Elder Gary # Stevenson, April Conference 2009
Some Favorite Quotes
In the Book of Mormon, King Benjamin directed the Saints of his time and place to gather, “every man having his tent with the door thereof towards the temple.”As Church members, we have recently received counsel from modern-day prophets which, if followed, will turn the doors of our homes more fully towards the temple.
The First Presidency has invited
“adult members to have a current temple recommend and visit the temple more often” where time and circumstance permit and encouraged members
“to replace some leisure activities with temple service.”
They also encouraged “newer members and youth of the Church who are 12 years of age and older to live worthy to assist in this great work by serving as proxies for baptisms and confirmations.”4
Even our young children have been encouraged to visit the temple grounds and touch the temple.5 President Thomas S. Monson once counseled, “As we touch the temple, the temple will touch us.”6
6. In JoAnn Jolley, “A Shining Beacon on a Hill: Jordan River Temple Is Dedicated,” Ensign, Jan. 1982, 77: “Early in the week, Elder Thomas S. Monson of the Quorum of the Twelve suggested deep spiritual meaning in the physical presence of the temple. He recounted the late Elder Matthew Cowley’s story about a grandfather who took his small granddaughter on a birthday visit to the Salt Lake Temple grounds. With permission of the groundskeeper, they walked to the large doors of the temple. He suggested that she place her hand on the temple wall and then on the door, saying tenderly to her, ‘Remember that this day you touched the temple. One day you will enter this door.’ His special gift to his granddaughter was an appreciation for the House of the Lord. Likewise, counseled Elder Monson, ‘As we touch the temple, the temple will touch us.’ “
Take A Virtual Spiritual Tour of Your HOME
"Recently, in a stake conference, all present were invited by the visiting authority, Elder Glen Jenson, an Area Seventy, to take a virtual tour of their homes using their spiritual eyes. I would like to invite each of you to do this also. Wherever your home may be and whatever its configuration, the application of eternal gospel principles within its walls is universal. Let’s begin.
Imagine that you are opening your front door and walking inside your home.
What do you see, and how do you feel?
Is it a place of love, peace, and refuge from the world, as is the temple?
Is it clean and orderly?
As you walk through the rooms of your home, do you see uplifting images which include appropriate pictures of the temple and the Savior?
Is your bedroom or sleeping area a place for personal prayer? Is your gathering area or kitchen a place where food is prepared and enjoyed together, allowing uplifting conversation and family time?
Are scriptures found in a room where the family can study, pray, and learn together? Can you find your personal gospel study space?
Does the music you hear or the entertainment you see, online or otherwise, offend the Spirit?
Is the conversation uplifting and without contention?
That concludes our tour. Perhaps you, as I, found a few spots that need some “home improvement”—hopefully not an “extreme home makeover.”
Whether our living space is large or small, humble or extravagant, there is a place for each of these gospel priorities in each of our homes."
President Boyd K. Packer counseled: “Say the word temple. Say it quietly and reverently. Say it over and over again. Temple. Temple. Temple. Add the word holy. Holy Temple. Say it as though it were capitalized, no matter where it appears in the sentence.
“Temple. One other word is equal in importance to a Latter-day Saint. Home. Put the words holy temple and home together, and you have described the house of the Lord!”12
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