Giving a talk tomorrow on Temples

[madhatter85]

This is the text of my talk so far - What do you think?
It is one of our most precious beliefs is that we desired to become like our Heavenly Father, to come to this earth for the purpose of gaining a physical body and learning to control our thoughts, desires, appetites, and lusts. That all things must be done in moderation and within the bounds the Lord has set. What is the reason for these boundaries? They are to help us come to know how Heavenly Father conducts himself and how he loves his children. Heavenly father sees us through an eternal perspective and knows the potential for each of his children to become glorious beings. . In the words of Joseph B Worthlin, "We see ourselves in terms of yesterday and today, Our Heavenly Father sees us in terms of forever." For this purpose he has given us not only the basic foundation of faith, repentance, and so forth, but he has given us Temples where we can, through our faith, learn the true nature and identity of our Heavenly father. There, we can learn to see Heavenly Father as he sees us, and learn the nature of eternal families. Within the walls of the temple, husbands and wives grow together in the gospel and learn what it truly takes to "establish a house, even 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." On the wall of each temple is an inscription. "Holiness to the Lord. The House of the Lord." Is not the best place for us to learn to establish a home within the house of our father?
There we are instructed further on how we may return to our Father's Kingdom. we take upon ourselves covenants and are blessed in ways I feel these simple covenants do not adequately compensate for. The temples I have had the privilege of visiting seem to have blessed the land upon which they stand. The areas they are in seem to be beautified and serine. I think it is not a coincidence the temple grounds seem that way, but rather consequence of the Temple's presence. I believe this to be evidence that these houses are accepted of the Lord for the instruction of the saints and the blessing of the world around them.
The work performed in the Temple has been said by the prophets to be the most important work on the earth today. If this is truly the case, should we not do all that we can to participate and help this important work? The ordinances for the dead not only provide those who have passed on before us the chance to accept the gospel, but for us to renew our covenants and to remember the savior and the role of his atonement. His atonement extends beyond the reaches of this mortal realm.
Heavenly Father is a perfected being and we too have the opportunity to be perfected through the savior Jesus Christ if we will do what he asks of us in this life. What does he ask of us? He asks us to, Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart;
Deter F Uchtdorf put it best:
"God the Eternal Father did not give that first great commandment because He needs us to love Him. His power and glory are not diminished should we disregard, deny, or even defile His name. His influence and dominion extend through time and space independent of our acceptance, approval, or admiration. No, God does not need us to love Him. But oh, how we need to love God! For what we love determines what we seek. What we seek determines what we think and do. What we think and do determines who we are—and who we will become."
We are also to keep the commandments of God; and forgive everyone their trespasses so that we may also be forgiven. It takes self-mastery and is a lifelong process. It is also a process that is enhanced and beautified within the walls of the temple.
We wanted to come here to this earth because we knew what the reward would be if we triumphed. In the temples we can progress toward, and comprehend that reward which is prepared for us in the Mansions of our father. Without adequate knowledge of what is in store, how will we know to prepare for it?
Temples are truly the only place in the world where Heaven and Earth come together. Or so the song goes, "The veil over the earth is beginning to burst." The wonderful experiences many saints in the world have had in the Temples testify of their divine role on this earth.
Everyone on this earth, who adequately prepares themselves, is invited to come into the house of the Lord and partake of the knowledge had there. Russell M. Nelson said, “Each temple is a house of learning. There we are taught in the Master’s way. 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. The 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.”
We must return often to the temples, as not to forget what we have learned. What shall we say, at the last day when the savior stand before us and asks "What have ye learned? Do ye remember what has been taught in the House of the Lord?"
Going to church each week prepares us to go to the temple. The Temple, and all of its blessings, is what all of the teachings of Jesus Christ point us towards. without temples in the world today, the teachings of Jesus Christ would point us towards nothing. If the blessings of the temple were not given to us by God, this earth, and all of it inhabitants would surely be a waste to our heavenly father.
At times we may feel discouraged, overburdened, or even unworthy to go to the temple. This tactic of the adversary, keeps even the best of us from going to the temple. If we slip backwards the Lord prepared a way for us to easily recover. we can go back to the beginning starting with Faith, Repentance. The Atonement of Jesus Christ allows our burdens to be light. President Boyd K. Packer : “For some reason we think the Atonement of Christ applies only at the end of mortal life to redemption from the Fall, from spiritual death. It is much more than that. It is an ever-present power to call upon in everyday life. When we are racked or harrowed up or tormented by guilt or burdened with grief, He can heal us.. We should take advantage of that." I would say "MUST take advantage of that."
In an ideal world, we would be able to go to the temple every week for an entire day. Though, for most of us, that is not wholly an option for standard temple attendance. Even if you can go just for a single session, or a single baptism, it will be accounted to us for righteousness. and the blessings for our work therein is great. The blessing for such a small thing as tithing is outlined in Malachi "and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it."If such a simple act of faith will bring blessings so much that we cannot receive it, how great will our reward be if we attend the Temple regularly. It requires sacrifice. My wife recently reminded me of the need for sacrifice, and it has been a blessing in our home to sacrifice the unnecessary to make room for that which is most important . Going to the temple is indeed sacrifice of our time and energies. But the blessings poured out upon us far outweighs the sacrifice given. I know this work is true, I know that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God and through him The Lord restored this most precious work. I know God live and that he loves us. I know that within the walls of the Temples we can feel close to our heavenly father and receive the most important instruction in the world pertaining to the salvation of man. I leave these things with you in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

[madhatter85]

Well, the talk went good. My wife and I both talked on temples and I could really feel the spirit when she spoke. She wrote hers first and I was inspired to write this talk from what she recited to me.

[misanthropic_clown]

I'm sorry I missed this before its delivery. It's a very good talk and I am glad it went well. I can imagine it must have been nice experience to contemplate and talk about the temple as a couple.

[madhatter85]

Originally Posted by misanthropic_clown

I'm sorry I missed this before its delivery. It's a very good talk and I am glad it went well. I can imagine it must have been nice experience to contemplate and talk about the temple as a couple.

Thanks!Oh it was wonderful reciting our testimonies to one another and discussing what we thought and how it could be presented. I Was well please with my wife because of the things she brought up which I often wondered if she thought about, or how she thought of them. And she said she was happy to hear that i think of the things i talked about in my talk. I think it's a marriage building exercise to give talks together most definitely.

[ftv1975]

i would agree this is a very good talk about the temple. This talk caused me to desire to want to go back to the temple. The talk also caused me to remember other times when i was more active do temple work. Ahh! what happy memories.

[madhatter85]

Originally Posted by ftv1975

i would agree this is a very good talk about the temple. This talk caused me to desire to want to go back to the temple. The talk also caused me to remember other times when i was more active do temple work. Ahh! what happy memories.

I'm glad that you liked it.

Temple work is amazing. I just did some genealogy for my wife and her family. we now have 2000 names to do!

[ftv1975]

Originally Posted by madhatter85

I'm glad that you liked it.

Temple work is amazing. I just did some genealogy for my wife and her family. we now have 2000 names to do!

i need to get to work on my fathers side of the family. most of my family are catholics. you know about maybe 6 months before i got baptized i had an unlce who was interested in family history and sent me a copy of the family tree on my mothers side. Once i learned of temple work i was blown away.

[madhatter85]

Originally Posted by ftv1975

i need to get to work on my fathers side of the family. most of my family are catholics. you know about maybe 6 months before i got baptized i had an unlce who was interested in family history and sent me a copy of the family tree on my mothers side. Once i learned of temple work i was blown away.

that is awesome, My wife's family is all catholic except her. Her uncle had done a ton of research on her dad's side for a family reunion one year. He gave me the genealogy, I was pretty blown away.