Has it been a while since you had a real meaningful experience in Temple Service? I have 4 tips that will help you get more from your Temple Service.
Temple Service is a wonderful way for us to grow closer to our Savior. Like anything we do though, there can be the risk of our service becoming wrote or mundane. I talked to temple patrons and leaders to find out some of their best ways to get more from Temple Service. I want to share them with you.
1. Get more from Temple Service by Serving the Living
We often think of Temple Service as an opportunity to serve the dead. It is, but I had this wonderful Stake President. He taught me it was also about serving the living. He was always serving and an excellent example of a disciple leader. During the endowment in the temple, we put on ceremonial robes and return to our seats. I noticed once that during this time he was standing, even though he had already put on his robes. This can be a stressful time when you are new to Temple Service and not quite sure what you are doing. I always tried to go fast because I never wanted to be the person who was holding everyone up.
But here was Frank Parker; pretending to fiddle with his ceremonial clothing so that a young man who was clearly nervous that he was taking a little longer did not have to feel like we were all waiting on him. It was such a simple gesture, but I am sure it meant everything to this newly ordained Elder that he was not alone. It meant to much to me that I am now always last to sit during the endowment so that a temple patron never has to feel the discomfort of thinking that they are taking too long.
My wife’s little sister Madison has been going to the temple to do baptisms for the dead with her limited use recommend. Madison and her friends met a twelve-year-old girl named Emma, who was there for the first time. They decided to befriend her and show here where to go. Afterward, they all sat together outside while Emma waited for her grandparents. They spend over an hour getting to know here and sharing advice.
She told me she was worried about going to the temple, that she hadn’t been to before, with no one she knew and that she was thankful for us & I just about cried. Emma is a strong beautiful girl who just wanted to serve and I am thankful I got to know her, I’m thankful that the Lord answers prayers and that I could hear a young girls testimony, I hope my girls are that strong and loving. I am very thankful for the opportunity to meet Emma and I hope we helped her like she helped me.
There are people who are in need of service in the temple. Pray and look for opportunities to help others when you are performing Temple Service.
2. Get more from Temple Service by Bringing Family Names
Serving the living is a great way to get more from Temple Service, but serving the dead is just as important. Al Fox Carraway shared this image on Instagram last November. It was the first time she had taken family names to the temple.
I. Have. No. Words. Just 😭😭😭😭💙 & goosebumps and more 😭. To hear names of people you know & love is literally unreal. And to have my husband there to do names and baptize and confirm, I can’t think of anything to strengthen love more than being in the temple together with your spouse connected to ancestors so intensely. What a day. AHhhhhh💙
There is a special feeling that comes when you know the person you are doing work for. That might mean that you knew them in this life, or you have gotten to know them through doing family history work.
If you need something to help you get started in Family History, check out our last “listicle” 5 Ways to Get More From FamilySearch.
3. Get more from Temple Service by Arriving Early
One of the things our ward did to increase the reverence for sacrament meeting was to encourage families to arrive early. Sit, meditate, listen to the prelude, and try to feel the spirit. As I have done this, I have found sacrament meeting to be a more revelatory experience. The same principle should be observed in Temple Service.
We have all been there. You get held up at work, the kids need to eat, you can’t find your temple bag, and once you finally leave the house you get stuck in traffic. As you sit in the car you can actually feel you blood pressure rising. You rush up to the recommend desk and they let you know if you rush you might just make it. Once you change into white and are in place with as they are closing the doors. You are breathing heavy and there is a little sweat above your brow.
Now, being at the temple is good. If that is the only way to get there, then keep getting there. For me, I have found better planning and being generous with my timelines ensures I am able to reverently change and sit in place with time to meditate and prepare myself for a revelatory experience.
4. Get more from Temple Service by Having a Question to Ponder
When the Church Handbook underwent changes and clarifications regarding homosexual relationships and family ordinances it was concerning to me. It didn’t shake my testimony or anything, I just wanted to understand why. There was a lot of obtusely spouted rhetoric on both sides of the issue.
I decided I needed to ask God for understanding and for my heart to be aligned with His will. Inspiration came! It often does when we sit in the Celestial Room of the temple in silent beseeching of answers. Go to the temple with a question you need answers to, just like we have been counselled to do when listening to General Conference.
While it is great to go to the temple with your spouse, as a Ward, with a friend for the first time; take some time and go alone.
The Challenge
We have been talking this month about the temple and covenants in our classes and on the blog this month. Pick something from this list and use it to get more out of Temple Service this week! If you have an idea of your own, post it below and continue to help others.
