"Temples"
Kirk Gifford
June 29, 2004
Brothers and Sisters, it is very good to be with you today. Let me also welcome you students to second summer term and give you three pieces of advice. First, to the beginning freshmen, make a commitment today to do the best that you can in your academic and spiritual studies. Second, to the returning students, study harder and as an economist would say, more efficiently. Your parents and I know you can do better. Finally, to my Econ 111 students, refer to my first and second points and in addition, anything I say today may be included on my final exam.
Brothers and sisters, as we’ve been taught, all true teaching is done by and through the Holy Ghost and I pray that the Spirit will be with us here today as I share a few thoughts that have been on my mind of late.
Throughout history, whenever saints would heed the word of the Lord, he commanded them to build temples in which the ordinances of the gospel and other spiritual manifestations pertaining to exaltation and eternal life could be administered. In ancient times the Lord directed Moses to build a tabernacle, a portable temple, which became the center place of Israel’s worship activities. A cloth veil divided the tabernacle into two parts, an outer compartment containing an altar and an inner compartment known as the Holy of Holies. The Holy of Holies contained only one piece of furniture, the Ark of the Testimony or Covenant. This ornate wooden box contained the tablets of stone known as the “Testimony,” Aaron’s rod, and a pot of manna. Upon the ark and forming a lid was the mercy seat on which the highest atonement known to the Jewish law was effected. The mercy seat was the place of the manifestation of God’s glory. It was God’s throne in Israel.
And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee. And there I will meet with thee and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat . . . of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel (Exodus 25: 21-22).
In approximately 1000 B.C. David gathered the leaders of his people unto Jerusalem.
Then David the king stood upon his feet, and said, Hear me, my brethren, and my people: As for me, I had in mine heart to build an house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and for the footstool of our God, and had made ready for the building: But God said unto me, Thou shalt not build an house for my name, because thou has been a man of war, and hast shed blood. And he said unto me, Solomon thy son, he shall build my house and my courts: for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father (1 Chronicles 28: 2-3, 6).
Solomon’s temple was built after the model of the tabernacle with the dimensions of each part being exactly double. This magnificent temple was completed in 991 B.C. and dedicated at the Feast of the Tabernacle:
It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking of the Lord; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of musick, and praised the Lord saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the Lord; So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of God (2 Chronicles 5:13-14).
Would you turn with me to 2 Chronicles in the Old Testament? Chapter 6 contains the dedicatory prayer offered by Solomon. Let’s begin in verse 12.
And he stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands: And said, O Lord God of Israel, there is no God like thee in the heaven, nor in the earth; which keepest covenant, and shewest mercy unto thy servants, that walk before thee with all their hearts: And if thy people Israel be put to the worse before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee; and shall return and confess thy name, and pray and supplication before thee in this house; Then hear thou from the heavens, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again unto the land which thou gavest to them and to their fathers. When the rain is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; yet if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou dost afflict them; Then hear thou from heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people of Israel, when thou has taught them the good way, wherein they should walk; and send rain upon thy land, which thou has given unto thy people for an inheritance (2 Chronicles 6:12, 14, 24-27).
Following the feast of the seven days, the dedication was completed. In 2 Chronicles 7:11 we read,
Thus Solomon finished the house of the Lord, and the king’s house: and all that came into Solomon’s heart to make in the house of the Lord, and in his own house, he prosperously effected. And the Lord appeared to Solomon by night, and said unto him, I have heard thy prayer, and have chosen this place to myself for an house of sacrifice. If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people; If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land (2 Chronicles 7:11-14).
Brothers and Sisters, what a great promise the Lord gave the children of Israel. If they humbled themselves, prayed and turned away from wickedness and toward God, he would protect them from their enemies and heal their land from drought and pestilence. I believe this promise applies to us today as much as it did to the children of Israel. Our enemies are round about us and our promised land - the western U.S. suffers from a severe drought. If we humble ourselves, pray, and seek the face of God, he will protect us from our enemies, forgive our sins and heal our land.
In approximately 609 B.C. Solomon’s temple was burned to the ground and destroyed by Nebuchadnezzer, the wicked king of Babylon. I think it’s interesting that two millennia later people in the Promised Land are still battling wicked rulers in Babylon. On the ancient site of Solomon’s temple, the Temple of Zerubbabel was built and dedicated in 516 B.C. This temple remained until 37 B.C. when it was partially burned during Herod’s invasion of Jerusalem. To win popularity with the Jews Herod began rebuilding the temple in 17 B.C. Construction continued through the Lord’s earthly life and was finally completed in 64 A.D. One of the most prominent features of the temple was the veil that hung between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies. This veil was the veil that was rent at Christ’s crucifixion.
Of course Latter-day Saints know that temples were being built on the American continent at exactly the same time they were being built in Jerusalem. Nephi, in approximately 588 B.C. built a temple after the manner of Solomon (2 Nephi 5:16). The prophet Jacob declared the word of God from the temple in approximately 544 B.C. (Jacob 2:2), and King Benjamin addressed the families of the church at the temple in 124 B.C. But, most significantly, the Savior appeared to the Nephites at the temple following his ascension into heaven. The Nephites were invited to feel the prints of the nails in His hands and feet “and they did know of a surety and did bear record, that it was he, of whom it was written by the prophets that should come. And they did cry out with one accord, saying: Hosanna! Blessed be the name of the Most High God! And they did fall down at the feet of Jesus, and did worship Him” (3 Nephi 11:1, 14, 15-17). These examples bear witness to us that in times of old; temples were places of instruction, a place where families could be strengthened, and most importantly, a place where people could increase their faith in and testimony of the divine mission of the Savior, Jesus Christ.
In A.D. 70, on the evening of the anniversary of the destruction of the first temple, Herod’s temple was taken and destroyed by the Roman army of Titus, thus ending temple building and worship by the Lord’s people for a season.
Following the restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ in latter days, the Lord again directed his prophets to build temples. However, unlike ancient temples, where ordinance were performed for the living only, Jesus had prepared the way for the gospel to be preached and ordinances performed in latter-day temples for the dead as well as the living.
The first temples of the Latter-days were built under the direction of the prophet Joseph Smith. The Kirtland Ohio Temple was completed in 1836 with the beautiful Nauvoo Temple following in 1846. Many of the keys to the restoration of the priesthood and of the eternal ordinances were made in the Kirtland and Nauvoo Temples. With the migration and gathering of the saints to the west, the Kirtland Temple was abandoned and reminiscent of Solomon’s temple; the Nauvoo Temple was vandalized and destroyed by fire in 1850.
Additional Latter-day temples were not completed until 31 years after the completion of the Nauvoo Temple. The first of these was the St. George Temple in 1877 followed by the Logan Temple in 1884, the Mansi Temple in 1888 and the Salt Lake Temple in 1893, 40 years after construction began. It was in this temple building period that President Wilford Woodruff, then president of the Twelve Apostles, came to visit the Mormon Settlements in the Snake River Valley. There in Iona, sensing the discouragement of the settlers, he climbed into the back of his wagon box and issued what became known as the “Wagon Box Prophecy.” A few months ago in devotional, Brother Orme quoted this prophecy. You may recall some of the words of President Woodruff: “Schools and colleges of higher learning shall be built to serve you that you may learn the mysteries of God’s great universe. I see temples and meetinghouses dotting the landscape, where the God of Israel may be worshiped in truth and in spirit” (Michael Orme, BYU-I Devotional, 20 January 2004).
Following a twenty-two-year respite, President Joseph F. Smith directed that the Laie, Hawaii and Alberta, Canada temples be built. These temples were completed in 1919 and 1923. The Mesa Arizona temple followed in 1927. Another respite caused by the great depression and the Second World War followed. Then in 1939, on a cactus-covered sand hill bordering the beautiful Snake River, and not far from where President Woodruff had issued his prophecy, ground was broken for the Idaho Falls Temple, the 10th in the latter days. The cornerstone was placed by David O. McKay in October 1940 and following a construction period of 5 years, the temple was dedicated on September 23-25, 1945 by George Albert Smith. Let me share parts of that dedicatory prayer with you. Pay particular attention to the promises and obligations referenced in this prayer.
We thank Thee, O Our Father, that Thou didst restore that grand and glorious principle of marriage for eternity, and didst bestow upon Thy servant the power to seal on earth and have it recognized in the heavens. We acknowledge this privilege as one of Thy most marvelous gifts to us. May all the youth of Thy Church come to know of its beauty and of its eternal importance to them, and to take advantage of it when they marry. May they, our Father, on the other hand, realize fully that the glorious opportunity for eternal companionship of husband and wife, and the power of eternal increase, may be forfeited by them if they fail, through negligence or indifference, to conform to Thy requirements, or if having taken advantage thereof, they may still through improper conduct lose their blessings.
We thank Thee, O God, for sending Elijah, the ancient prophet, to whom was: 'Committed the keys of power of turning the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to the fathers,’ that the whole earth may not be smitten with a curse. We thank Thee that he was sent to Thy servant Joseph Smith, to confer the keys of authority of the work for the dead, and to reveal that the plan of salvation embraces the whole of the human family; that the Gospel is universal in scope, and that Thou art no respector of persons, having provided for the preaching of the Gospel of Salvation to both the living and the dead. We are most grateful unto Thee that salvation is provided for all who desire to be saved in Thy kingdom. May it be pleasing to Thy people to search out the genealogy of their forebears that they may become saviors on Mount Zion by officiating in Thy Temples for their kindred dead. We pray also that the spirit of Elijah may rest mightily upon all peoples everywhere that they may be moved upon to gather and make available the genealogy of their ancestors; and that Thy faithful children may utilize Thy holy Temples in which to perform on behalf of the dead all ordinances pertaining to their eternal exaltation. We are grateful, Heavenly Father, that we have been permitted to rear this Temple on this beautiful spot upon the bank of one of Thy majestic rivers, the waters of which have made it possible for Thy faithful Saints residing here to subdue the land and establish delightful homes. We thank Thee for the means that Thou hast placed in our hands that has been utilized in constructing this edifice and preparing it for holy purpose. We pray that all those who may cross the threshold of this Thine House may be impressed with the holiness of it, and deport themselves herein with righteous conduct, and may no uncleanliness ever pass its portals (Selected Manifestations, pp. 246–250).
Following completion of the Idaho Falls Temple, the church entered into a period of unprecedented temple building. Five more temples were built in the 1950s and 60s. Four were added in the 1970s. An astounding 25 were built in the 1980s and then of course in the mid 1990s President Hinckley began the current undertaking to make temples available to all members of the church.
On December 21st 2003, at meetinghouses throughout southeast Idaho, the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints announced that a temple of the Lord would be built in Rexburg, Idaho. Although the size and other details have not yet been given, the saints of southeast Idaho are rejoicing at this wonderful news. Let me share with you some of the sentiments expressed by local church and other leaders.
“What a wonderful day for our community; we are just overjoyed, I feel like I am walking in the clouds even now.”
“I haven't come back down to earth yet. This announcement is a great testament to the members here, both living and dead, who have strived to build Zion throughout their lives,”
“It brought tears to my eyes. This has been one of the best days of my life, I'm just so happy for so many people who are going to be blessed by this.”
“We are celebrating here in Rexburg. this was as wonderful as it was unexpected.”
Brothers and Sisters, I’m certain that all members of the church who are affected by this momentous decision share these same sentiments. In my own home my wife and I were astounded and overjoyed and could hardly wait to share the news with our extended families. This announcement is truly a blessing from a loving Heavenly Father to the faithful saints living in this area. However, lest we become prideful and puffed up in our hearts because of our supposed righteousness and great accomplishments we need to remember that in addition to a great blessing, the announcement of the Rexburg temple represents an obligation and responsibility for each of us to “raise the bar” and become true disciples of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
For inspiration, I would like to tell you the story of a man named Sergey Bubka. During the 1983 track and field World Championships, an unknown 20-year old named Sergey Bubka from Ukraine won the pole vault event. In 1984 Sergey broke the world record on four separate occasions eventually reaching the height of 5.94 meters. His rapid raising of the bar fueled speculation that the unbreakable 6-meter barrier might be breeched in the near future. It only took Sergey until July 1985 at an international meet in Paris to accomplish this incredible feat. Throughout his career Sergey set 35 world records, won the World Championships on six separate occasions, earned a gold medal at the 1988 Olympics and cleared the unbreakable 6 meters in more than 44 competitions. Sergey is the reigning world record holder with a bar height of 6.14 meters or 20 feet 1 and ¾ inches and is the only person ever to have vaulted over 20 feet. He is generally acknowledged as one of the greatest athletes of the modern era and the greatest pole-vaulter of all time.
In 1996, when asked to what he ascribed his overwhelming success, Sergey responded,
Today, talent alone is not enough. You need to work very hard, you have to spend a lot of time practicing your sport – six to seven hours daily. That is only for training. I think that, generally, you need to live with your sport 24 hours a day. You must think and concentrate and forget many things. Your life must be completely different. You must say no, no, it’s not possible, maybe next time, to outside distractions. It has to be sports, sports, and sports.
Brothers and sisters, let me revise Sergey’s “raising the bar” counsel to fit our circumstances here in Rexburg and at BYU-Idaho.
Today, church membership alone is not enough. You need to work very hard, you have to spend a lot of time practicing your religion – six to seven hours daily. That is only for training. I think that, generally, you need to live with your religion 24 hours a day. You must think and concentrate and forget many worldly things. Your life must be completely different. You must say no, no, it’s not possible, maybe never, to outside distractions. It has to be the gospel, the gospel, and the gospel.
At the October 1973 General Conference, Elder Theodore M. Burton, echoed these sentiments.
When I speak of total commitment, I do not refer to a momentary dedication which comes from being filled with the Spirit of God only on certain occasions such as in this conference. I refer to daily or continuing spirit of devotion and dedication, which comes from keeping all the commandments of God every day. We must not pick and choose which commandment of God we will or will not obey. Every one is important. For example, we cannot postpone genealogical research, temple work, or missionary work until after we retire. When we accept Jesus Christ, we accept his apostles and prophets and his total concept of Christian living. We then gladly accept the admonition of God’s servants and willingly have family prayer, hold family home evening, keep a year’s supply of food on hand for emergencies, send our sons and daughters on missions, keep the fast, pay an honest tithe, care for the poor and the needy, and are kind and thoughtful and considerate of others. We willingly become saviors for our families and go to the temple regularly to officiate in behalf of our kindred dead who have sacrificed so much for us. When we therefore understand this principle of commitment, we will realize the importance of priesthood, genealogy, and temple work.
In the Doctrine and covenants, the prophet Joseph Smith received revelation relating to this very topic. Turn with me to Section 20:30.
And we know that justification through the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is just and true; and we know also that sanctification through the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is just and true, to all those who love and serve God with all their mights, minds, and strength. But there is a possibility that man may fall from grace and depart from the living God; therefore let the church take heed and pray always, lest they fall into temptation; yea, and even let those who are sanctified take heed also (Doctrine and Covenants 20:30-34).
Now, Brothers and sisters, with the announcement of a temple to be built in our midst, we may feel justified and sanctified. But remember, there is a possibility that even the saints living in southeast Idaho may fall from grace and depart from the living God. It is for this reason that we must resolve to live closer to God each day and to follow his chosen prophets and apostles more diligently than we have ever done in the past.
On the first Sunday in January, I had the opportunity to make a New Year’s Resolution. This wasn’t a typical resolution to exercise more, read more books, or start a new hobby (I have plenty of those). My resolution came in the form of a temple recommend interview. Shortly following our block of meetings, my wife and I received a call from the ward executive secretary. He asked if we could meet with the Bishop and a counselor to renew our recently expired recommends. We accepted, and at the interview I had the opportunity to bear testimony of the Savior and resolve to more fully live in harmony with the teachings of the Gospel.
When my wife and I were first married our stake president was a prosecuting attorney, and when we went for temple recommend interviews we often felt like we were on trial because of his questioning techniques. Because interviews with him could be quite intimidating, we silently prayed on the way to the stake center for an interview with one of his counselors instead! I will never forget how, after asking the usual recommend questions, he would lean across the table, look you straight in the eye, and say, “Brother Gifford, what is the one thing that will keep you out of the Celestial kingdom?” Thoughts would race through my head and while he never asked me to divulge what this one thing was, it certainly provided an opportunity for introspection. I had answered “yes” to the recommend questions and yet I obviously felt that I had room for improvement. As my wife and I have discussed this, we realized that the one thing that may keep us out of the celestial kingdom would certainly be something that is already encompassed in the questions that allow us or prevent us from entering the temple.
For example, there is a temple recommend question that asks if there is anything in your family that is not in harmony with the gospel of Jesus Christ. An acquaintance once confessed during a temple recommend interview that while there was nothing amiss in his family, he was struggling with patience with a visiting mother-in-law and hoped that the Lord would help him to continue to keep his feelings and attitudes in harmony with the gospel. In turn, the counselor conducting the interview confessed that he too had a visiting mother-in-law and that is why he had willingly accepted a long list of interviews that evening. They both chuckled and then discussed the higher law that the temple recommend interview questions imply. Are we asked if we have patience with our in-laws in a temple recommend interview? No, but because we acknowledge our belief in the Savior and have a testimony of him, we will ultimately align our behavior and our attitudes so that everything we do will be a reflection of this testimony. We may not be perfect but we know that through the atonement of Jesus Christ, he can help us to become more perfect in our efforts to live these principles.
Brothers and sisters, have you made similar New Year’s resolutions? Are your temple recommends current and are they used on a regular basis? If you have not yet had the opportunity to receive your temple endowment, are you living your life in such a way that you could enter the temple at any time or are you living your life with an “eat, drink and be merry attitude” of “play really hard, pay my tithing later and wear immodest clothing for tomorrow I’ll be an adult and then I’ll be responsible.” Just because you’re legally an adult does not mean you automatically become a spiritual adult - it takes great commitment and dedication to living the principles of the gospel. Becoming and staying temple worthy, regardless of when you will actually be able to enter the temple to participate in all of the saving ordinances, will be a great blessing and strength to you.
In speaking about the temple worthiness, President Howard W. Hunter stated,
The Lord desires that his people be a temple-motivated people. It would be the deepest desire of my heart to have every member of the Church be temple worthy. I would hope that every adult member would be worthy of – and carry – a current temple recommend, even if proximity to a temple does not allow immediate or frequent use of it.
I had the opportunity a few years ago to conduct a temple recommend interview for a homebound elderly sister. Though she could not use her recommend, she insisted that it be current. When she passed away shortly thereafter, I was grateful she had diligently followed President Hunter’s counsel and would pass through the veil with a current recommend.
President Hunter also suggests that the temple is a symbol of our discipleship. He stated,
To have the temple indeed be a symbol unto us, we must desire it to be so. We must live worthy to enter the temple. We must keep the commandments of our Lord. If we can pattern our life after the Master, and take his teaching and example as the supreme pattern for our own, we will not find it difficult to be temple worthy, to be consistent and loyal in every walk of life, for we will be committed to a single, sacred standard of conduct and belief. The ability to stand by one’s principles, to live with integrity and faith according to one’s belief – that is what matters. That devotion to true principle – in our individual lives, in our homes and families, and in all places that we meet and influence other people – that devotion is what God is ultimately requesting of us. It requires commitment – whole-souled, deeply held, eternally cherished commitment to the principles we know to be true in the commandments God has given. If we will be true and faithful to the Lord’s principles, then we will always be temple worthy, and the Lord and his holy temples will be great symbols of our discipleship with him.
The privilege and blessing of having a temple just minutes from our homes also brings with it great family obligations. In the October 2002 general conference, Elder M. Russell Ballard gave a talk about “raising the bar” in missionary work. He admonished us that
This isn’t a time for spiritual weaklings. We cannot send you on a mission to be reactivated, reformed, or to receive a testimony. We just don’t have time for that. We need you to be filled with faith, hope, charity, and love, with an eye single to the glory of God.
As I listened to this talk I quickly realized that as the father of three young sons, my wife and I have the huge responsibility to help them become spiritually strong. As the time comes for them to leave our home they should be young men “with an eye single to the glory of god” who can work hard and who are prepared to make and keep sacred covenants in the temple. Elder Ballard states:
If we are raising the bar for your sons to serve as missionaries, we are raising the bar for you. If we expect more of them, that means we expect more of you and your wife. Helaman’s stripling warriors were faithful because ‘they had been taught to keep the commandments of God and to walk uprightly before him’ and that instruction came in their homes.
When we speak of raising the bar it may be easy to defend ourselves by saying we’re already doing the best we can, the Lord can’t expect any more from us. Several years ago the Ensign featured a story about a woman who was serving in a very time-consuming leadership position in her ward. She was also the mother of a large and busy family. She felt a lot of pressure to do well both at home and in her church calling and began to feel overwhelmed and resentful of all of her heavy responsibilities. One Sunday morning during ward council, the Bishop suggested that the leaders of the ward were not doing as much as they possibly could and asked them to re-dedicate themselves to their callings and to put more effort into doing the very best they could do. This sister left the meeting very angry with the Bishop for implying that she wasn’t doing her best in her church job. She prayed for help in dealing with her anger and as she prayed her heart was softened to realize that perhaps she wasn’t doing things to the best of her ability. For the next several days she continued praying, this time not asking the Lord to forgive the Bishop, but to help her understand what she could do better. She was filled with inspiration for ways she could improve not only as a leader in the ward, but also as a leader in her home. She learned how she could manage her time more efficiently, delegate to counselors and family members, and become more organized so that she could work smarter, not harder. She felt a renewed enthusiasm for all of her responsibilities and felt more dedicated in her service to the Lord.
In our efforts to be good students, work, raise children, serve in the church, etc., we may also feel overwhelmed because there is much to do. We needn’t feel inadequate or defensive when we talk of raising the bar. The Lord wants us to be successful in our efforts and he will help us know what we can do to work smarter, not harder. By taking our problems and ideas to the Lord, he will guide us and help us prioritize our lives so that we can become better without becoming overly burdened or frustrated.
President Bednar, at a recent meeting, told the employees of BYU–Idaho that perhaps one of the reasons a temple was being built in Rexburg was to help us combine spiritual and temporal learning. President Ezra Taft Benson said,
We must balance our secular learning with spiritual learning. Young adults enrolled in universities or colleges should avail themselves of the opportunity to take institute or religion courses, or if attending a Church school, should take at least one religion course every term. Joining our spiritual education to our secular learning will help us keep focused on the things that matter most in this life. (Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson p. 265).
President Spencer W. Kimball taught:
Can you see that the spiritual knowledge may be complemented with the secular in this life and on for eternities but that the secular without the foundation of the spiritual is but like the foam upon the milk, the fleeting shadow? Do not be deceived! One need not choose between the two but only as to the sequence, for there is opportunity for one to get both simultaneously (Ezra Taft Benson p. 266).
Allow me to interject an example of the need to balance secular and spiritual learning. A man who was serving in a campus bishopric shared the following story. A young man in his ward was attending a Sunday evening fireside and bragged to the group that he hadn’t studied for an exam the following morning, but because he was in attendance at the fireside, he knew the Lord would bless him to be successful on his test because he had chosen to do the right thing by attending the fireside. These comments disturbed this Bishopric member greatly and he discussed with this young man the overwhelming obligation he has to be successful in his schoolwork. Perhaps with a little planning and effort this young man should have spent Saturday studying for his test, rather than relying on the Lord to help him with something he was utterly unprepared to do. You students also have this same overwhelming obligation. This is the time to prepare for your future and you must do all in your power to ensure that you are highly qualified to meet the challenges of life in an honorable manner. The Lord will bless you for your efforts, but he will not bless you to be successful in those areas where you are lacking serious effort and self-discipline. The temptation to hang out with that cute ward member is great, but the Lord will not bless you to do well on assignments that you simply have not studied for because you are following the commandment to find an eternal companion. The Lord will not help you get a 4.0 GPA because you are serving as the Elders Quorum president. What the Lord will do, however, is help you learn the discipline necessary to manage your time wisely. Perhaps you will have to choose to stay at the library and get all your homework done before ever heading home to that cute ward member. He will help you learn to plan ahead so that you will study for your test next week a little each evening this week in order to be able to attend the fireside on Sunday night. Great blessings will come to you in your life if you learn to prioritize your time. Setting aside time each day for scripture study will be a great benefit to your schoolwork not only because you will be better managing your time, but because you will be blessed with the spirit to guide and help you make good choices during the day. I can assure you that with proper planning and willpower, you will be successful in your schooling and in your spiritual and social endeavors. They need not be mutually exclusive.
How blessed and obligated we will be to have a temple near an institution of higher learning such as this, where we will have greater access to the spiritual truths that are learned in the temple and a balance to our secular learning. This joining of heaven and earth, was taught by the apostle Paul in an epistle to the saints at Ephesus. “Having made known unto us the mystery of his will…That in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth” (Ephesians 1:9-10).
In our dispensation, President Howard W. Hunter said it best:
Temples are sacred for the closest communion between the Lord and those receiving the highest and most sacred ordinances of the holy priesthood. It is in the temple that things of the earth are joined with the things of heaven. The things of earth will become one with the things of heaven. The great family of God will be united through the saving ordinances of the gospel. Vicarious work for the dead and ordinances for the living are the purposes of temples.
I testify that Temples are houses of the Lord, the most sacred structures on the earth. In these temples faithful church members learn eternal truths, receive sacred ordinances such as eternal marriage and sealing, and provide these same ordinances for those who have died without the opportunity. As in ancient times, building and properly using temples is one of the characteristics of the Lord’s true church. I pray, as Solomon of old, that we may humble ourselves and seek the face of the Lord through prayer and temple worship, and become justified and sanctified in anticipation of the building of the Rexburg temple. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.