Lesson for July 17, 2016

Lesson for July 17, 2016 Today our lesson was given by Camille Maynard on the temple. President Howard W. Hunter preached that the temple should be the symbol of our membership. She said that we have to want to go to the temple. It is a symbol that we have done certain things to get there. President Hunter’s father was not a member until Pres. Hunter was nineteen. When President Hunter was a stake president, on his birthday he was asked to speak to a group in the temple. His parents walked in dressed in white and ready to have their endowments and sealing. He was speechless. Just the building is a symbol that others see. The placement of temples makes it so people can see them all of a sudden. Doing work for others can strengthen our own testimonies. How does going to the temple sustain the leaders of the church, even the local leaders? When we sustain someone, it is a commitment to support them, not just a vote, and it says that we believe in the gospel. We need to be morally clean. We need to treat our family well. We need to be honest in our dealings with others. We need to be a full tithe payer. We need to observe the Word of Wisdom. People who pay tithing and observe the Word of Wisdom usually are faithful about other things as well. Being in the temple is a break from worldly things and even being on the grounds brings us comfort. Even having a temple recommend relieves a lot of worry about things that go on in the world. Living those principles can help us in many areas of life. When we are free and clean from the sins of the world, then going to God’s house shows us what it will be like in the next life. President Hunter dedicated the Bountiful Temple before he died. He said that entering the temple helps us rededicate our lives and receive comfort. Having the temple in our lives can bring us peace and calmness. D&C 3:1 What a glorious thing to go to the temple and what a glorious thing to do temple work for others. Doing the work for the dead brings us blessings as well. Realizing that going with open minds can help us get the inspiration we should be getting. Jessica Lewis made a commitment to go to the temple so many times and had all kinds of problems getting it done, but on the last day, when she had too much to do, the temple workers and her Heavenly Father went to a great deal of trouble to help her go to the temple and get her other things done on time. We will receive blessings if we go to the temple and do our family history. In 1994, on his birthday and the birthday of the Utah Genealogical Society, President Hunter reflected on the great movement toward family history and how so many advancements have taken place that forwards the work. He also mentioned how important it is to work on family history. When we explain the temple to those who do not understand them, then we can perhaps help them to want to do their genealogy. How do you explain it to non-members? Books by the Church can help us explain that doing a person’s work is honoring that person.