Lesson for July 12, 2015

Lesson for July 12, 2015 Today our lesson from Chapter 13 in the manual was given by Maggie Kopp on “Priceless Blessings of the House of the Lord.” Maggie asked us what the temple symbolizes. Some of the answers included heaven on earth, eternal families, personal covenants, increased knowledge and teachings, the gateway to heaven for us and our ancestors, comfort, clarity of thought, personal revelation, place of peace, a place of service, and dwelling in the house of the Lord. President Benson said the temple is a visible symbol that God has not abandoned us. It is a holy place set aside and consecrated. D&C 109:12-13 says temples have the purpose of a place where the glory of the Lord and the presence of the Lord can be with us. Maggie said many religions have sacred spaces where people can worship and the temple is a sacred space where we can experience the presence of the Lord. We also do work in the temple. Preparing to go to the temple allows us to experience the clarity and revelation. It doesn’t matter what is going on in our lives, we can experience the presence of the Spirit when we go to the temple. We can make our homes sacred places. Lisa Anderson mentioned that inside the temple, the temple workers go to great efforts to make each visit to the temple worthwhile through cleanliness and decorations and personnel. To prepare for the temple, we need to have the proper ordinances and worthiness to qualify for the recommend. The covenants we make in the temple have their own power. We make them to show our devotion and partake of the blessings, such as protection and family relationships. Our covenants help us become who we should be. They help us recognize that the things that are valued by the world are the froth of the world and will not last. Temple blessings give us the greatest blessings of the atonement. President Benson said the temple helps us be more Christlike. If you have the temple as a goal, you live your life better and in consequence you become more Christlike and therefore worthy to enter the temple. Vira Bahr said that she goes to the temple to listen to the words of the ordinances. The words give her many things she can do for her personal relations and her relationship with God. He gives us constant messages on how we should handle our lives. Heather Cantrell reminded us that we need to wear our garments with respect as symbols of our temple covenants. Amy Young said that after she goes to the temple she feels more loving and patient and knows she’s a better person. That by going over and over again, we become better. Linda Campbell said that before her granddaughter died, she went to the temple to do confirmations for the dead. The thought at Tori’s death is that she could meet the people she did the work for. What a blessing to have that knowledge. Personal revelation comes with answers to our personal problems with clear and unmistakable ways. We need to make the time to go to the temple and do our scripture study and writing down our impressions and we’ll find the answers to our questions and know what we have already learned. The other side is that if we don’t pay attention to our temple covenants, we lose the memory of what we can have. We live far below the blessings the Lord is waiting to give to us. The temple symbolizes many things to many people and we should seek out the sacred in our lives and keep our covenants.