Actively Attend the Temple On special occasions a group of us would get together and do what we affectionately called an Iron man at the temple. That was we would get together and attend the Temple for 6 sessions in a row, a local Bishop at that time gave out stickers to the ones who made it through to the last session. It was quite a spiritual boost. We all gained some wonderful insights. Over the years we have continued the tradition. Last Tuesday was one such occasion. However this time I decided to attend the temple for Heavenly Father. I decided to give thanks for every single part and parcel of the endowment. To perform every act every gesture because I loved Heavenly Father and the Lord. Alma 37:36-37 Yea, and cry unto God for all thy support; yea, let all thy doings be unto the Lord, and whithersoever thou goest let it be in the Lord; yea, let all thy thoughts be directed unto the Lord; yea, let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever. Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good; ... I am still reeling from the experience. What I realized was that I could take an active part in the process rather then be passive or temporal in the endowment. I could exercise my agency and be energetic and spiritual, I could pray always. 2 Nephi 32:9 But behold, I say unto you that ye must pray always, and not faint; that ye must not perform any thing unto the Lord save in the first place ye shall pray unto the Father in the name of Christ, that he will consecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy performance may be for the welfare of thy soul. From this scripture we see that we can actively perform every aspect of the endowment for Heavenly father and His son Jesus Christ. Why do we get up in the morning and get dressed, study the scriptures, prepare for the activities of the day? Why exercise, visit the sick, do home teaching, prepare for our lessons in Sunday School and Priesthood and yes go to the Temple? Why do anything? The Law of Sowing and Reaping Effort is required to stay spiritually focused. There is a reason they call it work. Because it takes work to maintain our stewardships. Our bodies are not ours they are our Father in Heavens He has given us stewardship over them. It takes work to keep them balanced with nourishment and proper food and drink and most importantly it takes work to feel the Spirit. Our wives and children are not ours we dont own them we have a stewardship over them it takes exertion and hard work to serve our wives and families. Our homes are not ours they are Heavenly Fathers He has given us stewardship over them as well, to keep them in good repair and running smoothly it takes effort, hence house work. As we go out with the Missionaries it to takes time and effort to teach the gospel thus we call it Missionary Work. To search out our kindred dead takes faith energy and a steadfastness in Christ to do genealogy work, and on and on it goes every stewardship assignment takes Work and yes even going to the Temple is called Temple Work. In 1936 The First presidency taught the importance of work with the newly formulated welfare system. Our primary purpose was to set up, in so far as it might be possible, a system under which the curse of idleness would be done away with, the evils of a dole abolished, and independence, industry, thrift and self-respect be once more established amongst our people. The aim of the Church is to help the people to help themselves. WORK is to be reenthroned as the ruling principle of the lives of our Church membership. I realized I could get much more out of the endowment if I did it with 2 things in mind. One I receiveth all things with thankfulness, even multiplied one hundred fold. D&C 78:17-19 17 Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye are little children, and ye have not as yet understood how great blessings the Father hath in his own hands and prepared for you; 18 And ye cannot bear all things now; nevertheless, be of good cheer, for I will lead you along. The kingdom is yours and the blessings thereof are yours, and the riches of eternity are yours. 19 And he who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious; and the things of this earth shall be added unto him, even an hundred fold, yea, more. Why dose my attending the temple get multiplied one hundred fold when I do it with thankfulness? Because I must make a special focus to look at the process spiritually and this is the very special way we qualify for the Saviors Devine Grace. I realize that what I do is relatively insignificant and if I were to serve Him with my whole soul I would still be an unprofitable servant. But when I attend the temple out of thanksgiving and love I qualify for His divine grace and the riches of eternity. And for the same amount of effort I can receive so much more, for it is not a matter of greater work as it is a HIGHER FOCUS. And two out of the love we feel for Heavenly Father and the Savior. Moroni 7:13 ... every thing which inviteth and enticeth to do good, and to love God, and to serve him, is inspired of God. Heavenly Father is ever so grateful when we seek to serve Him out of the love we feel for Him. we are told in the scriptures that everything we do is noticed by Him ..even the hairs on our head are all numbered Math 10:30 I am so excited about these wonderful truths that I have learned as I attended the Temple last week. And I am anxious to return and feel His love for me and continue to receive all things out of thankfulness and love for Him in the name of Jesus Christ Amen
Posted on: Sat, 13 Sep 2014 21:08:50 +0000
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