“Teach Me about the Temple”

Learn how the Friend magazine can help your family understand a different sensitive topic each month.

Children have a natural affinity for beauty and love. No wonder their eyes light up when they see a temple—even before they understand much about the holy ordinances that take place there.

This month’s Friend will help your child look forward with joy and anticipation to the day when they can go inside the house of the Lord:

“Teach Me about the Temple” (page 24). This beautiful new song will help parents and children alike keep their sights on preparing for the temple.
“From Paris to Sapporo” (page 22). Children from Paris, France, and Sapporo, Japan, share their excitement and spiritual feelings as they watch new temples being built near their homes.
This month’s CTR Challenge card (page 25) invites children to keep the temple in mind in four simple ways.
“Finding Lydia” (page 32). Lydia looks forward to going to the temple even more when she finds the names of ancestors who need to be baptized.
“Temple Trip Tips” (page 34). This loving, practical guide will help your child prepare for a temple experience without worry or apprehension.

Worthy, Not Perfect

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir sings a tender song that captures the welcoming invitation of a parent to a child:

Come to my garden, rest there in my arms. …

Come to my garden, come, sweet child.¹

Sometimes people feel intimidated about going to the temple because they have the misperception that being worthy means being perfect. But we can help children understand from an early age that Heavenly Father is eager to welcome them to His holy house. They can see getting ready to go to the temple as a joyful and attainable process—much like going home to one’s own family.

Homes often have a rug or mat outside the door where we stop to make sure our feet are clean before going inside. The standards of worthiness are a check to make sure we are clean and ready to go inside and enjoy the comfort and peace of our Heavenly Father’s house—a home where we are loved and welcomed.