This is His Work
President Harvey G. and Sister Sherry W. Horner
Taiwan Taipei Temple

Have you ever thought about what it means to be involved in the work of the Lord?  When the Lord spoke to Moses, He said, “…this is my work and my glory— to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.”¹

Through the resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ, all mankind will be given the gift of immortality.  The second half of His work, to bring to pass eternal life, is our responsibility.  Bishoprics, stake presidencies, auxiliary and quorum presidencies, teachers, home and visiting teachers, parents and family members are all involved in this work.  It is our responsibility to help others for whom we have stewardship qualify for eternal life.  So, what is this external life and how do we qualify?

First, we must be baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Second, male members of the Church must be ordained to the Melchizedek Priesthood.  Third, we must receive the ordinances of the temple and fourth, we must remain faithful to our covenants and keep the commandments of God.  It is interesting that these requirements for eternal life correspond to the main points of the Mission of the Church:  Proclaim the Gospel, Perfect the Saints, Redeem the Dead, and Care for the Poor and Needy. 

The temple provides the roadway to eternal life.  We receive all of the ordinances that are necessary to obtain eternal life in the temple.  Brigham Young said, “Your endowment is, to receive all those ordinances in the House of the Lord, which are necessary for you, after you have departed this life, to enable you to walk back to the presence of the Father, passing the angels who stand as sentinels, being able to give them the key words, the signs and tokens, pertaining to the holy Priesthood, and gain your eternal exaltation in spite of earth and hell.”² 

As we return to the temple, we can receive additional knowledge through personal revelation that will help us in our stewardship responsibilities and in preparing for eternal life.  In the pamphlet, Preparing to Enter the Holy Temple, we are taught, “Things that have troubled you or things that have been puzzling or things that have been mysterious will become known to you.  Many of them will be the quiet, personal things that you really cannot explain to anyone else.  But to you they are things known.”³

Prophets in the Old Testament offer additional insight into the value of temples in helping us prepare for Eternal Life.  The Prophet, Ezekiel, saw in vision the temple that will one day be built in Jerusalem.⁴ In this vision he saw water flow from under the threshold of the temple.  This water formed a river that flowed to the Dead Sea.  In this vision Ezekiel is instructed to wade into the river and measure its depth.  The first time he stepped into the water, it was to his ankles.  Ezekiel walked down the riverbank and waded into the river again; this time the water had risen to his knees.  As he went down the river, the water got deeper and deeper until it was over his head.  He could then enjoy swimming in the refreshing waters.

This vision is a great symbol.⁵ The first time we enter the temple, we barely get our feet wet.  We do not understand a lot.  However, each time we return to the temple, we get deeper into the water and hopefully understand more of those sacred ordinances.  After we have attended many times and get to the point in the river where we can swim, we can feel the refreshing, life-giving waters of our Savior’s love and knowledge.  We come to really know our Savior and feel of His love and guidance in our lives.

The Lord promises us in the Doctrine & Covenants that as we step into His waters and attend the temple He will help us do His work.  The Lord says, the temple is “…a place of instruction for all those who are called to the work of the ministry in all their several callings and offices; That they may be perfected in the understanding of their ministry, in theory, in principle, and in doctrine in all things pertaining to the kingdom of God on the earth.”⁶ In Section 110 of the Doctrine and Covenants He said He would manifest Himself to His people in His house.⁷

Ezekiel describes what happens when water runs across dry ground.  Trees and vegetation begin to grow.  When the waters reached the Dead Sea, its waters were healed.⁸ Whatever the river touches, life is given and healing takes place. The river that flows from Latter-day temples has this same impact on us.  “The temple’s flowing water will heal and give life to our marriages.  It will give life to and heal our families.  The Church will flourish and become strong and vital as will our individual lives as we plant ourselves near its banks and draw its moisture into our souls.”⁹ Our ability to succeed in everything we do will increase because we partake of the water that flows from the temple.

Isaiah tells us that the temple is “…a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain.”¹⁰ Think of a very hot summer day with the sun beating down upon you and you can find no place for shade.  Now imagine our Heavenly Father saying, come into my house, sit down, drink from my fountain and learn of me and when you are cooled and rested, you will be able to face the heat of the world again with greater confidence.

The temple is a place of refuge.  Think of the wars and unrest in the world and in our families and then imagine our Heavenly Father saying to you, come into my house, there are no battles being fought here, there are no enemies inside my house.  Please come in and rest; feast from my table and when you are ready, you can return to the world with more confidence in fighting the battles in your life. 

The temple is also a covert from the storms.  Think about a massive rain storm that could bring disaster and then imagine our Father in Heaven saying, come into my house and out of the rain.  Dry yourself off, sit down, drink from my cup, and listen and when you are ready you will be able to face the storms in your life with greater confidence and knowledge.¹¹

The temple is a place where we can feast at the table of our Savior.  It is a place where we can go and leave the world behind and receive teachings on how to face our challenges in life.  It is the place where we can receive personal revelation relative to our callings as parents, home and visiting teachers, leaders and every other calling we may have.  The temple is a place where the Lord says, “…my presence shall be there, for I will come into it, and all the pure in heart that shall come into it shall see God.”¹²

The Lord’s work is to bring His children home to live with Him.  We are all called to do this same work— to help those for whom we have stewardship and ourselves obtain eternal life.

We know that the Lord visits His temples where He teaches us what we need to know in order to continue His work here on the earth.  This is His church.  It is His work we are engaged in and He has given us temples to help us succeed in His work— “To bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.”¹³■

Notes:

1. Moses 1:39.
2. Preparing to Enter the Holy Temple (Pamphlet), 31.
3. Preparing to Enter the Holy Temple, 10.
4. Ezekiel 47.
5. See S. Michael Wilcox, House of Glory, Deseret Book Company, SLC, 1995, 40-43.
6. D&C 97: 13-14.
7. D&C 110:7.
8. Ezekiel 47:6-9.
9. See House of Glory, 41.
10. Isaiah 4:5-6.
11. See House of Glory, 58-59.
12. D&C 97:16.
13. Moses 1:39.