Prepare for Temple Worship

Prayerfully select and read from this message the scriptures and teachings that meet the needs of the sisters you visit. Share your experiences and testimony. Invite those you teach to do the same.

D&C 109:13, 15: At the Kirtland Temple dedication, the Prophet Joseph Smith petitioned “that all people who shall enter upon the threshold of the Lord’s house may … receive a fulness of the Holy Ghost, and be organized according to thy laws, and be prepared to obtain every needful thing.”

President Gordon B. Hinckley: “These unique and wonderful buildings, and the ordinances administered therein, represent the ultimate in our worship. These ordinances become the most profound expressions of our theology. I urge our people everywhere … to live worthy to hold a temple recommend, to secure one and regard it as a precious asset, and to make a greater effort to go to the house of the Lord and partake of the spirit and the blessings to be had therein” (“Of Missions, Temples, and Stewardship,” Ensign, Nov. 1995, 53).

President Boyd K. Packer, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles: “The ordinances and ceremonies of the temple are simple. They are beautiful. They are sacred. They are kept confidential lest they be given to those who are unprepared. Curiosity is not a preparation. Deep interest itself is not a preparation. Preparation for the ordinances includes preliminary steps: faith, repentance, baptism, confirmation, worthiness, a maturity and dignity worthy of one who comes invited as a guest into the house of the Lord” (“The Holy Temple,” Ensign, Feb. 1995, 32).

Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles: “There are two concepts we especially need to keep in mind as we prepare for the temple. The first is covenant. We need to remember that a covenant is a promise. A covenant made with God should be regarded not as restrictive but as protective. Covenants with Him protect us from danger. …

“The second concept to stress in our mental preparation is Atonement. The Atonement of Jesus Christ is the central act of all human history. It is the core of the plan of salvation. Without the infinite Atonement, all mankind would be irretrievably lost. Temple ordinances and covenants teach of the redeeming power of the Atonement” (“Prepare for Blessings of the Temple,” Ensign, Mar. 2002, 21–22).

Kathleen H. Hughes, first counselor in the Relief Society general presidency: “Because the temple is a house of peace, a house of revelation, a house of prayer, we should prepare ourselves to partake of the spirit and gifts that reside there for us as daughters of our Heavenly Father. Preparing to experience the blessings of the temple requires that we go humbly, prayerfully, and thoughtfully, that we willingly put aside the world and its worries. It requires that while in the temple we are attentive and we actively and thoughtfully listen and participate in ordinances we receive for ourselves and for others.”

What blessings have you received from temple worship?
How can you partake of temple blessings if you live far from a temple?

Joseph Smith Instructs the Apostles in the Kirtland Temple, by John Falter