“Lesson 135—Doctrine and Covenants 124: ‘Let This House Be Built … That I May Reveal Mine Ordinances,’” Doctrine and Covenants Seminary Teacher Manual (2025)
“Doctrine and Covenants 124,” Doctrine and Covenants Seminary Teacher Manual
Lesson 135: Doctrine and Covenants 124
Doctrine and Covenants 124
“Let This House Be Built … That I May Reveal Mine Ordinances”
As the Saints built the city of Nauvoo, the Lord commanded them to build a temple (see Doctrine and Covenants 124:26–27). In Doctrine and Covenants 124, the Lord revealed more about the purpose of temples as a place to receive sacred ordinances. This lesson can help students understand the importance of the Lord’s temple and the ordinances performed there, including the endowment.
Possible Learning Activities
The purpose of temples
Note: This lesson focuses on temple covenants and ordinances. They are sacred and should be discussed with reverence (see General Handbook: Serving in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 27.0, ChurchofJesusChrist.org).
To help students consider what they currently know about temples, invite them to ponder or write down what they would say to their friend in the situation below.
Imagine that a friend saw a picture of a temple on social media or drove past a temple and asked you sincerely, “What is a temple? What do people do in there?”
Consider displaying the following image:
Using the colors of the traffic light (red = not confident; yellow = somewhat confident; green = very confident), select a color that best reflects your answer to the following questions:
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How confident are you that you could explain the temple and its ordinances clearly to your friend?
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How confident are you that you could explain them in a way that may help your friend recognize how the Lord shows His love through the temple?
To help you see how students responded, consider inviting them to answer questions like “How many of you were greens? yellows? reds?” and “Why did you choose the color you did?”
Encourage students to pray for understanding through the Holy Ghost, which can help them answer questions like those above, as well as their own questions about the temple and temple ordinances.
The Nauvoo Temple
As the Saints settled in Nauvoo, Illinois, the Lord commanded them to build a temple (see Doctrine and Covenants 124:31) as He had previously done in Kirtland, Ohio; Jackson County, Missouri; and Far West, Missouri (see 88:119; 97:10; 115:7–8). At the time of the Lord’s command to build the Nauvoo Temple, He had already revealed the doctrine of baptisms for the dead to the Prophet Joseph Smith (see Topics and Questions, “Baptisms for the Dead,” topics.ChurchofJesusChrist.org).
Consider writing “My people are always commanded to build [temples] unto my holy name” (Doctrine and Covenants 124:39) on the board. Students could mark this phrase in their scriptures.
Invite students to study the following verses and consider marking the answers they find. Then they could discuss what they learned in small groups.
Help learners discuss gospel beliefs with others: For more practice with this, see the training titled “Invitations for students to share with each other what they are learning,” found in Teacher Development Skills: Invite Diligent Learning.
Read Doctrine and Covenants 124:25–30, 36–41, 55, looking for why the Lord commands His people to build temples.
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What did you find?
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Which of the Lord’s purposes or promises for building temples is most meaningful to you? Why?
Students may find various truths, such as that the Lord commands us to build temples “for the Most High to dwell therein” (verse 27); to “restore again that which was lost” (verse 28); as a place “for refuge” (verse 36); and “that I may bless you, and crown you with honor, immortality, and eternal life” (verse 55). If students do not mention it, invite them to review verse 40 and add the truth that the Lord commands us to build temples so we can receive sacred ordinances. This last truth will be the focus of this lesson.
If students need help identifying truths in these verses, consider writing the verse numbers mentioned above on the board in one column and the phrases quoted in them in a different order in another column. Students could then match the phrase with the corresponding verse.
Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles helps us understand the Lord’s purpose in giving us temple ordinances.
We do not build or enter holy temples solely to have a memorable individual or family experience. Rather, the covenants received and the ordinances performed in temples are essential to the sanctifying of our hearts and for the ultimate exaltation of God’s sons and daughters. (David A. Bednar, “Let This House Be Built unto My Name,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2020, 85)
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What did you learn from Elder Bednar?
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What have you learned so far that could help you explain temples to a friend?
In the Kirtland Temple, the Savior and other heavenly messengers appeared (see Doctrine and Covenants 110). The Kirtland Temple was also a place of inspiration and learning. In Nauvoo, the Lord revealed additional ordinances that take place in temples today. Today in temples, faithful members of the Church perform baptisms for the dead, receive endowments (including washings and anointings), and participate in temple sealings.
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Which of these ordinances were mentioned by the Lord in the verses you studied? (See Doctrine and Covenants 124:29–30, 37, 39.)
Future lessons will focus on baptisms for the dead and temple sealings. The remainder of this lesson will focus on the endowment.
The endowment
One of the ordinances the Lord revealed to the Saints in Nauvoo was the endowment.
Before studying the endowment, you could give students a few minutes to consider what questions they might have about the endowment and why it is important for them to receive it. Explain that as they study the endowment, the Holy Ghost can help them find answers to questions they have.
To help students understand more about the endowment and why the Lord desires to bless them through this ordinance in the temple, consider using one of the following ideas:
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Give students time to study resources of their choosing from the following list.
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Provide students with the accompanying handout to study.
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Allow students to study on their own, with a partner, or in small groups.
Study some of the following resources, looking for how the Lord blesses us as we receive our endowment in the temple.
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Guide to the Scriptures, “Endowment,” scriptures.ChurchofJesusChrist.org
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“About the Endowment” and other resources available at temples.ChurchofJesusChrist.org
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Topics and Questions, “Endowment,” topics.ChurchofJesusChrist.org
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“What Is a Temple Endowment?” (1:59), available at ChurchofJesusChrist.org
1:59What is a Temple Endowment?
The Endowment
Read the following information found at temples.ChurchofJesusChrist.org, looking for answers to the following question:
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How am I blessed by the Lord as I receive my endowment?
When you join the Church, you receive two ordinances: baptism and confirmation. Likewise, the temple endowment is received in two parts.
In the first part, you will privately and individually receive what are called the “initiatory” ordinances. These ordinances include special blessings regarding your divine heritage and potential. As part of these ordinances, you will also be authorized to wear the sacred temple garment.
In the second part, you will receive the rest of your endowment in a group setting. This takes place in an instruction room with others who are attending the temple. Events that are part of the plan of salvation are presented. They include the Creation, the Fall of Adam and Eve, the Atonement of Jesus Christ, the Apostasy, and the Restoration. You will also learn more about the way all people can return to the presence of the Lord. Some of the endowment is presented through video and some by temple officiators.
During the endowment ordinance, you will be invited to make certain covenants with God. These covenants include the following:
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Law of obedience, which includes striving to keep God’s commandments
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Law of sacrifice, which involves doing all we can to support the Lord’s work and repenting with a broken heart and contrite spirit
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Law of the gospel, which is the higher law that Jesus taught while He was on the earth
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Law of chastity, which involves having sexual relations only with the person to whom we are legally and lawfully wedded according to God’s law
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Law of consecration, which involves dedicating our time, talents, and everything with which the Lord has blessed us to building up Jesus Christ’s Church on the earth
When you keep your covenants, you come closer to the Savior and your relationship with Him grows more powerful. God promises that those who keep their covenants will receive blessings in this life and the opportunity to return to live with Him forever.
At the end of the endowment, participants symbolically return to the Lord’s presence as they enter the celestial room. There you can take time to ponder, pray, read the scriptures, or quietly share your thoughts with family and friends. It is a place of peace, where you can also find comfort and divine guidance. (See “About the Temple Endowment,” temples.ChurchofJesusChrist.org.)
Provide an opportunity for students to explain what the endowment is and how they can be blessed by the Lord as they receive it. To do this, you could write “What is the temple endowment?” and “Why is the temple endowment important?” on the board. Invite various students to answer. Students could also share what questions they have about the endowment, and other students could share what they studied that may help.
The temple and me
Consider displaying again the friend scenario from the beginning of the lesson. Invite students to reflect on what the Holy Ghost has taught them today or add their insights to what they wrote down at the start of class. Invite students to share how they would answer their friend in a way that would help them feel the Lord’s love.