“The Temple Is for Everyone,” Friend, Dec. 2010, 22
Friend to Friend
The Temple Is for Everyone
I will manifest myself to my people in mercy in this house (D&C 110:7).
One Christmas, our 13-year-old granddaughter, Allie, received a special gift from one of her friends. It was a temple recommend cover. Allie was thrilled. She had just had her interview with her bishop for her temple recommend to do baptisms for the dead. She discovered how preparing for the temple and attending regularly can positively and spiritually change your life.
At the beginning of the summer, Allie and a close friend decided to visit each of the temples in and around Salt Lake City, Utah, to participate in baptisms and confirmations for the dead. This experience has increased their faith and brought them joy and spiritual enrichment.
Allie told me that the feeling in the temple is totally different from the feeling in her junior high school. She said, “It’s a feeling that you want with you always. It feels peaceful and happy. There is no pressure. I feel the Spirit trying to teach me there, and it makes me want to be better. I love being able to serve others. When I go home, I feel even greater love for my brothers and sisters and for my mom and dad.”
Temples strengthen and unite families.
The temple is for everyone. President Thomas S. Monson said, “Come to the temple. … [The Lord will] hold you and cradle you and lead you step by step along that pathway to the celestial kingdom of God.”*
Illustration by Elise Black