“Chapter 13: The Holy Temple—the House of the Lord,” Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Russell M. Nelson (2023)
“Chapter 13,” Teachings: Russell M. Nelson
The First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in front of the Rome Italy Temple, March 2019
Chapter 13
The Holy Temple—the House of the Lord
The temple is the gateway to the greatest blessings God has in store for each of us.
From the Life of Russell M. Nelson
Presidents Russell M. Nelson, Dallin H. Oaks, and Henry B. Eyring first addressed the world as the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on January 16, 2018. They spoke from the Salt Lake Temple annex. Behind them was a painting of the resurrected Savior and a view of the temple. President Nelson explained why they chose this location:
“As a new Presidency, we want to begin with the end in mind. For this reason, we’re speaking to you today from a temple. The end for which each of us strives is to be endowed with power in a house of the Lord, sealed as families, faithful to covenants made in a temple that qualify us for the greatest gift of God—that of eternal life. The ordinances of the temple and the covenants you make there are key to strengthening your life, your marriage and family, and your ability to resist the attacks of the adversary. Your worship in the temple and your service there for your ancestors will bless you with increased personal revelation and peace and will fortify your commitment to stay on the covenant path.”
In subsequent general conferences, President Nelson announced many places throughout the world where the Church would build new temples. He said:
“Let us never lose sight of what the Lord is doing for us now. He is making His temples more accessible. He is accelerating the pace at which we are building temples. He is increasing our ability to help gather Israel. He is also making it easier for each of us to become spiritually refined. I promise that increased time in the temple will bless your life in ways nothing else can.”
Teachings of Russell M. Nelson
All we do in the Church points to the Lord and His holy house
The temple is the house of the Lord. The basis for every temple ordinance and covenant—the heart of the plan of salvation—is the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Every activity, every lesson, all we do in the Church, point to the Lord and His holy house. Our efforts to proclaim the gospel, perfect the Saints, and redeem the dead all lead to the temple. Each holy temple stands as a symbol of our membership in the Church, as a sign of our faith in life after death, and as a sacred step toward eternal glory for us and our families.
Everything we believe and every promise God has made to His covenant people come together in the temple. In every age, the temple has underscored the precious truth that those who make covenants with God and keep them are children of the covenant.
Study Questions
What would you say to someone who wants to know why we build temples? How might our Church service be different if every activity and lesson pointed to the Lord and His house?
Ancient temple ordinances and covenants have been restored in the latter days
Temples are ancient. The endowments are ancient. The clothing, the covenants are ancient. And now that aspect of the Lord’s ability to bless His children is a reality because of the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ through the Prophet Joseph Smith.
The earth was created so that God’s children could be blessed by sealing authority available in a temple [see Joseph Smith—History 1:38–39]. And the gospel and temple covenants and ordinances were restored to help prepare the world for the Second Coming of the Lord.
Study Question
How does it influence your temple experience to know that the ordinances are a restoration of ancient practices?
Obedience to temple covenants qualifies us for eternal life
Temple ordinances, covenants, endowments, and sealings enable individuals to be reconciled with the Lord and families to be sealed beyond the veil of death. Obedience to temple covenants qualifies us for eternal life, the greatest gift of God to man [see Doctrine and Covenants 14:7]. Eternal life is more than immortality. Eternal life is exaltation in the highest heaven—the kind of life that God lives.
If it were possible for me to speak one-on-one with every young adult, I would plead with you to seek a companion with whom you can be sealed in the temple. You may wonder what difference this will make in your life. I promise it will make all the difference! As you marry in the temple and return repeatedly, you will be strengthened and guided in your decisions.
If I could speak with each husband and wife who have still not been sealed in the temple, I would plead with you to take the necessary steps to receive that crowning, life-changing ordinance. Will it make a difference? Only if you want to progress forever and be together forever. Wishing to be together forever will not make it so. No other ceremony or contract will make it so.
If I could speak to each man or woman who longs for marriage but has not yet found his or her eternal companion, I would urge you not to wait until marriage to be endowed in the house of the Lord. Begin now to learn and experience what it means to be armed with priesthood power.
And to each of you who has made temple covenants, I plead with you to seek—prayerfully and consistently—to understand temple covenants and ordinances. Spiritual doors will open. You will learn how to part the veil between heaven and earth, how to ask for God’s angels to attend you, and how better to receive direction from heaven. Your diligent efforts to do so will reinforce and strengthen your spiritual foundation.
Study Questions
How do President Nelson’s invitations in this section apply to you? What will you do in response to his invitations?
The temple is a house of learning where the Lord teaches us in His own way
The temple is literally full of truth. Truths of the Father’s plan are laid open to us with clarity and power. Words of truth about our Father, His Son, and Their relationship to us are spoken in the covenants and ordinances of the temple. The temple is a house of revelation where truth distills upon our souls and enlightens our understanding. We learn of our eternal identity and purpose and the marvelous promises of the Lord.
The Lord loves to do His own teaching in His holy house.
When you bring your temple recommend, a contrite heart, and a seeking mind to the Lord’s house of learning, He will teach you.
[In the temple] we learn how to part the veil and communicate more clearly with heaven. There we learn how to rebuke the adversary and draw upon the Lord’s priesthood power to strengthen us and those we love. How eager each of us should be to seek refuge there.
The temple endowment was given by revelation. Thus, it is best understood by revelation, prayerfully sought with a sincere heart. …
Each temple is a house of learning [see Doctrine and Covenants 88:119; 109:8]. There we are taught in the Master’s way [see John 14:6]. His way differs from modes of others. His way is ancient and rich with symbolism. We can learn much by pondering the reality for which each symbol stands. Teachings of the temple are beautifully simple and simply beautiful. They are understood by the humble, yet they can excite the intellect of the brightest minds.
Your [temple] garment is symbolic of the veil [of the temple]; the veil is symbolic of the Lord Jesus Christ [see Hebrews 10:19–20]. So when you put on your garment, you may feel that you are truly putting upon yourself the very sacred symbol of the Lord Jesus Christ—His life, His ministry, and His mission, which was to atone for every daughter and son of God.
Study Questions
How is the Savior’s way of teaching in the temple different from ways you encounter in other settings? What can you do to improve the way you learn in the temple?
Women and men who are endowed in the temple receive a gift of priesthood power
Every woman and every man who makes covenants with God and keeps those covenants, and who participates worthily in priesthood ordinances, has direct access to the power of God. Those who are endowed in the house of the Lord receive a gift of God’s priesthood power by virtue of their covenant, along with a gift of knowledge to know how to draw upon that power.
Joseph Smith’s dedicatory prayer of the Kirtland Temple is a tutorial about how the temple spiritually empowers you and me to meet the challenges of life in these last days. I encourage you to study that prayer, recorded in Doctrine and Covenants section 109. That dedicatory prayer, which was received by revelation, teaches that the temple is “a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God” [Doctrine and Covenants 109:8].
This list of attributes is much more than a description of a temple. It is a promise about what will happen to those who serve and worship in the house of the Lord. They can expect to receive answers to prayer, personal revelation, greater faith, strength, comfort, increased knowledge, and increased power.
Time in the temple will help you to think celestial and to catch a vision of who you really are, who you can become, and the kind of life you can have forever. Regular temple worship will enhance the way you see yourself and how you fit into God’s magnificent plan. I promise you that.
We are also promised that in the temple we may “receive a fulness of the Holy Ghost” [verse 15]. Imagine what that promise means in terms of having the heavens open for each earnest seeker of eternal truth.
We are instructed that all who worship in the temple will have the power of God and angels having “charge over them” [verse 22]. How much does it increase your confidence to know that, as an endowed woman or man armed with the power of God, you do not have to face life alone? What courage does it give you to know that angels really will help you?
Finally, we are promised that “no combination of wickedness” will prevail over those who worship in the house of the Lord [verses 24–26].
Understanding the spiritual privileges made possible in the temple is vital to each of us today.
My dear brothers and sisters, here is my promise. Nothing will help you more to hold fast to the iron rod [meaning the word of God] than worshipping in the temple as regularly as your circumstances permit. Nothing will protect you more as you encounter the world’s mists of darkness. Nothing will bolster your testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ and His Atonement or help you understand God’s magnificent plan more. Nothing will soothe your spirit more during times of pain. Nothing will open the heavens more. Nothing!
The temple is the gateway to the greatest blessings God has in store for each of us, for the temple is the only place on earth where we may receive all of the blessings promised to Abraham. That is why we are doing all within our power, under the direction of the Lord, to make the temple blessings more accessible to members of the Church.
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. His essential ordinances bind us to Him through sacred priesthood covenants. Then, as we keep our covenants, He endows us with His healing, strengthening power. And oh, how we will need His power in the days ahead.
Study Question
How have you seen the promises mentioned by President Nelson fulfilled in your life?
As temples are prepared for us, we need to prepare ourselves for the temple
Inscribed on each temple are the words “holiness to the Lord” [Exodus 28:36; 39:30]. That statement designates both the temple and its purposes as holy. Those who enter the temple are also to bear the attribute of holiness. As temples are prepared for the people, the people need to prepare themselves for the temple. … We prepare physically, intellectually, and spiritually.
All requirements to enter the temple relate to personal holiness. To assess that readiness, each person who wants to enjoy the blessings of the temple will have two interviews: first with a bishop, bishopric counselor, or branch president; second with a stake or mission president or one of his counselors. In those interviews, several questions will be asked. …
In addition to their answering those questions honestly, it is understood that each adult temple patron will wear the sacred garment of the priesthood under their regular clothing. This is symbolic of an inner commitment to strive each day to become more like the Lord. It also reminds us to remain faithful each day to covenants made and to walk on the covenant path each day in a higher and holier way. …
Individual worthiness to enter the Lord’s house requires much individual spiritual preparation. But with the Lord’s help, nothing is impossible. In some respects, it is easier to build a temple than it is to build a people prepared for a temple. Individual worthiness requires a total conversion of mind and heart to be more like the Lord, to be an honest citizen, to be a better example, and to be a holier person.
Study Question
Why do you feel that the Lord requires personal worthiness to enter His house?
Temple and family history work blesses us as well as those beyond the veil
Ordinances of the temple relate to personal progress and to the redemption of departed ancestors as well. “For their salvation is necessary and essential to our salvation, … they without us cannot be made perfect—neither can we without our dead be made perfect” [Doctrine and Covenants 128:15]. Service in their behalf provides repeated opportunities for temple worship. And that service deserves commitment to a planned schedule. By doing for others what they cannot do for themselves, we emulate the pattern of the Savior, who wrought the Atonement to bless the lives of other people.
I make you a promise today: Engaging in family history research and preparing your ancestors’ qualifying information for their temple blessings will enrich your lives in unexpected ways. It will expand your view of life. It will bless your earthly family with greater harmony. And it will protect you from attacks of the adversary. Family history research will help you feel part of something greater than yourself.
While temple and family history work has the power to bless those beyond the veil, it has an equal power to bless the living. It has a refining influence on those who are engaged in it. They are literally helping to exalt their families.
Study Question
In what ways have you seen that temple and family history work blesses the living?
Our need to be in the temple on a regular basis has never been greater
My dear brothers and sisters, the assaults of the adversary are increasing exponentially, in intensity and in variety. Our need to be in the temple on a regular basis has never been greater. I plead with you to take a prayerful look at how you spend your time. Invest time in your future and in that of your family. If you have reasonable access to a temple, I urge you to find a way to make an appointment regularly with the Lord—to be in His holy house—then keep that appointment with exactness and joy. I promise you that the Lord will bring the miracles He knows you need as you make sacrifices to serve and worship in His temples. …
… To those who have long been absent from the temple, I encourage you to prepare and return as soon as possible. Then I invite you to worship in the temple and pray to feel deeply the Savior’s infinite love for you, that each of you may gain your own testimony that He directs this sacred and ageless work.
Every time a temple is dedicated, more light comes into the world. Every time we go to the temple, our lives are reinforced by that light and by the covenants we make with God. In the temple, we are endowed with the Lord’s power and blessed to have His angels round about us. In this day of intensifying evil, there is nothing that will protect us more than regular time in the temple.
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.
If you don’t yet love to attend the temple, go more often—not less. Let the Lord, through His Spirit, teach and inspire you there. I promise you that over time, the temple will become a place of safety, solace, and revelation.
Study Question
As you prayerfully evaluate your life, what sacrifice do you feel you could make to spend more time in the house of the Lord?
Invitations and Promises
The Lord will bring you miracles as you serve and worship in His temples
I plead with you to take a prayerful look at how you spend your time. Invest time in your future and in that of your family. If you have reasonable access to a temple, I urge you to find a way to make an appointment regularly with the Lord—to be in His holy house—then keep that appointment with exactness and joy. I promise you that the Lord will bring the miracles He knows you need as you make sacrifices to serve and worship in His temples. …
… To those who have long been absent from the temple, I encourage you to prepare and return as soon as possible. Then I invite you to worship in the temple and pray to feel deeply the Savior’s infinite love for you, that each of you may gain your own testimony that He directs this sacred and ageless work.
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.
If you don’t yet love to attend the temple, go more often—not less. Let the Lord, through His Spirit, teach and inspire you there. I promise you that over time, the temple will become a place of safety, solace, and revelation.
The Lord will teach you in His house of learning
When you bring your temple recommend, a contrite heart, and a seeking mind to the Lord’s house of learning, He will teach you.
Seeking and receiving temple blessings will make all the difference in your life
If it were possible for me to speak one-on-one with every young adult, I would plead with you to seek a companion with whom you can be sealed in the temple. You may wonder what difference this will make in your life. I promise it will make all the difference! As you marry in the temple and return repeatedly, you will be strengthened and guided in your decisions.
If I could speak with each husband and wife who have still not been sealed in the temple, I would plead with you to take the necessary steps to receive that crowning, life-changing ordinance. Will it make a difference? Only if you want to progress forever and be together forever. Wishing to be together forever will not make it so. No other ceremony or contract will make it so.
If I could speak to each man or woman who longs for marriage but has not yet found his or her eternal companion, I would urge you not to wait until marriage to be endowed in the house of the Lord. Begin now to learn and experience what it means to be armed with priesthood power.
And to each of you who has made temple covenants, I plead with you to seek—prayerfully and consistently—to understand temple covenants and ordinances. Spiritual doors will open. You will learn how to part the veil between heaven and earth, how to ask for God’s angels to attend you, and how better to receive direction from heaven. Your diligent efforts to do so will reinforce and strengthen your spiritual foundation.
In the temple, we are endowed with the Lord’s power
My dear brothers and sisters, here is my promise. Nothing will help you more to hold fast to the iron rod [meaning the word of God] than worshipping in the temple as regularly as your circumstances permit. Nothing will protect you more as you encounter the world’s mists of darkness. Nothing will bolster your testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ and His Atonement or help you understand God’s magnificent plan more. Nothing will soothe your spirit more during times of pain. Nothing will open the heavens more. Nothing!
The temple is the gateway to the greatest blessings God has in store for each of us, for the temple is the only place on earth where we may receive all of the blessings promised to Abraham. That is why we are doing all within our power, under the direction of the Lord, to make the temple blessings more accessible to members of the Church.
Every time a temple is dedicated, more light comes into the world. Every time we go to the temple, our lives are reinforced by that light and by the covenants we make with God. In the temple, we are endowed with the Lord’s power and blessed to have His angels round about us. In this day of intensifying evil, there is nothing that will protect us more than regular time in the temple.
Doing temple work for your ancestors will enrich your life in unexpected ways
I make you a promise today: Engaging in family history research and preparing your ancestors’ qualifying information for their temple blessings will enrich your lives in unexpected ways. It will expand your view of life. It will bless your earthly family with greater harmony. And it will protect you from attacks of the adversary. Family history research will help you feel part of something greater than yourself.
Videos
Related Talks and Article
“Rejoice in the Gift of Priesthood Keys” (April 2024 general conference)
“Focus on the Temple” (October 2022 general conference)
“Overcome the World and Find Rest” (October 2022 general conference)
“The Temple and Your Spiritual Foundation” (October 2021 general conference)
“Spiritual Treasures” (October 2019 general conference)
“Generations Linked in Love” (April 2010 general conference)
“Prepare for the Blessings of the Temple” (Ensign, October 2010)