Blessings of Heaven on Earth

And, if you keep my commandments and endure to the end you shall have eternal life, which gift is the greatest of all the gifts of God (D&C 14:7).

The temple brings heavenly blessings because it is a special place where we get answers to our prayers. Prophets often receive revelations there so that they can teach us how to gain eternal life.

Hannah lived in ancient Israel. She had sorrowed for many years because she had no children, so she decided to pray at the tabernacle, which served as a temple then. She vowed that if God gave her a son, she would dedicate his life to the Lord. The priest, Eli, saw her weeping as she prayed. He said, “Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of him” (1 Sam. 1:17). Soon Hannah gave birth to Samuel.

When Samuel was a young boy, Hannah kept her promise and took him to the temple. He lived with Eli and learned how to become a priest.

One night, Samuel was sleeping in the temple when a voice called his name. “Here am I,” Samuel answered. He ran to Eli, but Eli had not called him. Samuel tried to go back to sleep. Then he heard the voice again. He ran to Eli, and again, Eli said that he had not called him. The third time Samuel appeared at Eli’s bedside, the priest realized that the Lord was calling Samuel. Eli said, “Go, lie down: and it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth.” The voice did call Samuel’s name once more, and he did as Eli had told him to. The Lord then told Samuel of things to come. (See 1 Sam. 3:1–11, 19–20.)

Like Hannah, we can have comfort and answers to our prayers. We can also receive blessings by listening to the prophets. They speak with Jesus Christ in the temple, and they teach us what we must do to have the blessings of heaven on earth.

Samuel the Prophet As a Boy

Vision of the Boy Samuel by William Henry Margetson

Step One: Remove page 43 from the magazine and glue it on a piece of thin cardboard.

Step Two: Cut along the solid lines, then fold along the broken lines (use a ruler to fold against to get a straight fold).

Step Three: Carefully cut out the word balloon and glue it to a piece of thin cardboard; trim.

Step Four: With a 2″ (5 cm) piece of tape, form a tube, sticky-side-out. Put it on the back of the cutout word balloon. Attach the word balloon over the dotted word balloon on this page.