I have had the greatest experience amidst the greatest trials. In 2014, I set out to visit every operating LDS temple in Utah. I accomplished it even with a couple of months to spare. At the time of my goal setting endeavors, there were only thirteen operating temples in Utah. The Ogden Temple was under construction until it opened up in September of 2014. I finished my goal on October 9th 2014 with a visit to the Ogden Temple. That was a great experience.
My wife and I were in the middle of our greatest trials. Half way through 2014, I was let go from my job to say the least. Being in the house of the Lord was balm to my soul.
What fourteen temples taught me in 5 lessons
Lesson #1 – Gratitude.
How do you think Moses felt when he received visions of the Plan of Salvation such as the Creation, the Fall and the Atonement?
And the presence of God withdrew from Moses, that his glory was not upon Moses; and Moses was left unto himself. And as he was left unto himself, he fell unto the earth. And it came to pass that it was for the space of many hours before Moses did again receive his natural strength like unto man; and he said unto himself: Now, for this cause I know that man is nothing, which thing I never had supposed. (Moses 1:9-10)
He felt the ultimate power of God and realized that man was nothing without our Father in heaven. Up to this time Moses had seen many things, and he finally realized that God had his back. He realized that everything he did become was because of God. Without him, he was nothing.
This is how we can feel gratitude towards our Father in heaven. If we recognize our “nothingness” (Mosiah 4:11), count our blessings and pray to our Father, in the name of his Son, we will be presented as the “first-fruits of Christ” (Jacob 4:11).
Lesson #2 – It feels like Home.
President Ezra Taft Benson’s son said,“I would have rather been home than anywhere. It was a refuge from the storm.” I think those are the same sentiments we feel when we enter the house of the Lord. It is more that. Here is an example.
There were a couple of times that I had to go to the temple with my work clothes on. I was never looked at as,”why is he dressed that way” by the workers at the temple. It is like they understood that I couldn’t be there unless I was able to come straight from work. They always said,”Thanks for coming to the temple,” even with the way I dressed. What a sense of being at home. Being accepted for who I am. I was home.
Lesson #3 – There are evil influences in our every day lives.
Sometimes I came out of the temple feeling empowered to do good at all times. Then I became a spider that was flushed. No matter how hard I tried to escape, I was always flushed in the end. The influences of the world can bring us down no matter how hard we try to escape.
Lesson #4 – Love.
Even when we are down, God is there to pick us up. When we are down AGAIN. He is there to pick us up AGAIN. I lost count of how many times I felt like a failure, a worthless piece of trash, or even “God will not forgive me this time.” Oh how wrong I was. God wouldn’t put me or you, or all of us on this earth at this time if we were truly worthless. Worthless and nothingness are two different things. Worthless means that we are not even worth the ground we walked on. Worthless means that He would not have sent His only begotten Son to make the ultimate sacrifice for us. Nothingness means that we can not do it without him. No matter how hard we try, we can never do it alone. So, you and I are not a worthless piece of trash, because God expects better of us.
Lesson #5 – There really is a plan for you and me.
And I do this for a wise purpose; for thus whispereth me, according to the workings of the Spirit of the Lord, which is in me. And now, I do not know all things; but the Lord knoweth all things which are to come; wherefore, he worketh in me to do according to his will. (Words of Mormon 1:7)
Moses realized who he was before, who he was then and who he could become, because of our Father.
We can also realize the same in various ways. To truly start that journey, one must study, pray, and ponder. We can do that at home doing chores, on the bus heading towards work, and at church. But to actually see the plan of salvation laid out before you, one must go to the temple. And that is just the beginning.
I encourage all of you to set a time to go to the temple. Make it a habit. Adjust your schedule to attend. I promise that if we do, we will be grateful, have a home, resist evil, feel loved, and to know why our Father in heaven placed us here at this time, to know what we truly can become.
Your Brother in the Gospel
Tyler Smith
P.S. Now it is your turn. What lessons have you learned or felt when doing the work in the Temple?
No Fields Found.