Danielle and Steve gave talks in their new ward in Prescott, AZ on Sunday. Here are there talks:
Temple
Talk (Danielle)
Introductions:
Steve grew up in Orem, UT and served a mission to St. Louis MO. I grew up in
St. George, UT and served in the Wash DC North mission in the temple Visitors
Center. Met at BYU while living in the same ward. We met in May, first date in
June and got engaged in June, Married in August. Four years of dental school in
Portland, had Alexa who is 3 and expecting a baby boy at the end of August.
Temple
blessings are our ultimate goal.
First
of all, how lucky are we to have temples on the Earth at this time? I love the
restored gospel.
Stories...
How important is the temple to us? What sacrifices am I making to attend?
My grandma, who turns 80 this month, is a
great example to me of how important temple blessings are. She had a goal when
she was 16 to go to the temple. Here is her story in her words:
"When I was
sixteen, I wanted to go to the temple to receive my own endowments. We lived in
Kentucky at the time and the nearest temple was the Salt Lake Temple. I didn’t
know anyone my age who had been, but I went to my Branch President and
inquired. He wasn’t sure what age you could go, so he said he would check with
the District President and let me know. The District President wasn’t sure
either, so he checked with the Mission President in Louisville, Kentucky. The
Mission President told him that President George Albert Smith was coming to the
area in a few months, he would find out from him. About two months later, I
received a call from the mission home, they told me that if I could be there on
Sunday, President Smith would interview me. Aunt Ina drove me up and I met
President Smith after conference. He took me in to an office and we talked. I
was so nervous, I don't remember much about the interview, he began by asking
me why I wanted to go to the temple. I told him that someday I wanted to be
married in the temple, and that there were six girls my age in our little
branch and only one boy. That four of the girls had already been married to
non-member boys, one had been married and divorced already and that I felt that
if I could get my own endowments, it would help me to stay strong and wait for
someone who would take me to the temple. He must have asked me the usual
questions they ask during a temple interview, but all I can remember is how
kind and gentle he was. We talked over an hour and then he shook my hand and
said “Sister Hatton, you may go to the temple!”
My grandma then made the
long drive across the states with her family to SLC. They were all sealed together
and my grandma received her endowment. She and my grandpa were later married in
the temple and had 9 kids and now have close to 70 grand kids. Many temple
marriages have resulted from her desire to receive the temple blessings.
When I think of sacrificing
for the blessings of the temple I can't help but think of the early saints who
gave so much to build such precious buildings.
From the book, Our Heritage, which is part of the
missionary library:
Only 15 months after
founding Nauvoo, the First Presidency, obedient to revelation, announced that
the time had now come “to erect a house of prayer, a house of order, a house
for the worship of our God, where the ordinances can be attended to agreeable to
His divine will.” Though poor and struggling to provide for their own families,
Latter-day Saints responded to their leaders’ call and began donating time and
means toward constructing a temple. More than 1,000 men donated every tenth day
in labor. Louisa Decker, a young girl, was impressed that her mother sold her
china dishes and a fine bed quilt as her temple contribution. Other Latter-day
Saints gave horses, wagons, cows, pork, and grain to aid in the temple’s
construction. The women of Nauvoo were asked to contribute their dimes and
pennies for the temple fund.
Caroline Butler had no
pennies or dimes to contribute, but she wanted very much to give something. One
day while going to the city in a wagon, she saw two dead buffalo. Suddenly she
knew what her temple gift could be. She and her children pulled the long hair
from the buffaloes’ manes and took it home with them. They washed and carded
the hair and spun it into coarse yarn, then knitted eight pairs of heavy
mittens that were given to the rock cutters working on the temple in the bitter
winter cold.
Mary Fielding Smith,
wife of Hyrum Smith, wrote to Latter-day Saint women in England, who within a
year gathered 50,000 pennies, weighing 434 pounds, that were shipped to Nauvoo.
Farmers donated teams and wagons; others sold some of their land and donated
the money to the building committee. Many watches and guns were contributed.
The Saints in Norway, Illinois, sent 100 sheep to Nauvoo to be used by the
temple committee.
Brigham Young
remembered: “We did much hard labor on the Nauvoo temple, during which time it
was difficult to get bread and other provisions for the workmen to eat.” Still,
President Young counseled those in charge of temple funds to give out all the
flour they had, confident that the Lord would provide. Within a short time
Joseph Toronto, a recent convert to the Church from Sicily, arrived in Nauvoo,
bringing with him $2,500 in gold, which he laid at the feet of the Brethren.
These life savings of Brother Toronto were used to replenish the flour and to
purchase other much needed supplies.
JS Revelations:
Shortly after the
Saints arrived in Nauvoo, the Lord revealed through the Prophet Joseph Smith
that baptisms could be performed for dead ancestors who had not heard the
gospel (see D&C 124:29–39). Many Saints took great comfort in
the promise that the dead might have the same blessings as those who accept the
gospel here on earth.
The Prophet also
received an important revelation concerning the teachings, covenants, and
blessings that are now called the temple endowment. This sacred ordinance was
to enable the Saints “to secure the fullness of those blessings” that would
prepare them to “come up and abide in the presence of … Eloheim in the eternal
worlds.” After receiving the endowment, husbands and wives could be sealed
together by the power of the priesthood for time and all eternity...
Why would these Saints
work so hard to complete a building they would soon leave behind? Almost 6,000
Latter-day Saints received their endowments before leaving Nauvoo. As they
turned their eyes toward their western migration, they were bolstered in faith
and secure in the knowledge that their families were eternally sealed together.
Tear-stained faces, ready to move on after burying a child or spouse on
America’s vast prairie, were resolute largely because of the assurances
contained in the ordinances they had received in the temple.
Thankfully, people all
over the world are being blessed by having temples built close to them. President Monson, in the April 2011
conference, shared examples of this blessing. President Monson said:
The goal President
Joseph F. Smith hoped for in 1902 is becoming a reality. Our desire is to make
the temple as accessible as possible to our members.
One of the temples
currently under construction is in Manaus, Brazil. Many years ago I read of a
group of over a hundred members who left Manaus, located in the heart of the
Amazon rain forest, to travel to what was then the closest temple, located in
São Paulo, Brazil—nearly 2,500 miles (4,000 km) from Manaus. Those faithful
Saints journeyed by boat for four days on the Amazon River and its tributaries.
After completing this journey by water, they boarded buses for another three
days of travel—over bumpy roads, with very little to eat, and with nowhere
comfortable to sleep. After seven days and nights, they arrived at the temple
in São Paulo, where ordinances eternal in nature were performed. Of course
their return journey was just as difficult. However, they had received the
ordinances and blessings of the temple, and although their purses were empty,
they themselves were filled with the spirit of the temple and
with gratitude for the blessings they had received. Now, many years
later, our members in Manaus are rejoicing as they watch their own temple take
shape on the banks of the Rio Negro. Temples bring joy to our faithful members
wherever they are built.
President Monson
continues: Why are so many willing to give so much in order to receive the
blessings of the temple? Those who understand the eternal blessings which come
from the temple know that no sacrifice is too great, no price too heavy, no
struggle too difficult in order to receive those blessings. There are never too
many miles to travel, too many obstacles to overcome, or too much discomfort to
endure. They understand that the saving ordinances received in the temple that
permit us to someday return to our Heavenly Father in an eternal family
relationship and to be endowed with blessings and power from on high are worth
every sacrifice and every effort.
Today most of us do
not have to suffer great hardships in order to attend the temple. Eighty-five
percent of the membership of the Church now live within 200 miles (320 km) of a
temple, and for a great many of us, that distance is much shorter.
If you have been to
the temple for yourselves and if you live within relatively close proximity to
a temple, your sacrifice could be setting aside the time in your busy lives to
visit the temple regularly. There is much to be done in our temples in behalf
of those who wait beyond the veil. As we do the work for them, we will know
that we have accomplished what they cannot do for themselves...
If you have not yet
been to the temple or if you have been but currently do not
qualify for a recommend, there is no
more important goal for you to work toward than being worthy to go to the
temple. Your sacrifice may be bringing your life into compliance with what is
required to receive a recommend, perhaps by forsaking long-held habits which
disqualify you. It may be having the faith and the discipline to pay
your tithing. Whatever it is, qualify to enter the temple of God. Secure a
temple recommend and regard it as a precious possession, for such it is.
Until you have entered the house of
the Lord and have received all the blessings which await you there, you have
not obtained everything the Church has to offer. The all-important and crowning
blessings of membership in the Church are those blessings which we receive in
the temples of God.
I'm so grateful for a
living prophet...
One of my favorite
prophets from the Book of Mormon has also helped me realize the importance of
the temple for my family. Nephi and his
family were receiving guidance from the Lord about how to build a ship to
get to the promised land. But as I read closely, I realize that we can use
these instructions to help us "build" our families so we can make it
back to live with our Heavenly Father together. As I read, please compare the
timbers of the ship to our family members:
In 1 Nephi 18:1-4
Nephi says,
1 And it came to pass
that they did worship the Lord, and did go forth with me; and we did work
timbers of curious workmanship. And the Lord did show me from time to time after what manner I should
work the timbers of the ship.
2 Now I, Nephi, did
not work the timbers after the manner which was learned by men, neither did I build the ship after the manner of
men; but I did build it after the manner
which the Lord had shown unto me; wherefore, it was not after the manner of
men.
3 And I, Nephi, did go
into the mount oft, and I did pray oft
unto the Lord; wherefore the Lord showed unto me great things.
4 And it came to pass
that after I had finished the ship, according to the word of the Lord, my
brethren beheld that it was good, and that the workmanship thereof was
exceedingly fine; wherefore, they did humble themselves again before the Lord.
I know that the Lord
will help us and our families...
Make the temple our
ultimate goal.
Do our families know
how important the temple is?
Testify...
Temple Blessings Talk
7/8/12 (Steve)
Based on Elder Richard
G. Scott: Temple Worship: The Source of Strength and Power in
Times of Need
1.
Go to temple to get blessings
·
D & C 130: 20-21 - All blessings based on
obedience
·
Difficulty attending temple?-set a goal
ü
Elder Scott: Because
I love you, I am going to speak to you heart to heart, without mincing words. I
have seen that many times individuals have made great sacrifices to go to a
distant temple. But when a temple is built close by, within a short time, many
do not visit it regularly. I have a suggestion: When a temple is conveniently
nearby, small things may interrupt your plans to go to the temple. Set specific
goals, considering your circumstances, of when you can and will participate in
temple ordinances. Then do not allow anything to interfere with that plan. This
pattern will guarantee that those who live in the shadow of a temple will be as
blessed as are those who plan far ahead and make a long trip to the temple.
ü
Things will get in your way-don't allow anything
to get in the way
ü
Furthest I have ever been from a temple
·
Suggestions for more meaningful temple service
1.
Understand the doctrine related to temple
ordinances, especially the significance
of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. 1
2. Leave sufficient time to
be unhurried within the temple walls.
3. Rotate activities so that
you can participate in all of the ordinances of the temple.
4. Remove your watch when you enter a house of the Lord.
5. Be mindful of the individual for whom you are performing the
vicarious ordinance. At times pray that
he or she will recognize the vital importance of the ordinances and be worthy
or prepare to be worthy to benefit from them.
2. Temple blessings
A. Hope and Faith in Jesus Christ:
I
would like to relate the experience of an ancestor of my wife. Her name is Sarah DeArmon Pea Rich. Her
commentary shows the impact that the temple can have in our lives. When she was
31 years old, she received a calling from Brigham Young to work in the Nauvoo
Temple, where all the ordinances possible were performed before the Saints had
to abandon that temple. This is what she wrote:
“Many
were the blessings we had received in the house of the Lord, which has caused
us joy and comfort in the midst of all our sorrows and enabled us to have faith
in God, knowing He would guide us and sustain us in the unknown journey that
lay before us. For if it had not been for the faith and knowledge that was
bestowed upon us in that temple by the influence and help of the Spirit of the
Lord, our journey would have been like one taking a leap in the dark. To start
out on such a journey in the winter as it were and in our state of poverty, it
would seem like walking into the jaws of death. But we had faith in our
Heavenly Father, and we put our trust in Him feeling that we were His chosen
people and had embraced His gospel, and instead of sorrow, we felt to rejoice
that the day of our deliverance had come.”
B. Peace
a. Time away from the world
b. Reminder of better things
c. Elder Scott put it this way: What I am trying to teach is that when we
keep the temple covenants we have made and when we live righteously in order to
maintain the blessings promised by those ordinances, then come what may, we
have no reason to worry or to feel despondent.
d. This "worry" he speaks of is not just spiritual
worry, but the temporal worries we have as well. Jesus Christ himself taught this principal in
Matt. 6: 25-34
C. Revelation
a. 1 Nephi 11:1
b. Brother of Jared gives of a little more
insight into receiving revelation from the Lord during temple service: Ether 3:
1,2,4
D. Eternal Families
a. A
principal known by all, but only taught and authorized by the church.
D&C 132: 18-19 and D&C 131: 1-4
b. Fourteen years ago the Lord took my wife beyond the veil. I love
her with all my heart, but I have never complained because I know it was His
will. I have never asked why but rather what is it that He wants me to learn
from this experience. I believe that is a good way to face the unpleasant
things in our lives, not complaining but thanking the Lord for the trust He
places in us when He gives us the opportunity to overcome difficulties.
We had the blessing of having children. A daughter, the first
child, continues to be an enormous blessing in our lives. A couple of years
later a son we named Richard was born. A few years later a daughter was born.
She died after living only a few minutes.
Our son, Richard, was born with a heart defect. We were told
that unless that could be cured, there was little probability that he would
live more than two or three years. This was so long ago that techniques now
used to repair such defects were unknown. We had the blessing of having a place
where doctors agreed to attempt to perform the needed surgery. The surgery had
to be done while his little heart was beating.
The surgery was performed just six weeks after the birth and
death of our baby daughter. When the operation finished, the principal surgeon
came in and said it was a success. And we thought, “How wonderful! Our son will
have a strong body, be able to run and walk and grow!” We expressed deep
gratitude to the Lord. Then about 10 minutes later, the same doctor came in
with an ashen face and told us, “Your son has died.” Apparently the shock of
the operation was more than his little body could endure.
Later, during the night, I embraced my wife and said to her, “We
do not need to worry, because our children were born in the covenant. We have
the assurance that we will have them with us in the future. Now we have a
reason to live extremely well. We have a son and a daughter who have qualified
to go to the celestial kingdom because they died before the age of eight.” That
knowledge has given us great comfort. We rejoice in the knowledge that all
seven of our children are sealed to us for time and all eternity.
E.
Story of Anthony Leggett if I need to fill more time- acted as escort for one
of my converts
F. I leave you with the questions that Elder
Scott posed in his talk: What
is there that is more important than attending and participating in the
ordinances of the temple? What activity could have a greater impact and provide
more joy and profound happiness for a couple than worshipping together in the
temple?
