A Few Words on the Temple

Yesterday we enjoyed Stake Conference in the Ogden Tabernacle on the beautiful Ogden Temple grounds. Among the first speakers were the Ogden Temple President and Matron. They spoke about the importance of having a current temple recommend and as an introduction, the Matron (I'm sorry, I can't remember her name), told of how she likes to stand near the front desk and watch as patrons come into the temple. She related how every once-in-a-while someone has to be turned away because their temple recommend has expired. She said sometimes they shrug their shoulders, apologize and turn away. Sometimes there are tears and exclamations like "Oh, how could I let my temple recommend lapse?" An sometimes she will hear them say something like this: "Now I know what it feels like to be unable to enter the temple. This will never happen to me again." Something about that really struck me. I felt it in the context of the eternities and wondered how devestating it would be to be told that I could not enter the presence of my Heavenly Father. I hope that will never happen to me.

The President reminded us that it is the Lord's house. He proposed that if we knew Christ would be in the temple on Tuesday we'd all be scrambling pretty fast to ensure that we would be there. But he then bore his witness that Christ does visit his temples. He testified that he has felt the presence of the Savior in the temple.

There was one final thing that made an impression on me. The President told us that 6 times a day, every day that the temple is open, the ordinance workers say a special prayer pleading that the promise of Elijah found in Malachi 4:6 will come to pass and that the people of the Ogden Temple District will turn their hearts to their fathers and come to the temple. He said that when we feel those impressions to return to the temple we need to heed them. It was a good reminder to me. I know that too many times I've put off those tuggings.

Being in the temple is always such a beautiful, peaceful experience. How grateful I am to live so close and to be able to attend at a moment's notice. I hope the words they shared at Stake Conference will come to my mind the next time I get one of those impressions and am tempted to put it off.