What are the blessings of the temple? (D&C 109-110)

109:7

How do we help each other develop faith? There are a bunch of ways but this verse suggests a primarily two: diligent learning and teaching. “And as all have not faith, seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom, seek learning even by study and also by faith.” This is how it has always been from the beginning.

Adam and Eve themselves were waiting for instruction from messengers from God. They wanted to learn. They wanted additional light and knowledge. In fact, you could argue that a big part of them partaking of the forbidden fruit was to learn. If you have someone seeking knowledge, there must be someone else who teaches. It was true in the beginning and it is true now.

They didn’t have books or neighbors so they relied on heavenly messengers. We are in a different situation. We have the writings of prophets over the course of millennia. We have living prophets, seers and revelators. There are many smart people who have written books that can teach us aspects of the gospel or the church that will help our faith. We should all be feeling the pull of learning. Obviously faith develops hand in hand with learning.

We should look for opportunities to teach each other. It may be that you’re called to be teachers in your ward. It may also be that you’re in a simple conversation with your teenager or spouse and a teaching moment appears. We should, when prompted, open our mouths and teach. There are many opportunities with friends and neighbors where a teaching moment happens - often, we talk ourselves out of saying anything. We should resist the temptation to remain silent and teach.

109:8, 12

“Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing, and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God.” I believe that this is talking about setting up the church. However, we could compare this to our own homes and even our own selves.

We should be building the foundation of our homes and ourselves on Christ. Our lives should be built on prayer, fasting, faith, learning, glory, order and God. How ordered are your homes and yourselves? How much gospel learning is happening? How earnest are our prayers and how purposeful is our fasting? These instructions for the church must also be applied to ourselves.

This is also true with verse 12. “That thy glory may rest down upon thy people, and upon this thy house, which we now dedicate to thee, that it may be sanctified and consecrated to be holy, and that thy holy presence may be continually in this house.” Temples are sanctified and consecrated but so can our souls. With temples, it is an event when a temple is dedicated. With ourselves, it is a process. Becoming sanctified and consecrated requires a lifetime of effort.

As we become more sanctified and consecrated, we will be worthy to have Christ’s holy presence with us. Not just the presence of the Holy Ghost - but we can become worthy to see Christ himself. Every one of us has that opportunity as a son or daughter of Christ. How about that!?

109:13

“And that all people who shall enter upon the threshold of the Lord’s house may feel thy power, and feel constrained to acknowledge that thou hast sanctified it, and that it is thy house, a place of thy holiness.” This is one of the blessings of the temple. If we go, we can not deny that God’s presence is there. We will be “constrained to acknowledge” that this is God’s house and that the church that built and operates that temple is true.

If we have attended the temple and have felt God’s Spirit and presence there, we are less likely to turn our back on the church because how can it be possible that a false church can build a House of God? Once we acknowledge that a temple is a sanctified and consecrated place of worship dedicated by those who have authority, it’s much harder to turn our backs on that same organization.

109:14

This verse is similar to one earlier but I want to talk about something different. “And do thou grant, Holy Father, that all those who shall worship in this house may be taught words of wisdom out of the best books, and that they may seek learning even by study, and also by faith, as thou hast said.” It is not enough to simply visit the temple. It is not enough to visit the temple frequently. Joseph is saying that those who worship at the temple should be taught “wisdom out of the best books.” We should be learning about the temple, the endowment, initiatory, sealing and work for the dead. We should familiarize ourselves with all of the blessings that are sealed upon us in the sealing ordinance. We should learn more about each of the five covenants that we make in the endowment. We should learn more about temples - modern and ancient to understand the importance of signs and tokens. As we learn more about what happens in the temple, we will appreciate what happens and be much more likely to visit and stay wide awake when we participate. :)

109:22-23

“And we ask thee, Holy Father, that thy servants may go forth from this house armed with thy power, and that thy name may be upon them, and thy glory be round about them, and thine angels have charge over them; And from this place they may bear exceedingly great and glorious tidings, in truth, unto the ends of the earth, that they may know that this is thy work, and that thou hast put forth thy hand, to fulfil that which thou hast spoken by the mouths of the prophets, concerning the last days.” What are the blessings of the temple?

• Armed with the Lord’s power.

• Christ’s name will be upon us.

• God’s glory would be round about them.

• Angels will have charge over us.

Those are some great blessings! Marci and I have felt that way when exiting the doors of the temple. We feel additional spiritual armor as we have been reminded about what is important and we have a renewed perspective on the purpose of life. We feel even more connected to Christ as we’ve learned about the promised blessings that are only possible because he volunteered to be our Savior and succeeded in his mission. We feel a degree lighter and brighter. If you took a picture of us before and then after, there may likely be a perceptible difference. I suppose that there has been some angels around us as we have done work for those in the spirit world. Again, these are some great blessings connected to a simple temple visit. Well worth it!

Do we have responsibilities that are associated with these received blessings? Yes. We are asked to “bear exceedingly great and glorious tidings, in truth, unto the ends of the earth.” The blessings we receive from the temple are not meant to kept inside of us. We are asked to share what we have received. We are not meant to be quiet disciples. True disciples of Jesus Christ are not meant to focused inward. We’re asked to share the light of the gospel with others.

I have to admit, I am more likely to share the message of the gospel on the way home from the temple. The next day it may fade a little. Marci and I attend regularly because we need it. We need the spiritual boost regularly. Technically, we dedicate more time each week to attending the temple than we do going to our regular church meetings. There is a negative effect if we miss visiting the temple. We notice it.

109:26

“That no combination of wickedness shall have power to rise up and prevail over thy people upon whom thy name shall be put in this house.” There are many, many different combinations of wickedness in this world. You could say there are infinite combinations of wickedness. Some of those combinations are perfectly designed to tempt you.

Does this mean that wicked people will never take advantage of us? Does this mean that nothing bad will happen? Does this mean that we will not fail? Of course not. Ironically, the members of the church were forced to flee Ohio a mere 21 months after this dedicatory prayer. But, if we consider the big picture, the enemies of the church in Ohio were not able to prevail. The church grew regardless of whatever opposition they were able to muster.

And, if every one of those church members, were murdered where they stood the day after this prayer - none of that would matter in eternity. Joseph Smith was murdered  eight years after this prayer. Considering that, no one would say that his enemies prevailed over him and his work. Joseph Smith was successful and sits with God in heaven.

109:33, 44

“Break it off, O Lord; break it off from the necks of thy servants, by thy power, that we may rise up in the midst of this generation and do thy work.” Joseph Smith was asking for deliverance from those who were opposing him and the church. It was a righteous request. It makes sense that the Lord would pave the way for Joseph and the rest of the church to “rise up in the midst of this generation and do thy work.”

The opposition didn’t disappear. The yoke was not broken off of their necks. It didn’t work out in the short term for Joseph. The persecution would continue to the point that he would lose his life. It could be very frustrating! Joseph said, “O Lord, how long wilt thou suffer this people to bear this affliction, and the cries of their innocent ones to ascend up in thine ears, and their blood come up in testimony before thee, and not make a display of thy testimony in their behalf?” Clearly Joseph literally questioned how long they would be made to suffer.

It is an example for all of us about what we can expect. How many of us have prayed for a burden to be lessened? We all ask for trials to be removed. Some of us may get frustrated that obstacles get placed in our paths that make living more difficult. It may even be that trials make living the gospel more challenging. We shouldn’t misunderstand opposition. We are strengthened and proven through opposition. We should not equate a smooth path with righteousness. We also shouldn’t equate trials and tribulations with wickedness.

Our life may not go as we want or expect. It may not seem fair. We may beg for a resolution because we believe that we could do more work for the Lord if a particular obstacle would be removed - and the obstacle will remain. For example, Marci and I are wanting to serve some back-to-back missions. The main obstacle to that is the selling of our house. We’ve had our house on the market for over a year and yet no results. We could think that it is not right that the house doesn’t sell - why wouldn’t the Lord want us serving full-time? We are ready to “rise up in the midst of this generation and do thy work.”

It may be that this house doesn’t sell and we’re not able to go on a mission anytime soon. That doesn’t mean that the Lord isn’t hearing us or doesn’t care about us. It is simply part of life and we must keep the faith and continue on the path that the Lord has in store for us. It may be not what we want but the Lord sees all and knows all and we should trust in him.

As Joseph said, “But thy word must be fulfilled. Help thy servants to say, with thy grace assisting them: Thy will be done, O Lord, and not ours.” If we’re able to go on multiple missions, that’s the Lord’s will. If we’re not, that’s also be the Lord’s will. We are committed to following the Lord’s will - come what may.

109:56

“That their hearts may be softened when thy servants shall go out from thy house, O Jehovah, to bear testimony of thy name; that their prejudices may give way before the truth, and thy people may obtain favor in the sight of all.” This is one of the most difficult thing to happen in our world. It is nearly impossible for people to let go of their prejudices and accept the truth.

I’ve had many conversations with the intent of influencing someone. If they have a strong prejudice against the church, it is as if they cannot hear the words that I am saying. Their prejudices prevent them from actually hearing what is being said. It is an interesting and frustrating phenomenon. It is no wonder that Joseph Smith was praying for the miracle of people’s “prejudices giving way before the truth.”

109:73

“That thy church may come forth out of the wilderness of darkness, and shine forth fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners.” This verse mirrors a verse from Song of Solomon. The moon and sun comparison is about how the moon reflects light and the sun is the source of truth. The church, with its redeemed people, will reflect Christ’s light and radiate His truth.

The “army with banners” is about unique. The church members should be standing united and powerful in their righteousness. As we were watching conference today, I looked at the large audience. It struck me how that group could be considered a formidable force. If they wicked forces of the world want to fight the members of this church, they would be disappointed. We are a very organized group - difficult to destroy. Our unity and our strength would be considered very “terrible” by any opposing force.

110

Section 110 is a relatively short section but contains an account of one of the greatest events to happen before or since. There were four visitors:

1. Jehovah came to tell them that he lives, he was slain and he was our advocate with the father. He tells them that their sins are forgiven and he has accepted this temple.

2. “Moses appeared before us, and committed unto us the keys of the gathering of Israel from the four parts of the earth, and the leading of the ten tribes from the land of the north.”

3. “Elias appeared, and committed the dispensation of the gospel of Abraham, saying that in us and our seed all generations after us should be blessed.”

4. “Elijah the prophet, who was taken to heaven without tasting death, stood before us, and said: Behold, the time has fully come, which was spoken of by the mouth of Malachi—testifying that he [Elijah] should be sent, before the great and dreadful day of the Lord come— To turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers, lest the whole earth be smitten with a curse. Therefore, the keys of this dispensation are committed into your hands; and by this ye may know that the great and dreadful day of the Lord is near, even at the doors.”

There is some discussion about who Elias really is. Is he a prophet that lived at the time of Abraham. Or, is it Abraham himself. The point is that he’s delivering the covenant blessings of the Abrahamic Covenant. Which promises exaltation and eternal life living with God. The scriptures mention keys with Moses and with Elijah but Elias does not mention keys. Bruce R. McConkie said, “When Elias appeared and committed the dispensation of the gospel of Abraham, he conferred upon Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery the keys of the Abrahamic covenant… the power and commission to bring to pass the celestial marriage and eternal increase promised to Abraham.”

These visions and heavenly messengers were truly amazing but follows a pattern that God doesn’t send heavenly messengers to do something that we could do on our own. Joseph could not magically produce those keys within himself. They had to be given by one who has authority. This demonstrates how the Lord’s church is a house of order.

This was, I’m sure, a life changing event for Joseph and Oliver. But, I think the most meaningful part was what the Lord said. He said, “Behold, your sins are forgiven you; you are clean before me; therefore, lift up your heads and rejoice.” Wouldn’t that be amazing to hear directly from the Lord? I know that, through repentance, my sins are forgiven. But, it would be good to hear it from the man himself.