Richards - The Power of Godliness - April 2016

Elder Kent F. Richards of the Seventy speaks about the power of the temple.  He speaks of serving in the temple and coming to a personal knowledge that we need to understand the ordinances that take place there.  He shares that true power in found in the ordinances of the temple.

• The real power of the temple is in the ordinances.

He says that we naturally want to help out families on earth and our ancestors who came before when we realize the blessing the temple can being into our lives.

• As we feel the blessings of the temple in our own lives, our hearts turn to our families, both living and dead.

He shares a quote from almost 100 years ago that captures the power that the temple holds for each of us.

• Nearly 100 years ago, Apostle John A. Widtsoe taught: “We need more workers to accomplish [this] wonderful work. … We need more converts to temple work, drawn from all ages. … The time has come, … in this new temple movement, to bring into active service all the people, of all ages. … Temple work is … of as much benefit to the young and the active, as it is to the aged, who have laid behind them many of the burdens of life. The young man needs his place in the temple even more than his father and his grandfather, who are steadied by a life of experience; and the young girl just entering life, needs the spirit, influence and direction that come from participation in the temple ordinances.”

Elder Richards asked youth for their opinion of the temple.  He received some great answers.

• I asked a number of young men and women who have served as ordinance workers before and after their missions to share their feelings. They used phrases like the following to describe their experience in the temple:
  • When I serve in the temple--
    • I feel “a sense of being closer to my Father and the Savior”;
    • I feel “complete peace and happiness”;
    • I have a feeling of “being home”;
    • I receive “sacredness, power, and strength”;
    • I feel “the importance of my sacred covenants”;
    • “The temple has become a part of me”;
    • “Those whom we serve are close during the ordinances”;
    • “It gives me the strength to overcome temptations”;
    • “The temple has changed my life forever.

Elder Richards concludes with an invitation for all of us to come to the temple and bring others with us.

• Come to the temple. Come often. Come with and for your family. Come, and help others to come too.
  

I am reminded of something my bishop told me when I first went to the temple.  He told me that the blessings of the temple are real but are obtained as we attend the temple.  He then encouraged me to make frequent temple attendance a part of my life.  Over my life, I have had some times that attendance was more frequent than others.  What I have found is that when I am attending the temple often, I am more kind, more patient, and more loving to those around me.  I think it gives me a different view of life.  It helps me focus on the things that matter from an eternal prospective instead of the here and now.  I would encourage you to attend the temple and feel the power of the temple in our life, personally.