ And the Jews’ passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem,
14 And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of amoney sitting:
15 And when he had made a ascourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers’ money, and overthrew the tables;
16 And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father’s house an house of merchandise.

What sorts of things would Jesus find in our homes or our bodies that defile the temple of His Father?

President Hunter had this to say, “To have the temple indeed be a symbol unto us, we must desire it to be so. We must live worthy to enter the temple. We must keep the commandments of our Lord. If we can pattern our life after the Master, and take His teaching and example as the supreme pattern for our own, we will not find it difficult to be temple worthy, to be consistent and loyal in every walk of life, for we will be committed to a single, sacred standard of conduct and belief. Whether at home or in the marketplace, whether at school or long after school is behind us, whether we are acting totally alone or in concert with a host of other people, our course will be clear and our standards will be obvious.”

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Speaking on the subject of tithing, the prophet Malachi said, “cprove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not dopen you the ewindows of heaven, and pour you out a fblessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.”

Just as with the principle of tithing and the covenants we have made to the Lord to pay it, I know that if we do what we have covenanted to do with regard to temple work and genealogy he will pour out blessings and improve our lives.

I know that the more engaged we are in this work, the more prosperous our nation, our city, our ward, and our homes will be.  I believe that our marriages will be stronger, our children will be more valiant, and we will be more protected from temptation.