Digital Only: Young Adults
Connecting with Those beyond the Veil
When I went to the temple for the second time, I received a confirmation that the prophet’s words were true.
It had been two years since my first visit to the temple, and I was looking forward to attending again with a group of young adults. My focus was to strengthen myself, make friends, and experience the privilege of performing sacred ordinances.
While in the temple baptistry, I was a bit lost in thought because of nerves. It was only my second time going to the temple, and I was afraid of doing something wrong as I performed ordinances. But then a member of the temple presidency, who was assisting with the baptisms, said to those of us waiting in line that if we could just lift the veil for a second, we could see how many people were in the spirit world waiting to be helped.
That thought pierced my heart, and suddenly I realized how important these ordinances were.
Feeling the Joy of Temple Work
As I reflected on what he said, I remembered a technique that I had learned in a theater class where actors put themselves in the situation of the characters they play in order to portray them more effectively. I wondered if Heavenly Father could help me as I tried to put myself in the shoes of the people I was performing temple ordinances for.
How would I feel if, after decades or even centuries of waiting, I could finally receive the saving ordinances that I had so longed for?
As I tried to think more about those I was doing work for, the Holy Ghost helped me feel a sense of overwhelming joy. I couldn’t hold back my tears. I could sense the happiness of those I had just been baptized for. I felt a strong impression of how they had waited so long for their saving ordinances.
I had been anxious about going to the temple, but I realized that if I forgot about my own worries and feelings and instead focused on fully representing every person I was baptized for, I could feel their joy through the veil.
I was so grateful to be able to serve all day in the temple and help those who needed me to support them so that they could be ready to return to the presence of the Father. I better understood the revelation God gave to the Prophet Joseph Smith in the Kirtland Temple: “All who have died without a knowledge of this gospel, who would have received it if they had been permitted to tarry, shall be heirs of the celestial kingdom of God” (Doctrine and Covenants 137:7).
Temple Work Changes You
Before returning home from the temple, all the young adults gathered around to share their testimonies and experiences. The Holy Ghost touched everyone’s heart, and we knew that we were different than we had been when we first arrived at the temple because of our new focus on doing temple and family history work.
We must remember what our beloved prophet, Russell M. Nelson, said: “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.”1
I am currently serving as the elders quorum counselor assigned to temple and family history work. We work toward the goal of having the house of the Lord in our area. As we strive, I have personally been able to feel that refining influence that President Nelson mentioned.
I know that as we do this work, we are greatly blessed by the Lord. All the promises that He has made to us through His prophets and apostles will be fulfilled, whether in this life or the life to come. As Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught: “God will strengthen, help, and uphold us [see Isaiah 41:10]; and He will sanctify to us our deepest distress [see Hymns, no. 85]. When we gather our family histories and go to the temple on behalf of our ancestors, God fulfills many of these promised blessings simultaneously on both sides of the veil.”2
I testify of the power that temple and family history work has in our lives. Doing that work can help us strengthen our faith and our foundation in the gospel of Jesus Christ. We can be the ones to help people on the other side of the veil—and in doing so, we will feel the joy that comes from those sacred experiences.