Digital Only: Young Adults
How Can I Keep the Sacredness of the Temple with Me Every Day?
After receiving my endowment, I wondered how I could keep that sacred experience with me.
I’d just gotten home from a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Jerusalem. I’d walked where Jesus had walked, I’d learned of prophets of old and seen where they had lived, and I’d spent two and a half weeks learning of, talking of, and rejoicing in Christ (see 2 Nephi 25:26).
Now I was back home, about to start my senior year of high school. And I missed the feeling that had surrounded me when I was in the Holy Land.
During the next few weeks, I felt like I wasn’t having the same kinds of significant spiritual experiences I’d been having in Jerusalem. But I remembered this quote by President Russell M. Nelson: “The temple lies at the center of strengthening our faith and spiritual fortitude because the Savior and His doctrine are the very heart of the temple. Everything taught in the temple, through instruction and through the Spirit, increases our understanding of Jesus Christ.”
So, with this counsel, I decided to try and do baptisms at the temple every week for the next year. I missed a week here or there, but I went many times and established a consistent habit. It was at the temple that I could feel the spiritual boost I was seeking.
Receiving My Endowment
After this year of consistently attending the temple, I felt like I was ready to receive my own endowment. I went through the process of getting my temple recommend and setting up an appointment. The day came and went—it was incredible! I felt so much calm and peace as I made covenants with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, and I had loved ones there supporting me.
One week after I went through the temple, I moved away from home and started college. Even though I was attending Brigham Young University, a school with lots of members of the Church, I was still pondering how I could make specific efforts to keep feeling the Spirit as much as I had while in the temple.
Adjusting to college was difficult for me. I was trying to balance school, work, a social life, sleep, and spiritual endeavors. At times it seemed like feeling the Spirit consistently was out of reach. I kept remembering those moments when I’d felt the Spirit so strongly, and I kept wondering how I could ever feel that again.
Walking with Jesus Christ
As I pondered how to maintain my positive spiritual momentum, I remembered an experience I’d had in Jerusalem. My first Sunday there, we attended the BYU Jerusalem Center for church. A student studying there gave a talk. She shared that when she’d first come to Jerusalem, she’d thought she would feel the Spirit so strongly all the time. She’d assumed that since she was walking where Jesus had walked, her testimony was going to be effortlessly strengthened.
Through her time there, she came to realize that it wasn’t about walking where Jesus had walked—it was about walking with Him. She emphasized how this could be anywhere, not just in Jerusalem. As President Emily Belle Freeman, Young Women General President, shared about walking with Jesus Christ, “It’s not the course alone that will exalt us; it’s the companion—our Savior.”
I realized that leaving the temple didn’t have to mean leaving behind the peace and joy I felt there. Instead, worshipping in the temple has helped me invite the Savior into all aspects of my life.
Adding Spiritual Strength to My Life
Attending the temple has been a huge blessing to me and has brought so much into my life. I know that by making the effort to worship in the temple, I add spiritual strength throughout my days and weeks.
If it’s not possible for you to enter the temple right now, President Nelson has counseled, “Should distance, health challenges, or other constraints prohibit your temple attendance for a season, I invite you to set a regular time to rehearse in your mind the covenants you have made.”
I love the temple and the covenants I have made there with my Heavenly Father and with Jesus Christ. This covenant relationship has strengthened my testimony and allowed me to have the Holy Ghost as a constant companion.
If you take time to ponder your temple covenants often, the Spirit will help you remember the security, peace, and joy they bring.
He always does for me.