THE TEMPLE ORDINANCES ARE SYMBOLIC
Before going to the temple for the first
time, or even after many times, it may help you to realize that the teaching in
the temples is done in symbolic fashion. If you will go to the temple and
remember that the teaching is symbolic, you will never go in the proper spirit
without coming away with your vision extended, feeling a little more exalted,
with your knowledge increased as to things that are spiritual.
The teaching plan is
superb. It is inspired. The Lord Himself, the Master Teacher, taught His disciples
constantly in parables—a verbal way to represent symbolically things that might
otherwise be difficult to understand.
In the temple we
receive an endowment, which is, literally speaking, a gift. In receiving this
gift, we should understand its significance and the importance of keeping
sacred covenants. Each temple ordinance “is not just a ritual to go through, it
is an act of solemn promising.”6
The temple endowment
was given by revelation. Thus, it is best understood by revelation, prayerfully
sought with a sincere heart.7 President
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, … and gain your
eternal exaltation.”8
Each temple is a house of learning. There we are
taught in the Master’s way. His way differs from modes of others. His way is
ancient and rich with symbolism. We can learn much by pondering the reality for
which each symbol stands. Teachings of the temple are beautifully simple and
simply beautiful. They are understood by the humble, yet they can excite the
intellect of the brightest minds.
Spiritual preparation is enhanced by study. I like to
recommend that members going to the temple for the first time read short
explanatory paragraphs in the Bible Dictionary, listed under seven topics:
“Anoint,” “Atonement,” “Christ,” “Covenant,” “Fall of Adam,” “Sacrifices,” and
“Temple.” Doing so will provide a firm foundation.
OVERVIEW OF THE TEMPLE ORDINANCES
The ordinances we perform in
the temples include washings, anointings, the endowment, and the sealing
ordinance—both the sealing of children to parents, and the sealing of couples,
spoken of generally as temple marriage.
Here is a
brief summary of the information that is available in print with reference to
the temple ordinances.
The ordinances
of washing and anointing are referred to often in the temple as initiatory
ordinances. It will be sufficient for our purposes to say only the following:
Associated with the endowment are washings and anointings—mostly symbolic in
nature, but promising definite, immediate blessings as well as future
blessings. Concerning these ordinances the Lord has said, “I say unto you, how
shall your washings be acceptable unto me, except ye perform them in a house
which you have built to my name?” (
D&C 124:37).
In connection
with these ordinances, in the temple you will be officially clothed in the
garment and promised marvelous blessings in connection with it. It is important
that you listen carefully as these ordinances are administered and that you try
to remember the blessings promised and the conditions upon which they will be
realized.
To endow is to
enrich, to give to another something long lasting and of much worth. In the
temple endowment ordinances, “recipients are endowed with power from on high,”
and “they receive an education relative to the Lord’s purposes and plans.”
2
President
Brigham Young (1801–77) said of the endowment: “Let me give you a definition in
brief. 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 enabled 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.”
3
UNDERSTANDING THE ENDOWMENT
Christ’s life is the story of
giving the Atonement. The life of Adam and Eve is the story of receiving the
Atonement. [We learn] through the
story of Adam and Eve about life’s purpose and how to return to God’s presence
through obedience and the Atonement.
John A. Widstoe: The
Temple endowment relates the story of
man's eternal journey; sets forth the conditions upon which progress in the
eternal journey depends; requires covenants or agreements of those
participating, to accept and use the laws of progress; gives tests by which our
willingness and fitness for righteousness may be known, and finally points out
the ultimate destiny of those who love truth and live by it (Priesthood and Church Government,
p.333).
The basis for every temple ordinance and covenant—the
heart of the plan of salvation—is the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
Elder James
E. Talmage, formerly of the Council of the Twelve, has given a clear
description of the endowment:
“The Temple
Endowment, as administered in modern temples, comprises instruction relating to
the significance and sequence of past dispensations, and the importance of the
present as the greatest and grandest era in human history.
This course
of instruction includes:
·
a
recital of the most prominent events of the creative period,
·
the
condition of our first parents in the Garden of Eden,
·
their
disobedience and consequent expulsion from that blissful abode,
·
their
condition in the lone and dreary world when doomed to live by labor and sweat,
·
the
plan of redemption by which the great transgression may be atoned,
·
the
period of the great apostasy,
·
the
restoration of the Gospel with all its ancient powers and privileges,
·
the
absolute and indispensable condition of personal purity and devotion to the
right in present life,
·
and
a strict compliance with Gospel requirements. …
“The
ordinances of the endowment embody certain obligations on the part of the
individual, such as:
·
covenant
and promise to observe the law of strict virtue and chastity,
·
to
be charitable, benevolent, tolerant and pure;
·
to
devote both talent and material means to the spread of truth and the uplifting
of the race;
·
to
maintain devotion to the cause of truth;
·
and
to seek in every way to contribute to the great preparation that the earth may
be made ready to receive her King,—the Lord Jesus Christ.
“With
the taking of each covenant and the assuming of each obligation a promised
blessing is pronounced, contingent upon the faithful observance of the
conditions.”
“No jot,
iota, or tittle of the temple rites is otherwise than uplifting and
sanctifying. In every detail the endowment ceremony contributes to covenants of
morality of life, consecration of person to high ideals, devotion to truth,
patriotism to nation, and allegiance to God.” (The House of the Lord, pp. 83–84.)
See Also:
UNDERSTANDING THE TEMPLE GARMENT
In a
letter dated 10 October 1988, the First Presidency wrote: “Practices frequently
observed among the members of the Church suggest that some members do not fully
understand the covenant they make in the temple to wear the garment in
accordance with the spirit of the holy endowment. “Church members who have been
clothed with the garment in the temple have made a covenant to wear it throughout
their lives. This has been interpreted to mean that it is worn as underclothing
both day and night. … The promise of protection and blessings is conditioned
upon worthiness and faithfulness in keeping the covenant. “The fundamental
principle ought to be to wear the garment and not to find occasions to remove
it. Thus, members should not remove either all or part of the garment to work
in the yard or to lounge around the home in swimwear or immodest clothing. Nor
should they remove it to participate in recreational activities that can
reasonably be done with the garment worn properly beneath regular clothing.
When the garment must be removed, such as for swimming, it should be restored
as soon as possible. “The principles of modesty and keeping the body
appropriately covered are implicit in the covenant and should govern the nature
of all clothing worn. Endowed members of the Church wear the garment as a
reminder of the sacred covenants they have made with the Lord and also as a
protection against temptation and evil. How it is worn is an outward expression
of an inward commitment to follow the Savior.”
THE OVERALL PURPOSE OF THE TEMPLE
We can also hear Him in the temple. The house of the Lord is a
house of learning. There the Lord teaches in His own way. There each ordinance
teaches about the Savior. There we learn how to part the veil and communicate
more clearly with heaven. There we learn how to rebuke the adversary and draw
upon the Lord’s priesthood power to strengthen us and those we love. How eager
each of us should be to seek refuge there.
Please schedule
regular time to worship and serve in the temple. Every minute of that time will
bless you and your family in ways nothing else can. Take time to ponder what
you hear and feel when you are there. Ask the Lord to teach you how to open the
heavens to bless your life and the lives of those you love and serve.
While worshipping in
the temple is presently not possible, I invite you to increase your
participation in family history, including family history research and
indexing. I promise that as you increase your time in temple and family history
work, you will increase and improve your ability to hear Him.
Russell
M. Nelson, “The
Atonement,” General
Conference, Oct. 1996
The Savior’s gift of
immortality comes to all who have ever lived.
But His gift of
eternal life requires repentance and obedience to
specific ordinances and covenants. Essential ordinances of the gospel symbolize
the
Atonement. Baptism by immersion is symbolic of the death, burial,
and Resurrection of the Redeemer. Partaking of the sacrament renews baptismal
covenants and also renews our memory of the Savior’s broken flesh and of the
blood He shed for us.
Ordinances of the
temple symbolize our reconciliation with the Lord and seal families together
forever. Obedience to the sacred covenants made in temples qualifies us for
eternal life—the greatest gift of God to man
40—the “object and end of our existence.”
41
The Creation required the Fall. The Fall required the
Atonement. The
Atonement
enabled the purpose of the Creation to be accomplished. Eternal life, made
possible by the
Atonement, is the supreme purpose of the Creation. To phrase that
statement in its negative form,
if
families were not sealed in holy temples, the whole earth would be utterly
wasted. 42
The purposes of the Creation, the
Fall, and the Atonement
all converge on the sacred work done in temples of The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints. The earth was created and the Church was restored
to make possible the sealing of wife to husband, children to parents, families
to progenitors, worlds without end.
This is the great latter-day work of which we are a part.
That is why we have missionaries; that is
why we have temples—to bring the fullest blessings of the Atonement to faithful
children of God. That is why we respond to our own calls from the Lord.
When we comprehend His voluntary
Atonement, any sense of sacrifice on
our part becomes completely overshadowed by a profound sense of gratitude for
the privilege of serving Him.
With each ordinance
is a covenant—a promise. A covenant made with God is not restrictive, but
protective. Such a concept is not new. For example, if our water supply is not
clean, we filter the water to screen out harmful ingredients. Divine covenants
help us to filter out of our minds impurities that could harm us. When we
choose to deny ourselves of all ungodliness, we lose nothing of value and gain
the glory of eternal life. Covenants do not hold us down; they elevate us
beyond the limits of our own power and perspective.
These temple
blessings include our washings and anointings that we may be clean before the
Lord. They include the … endowment of obligations and blessings that motivate
us to behavior compatible with the principles of the gospel. They include the sealing
ordinances by which that which is bound on earth is bound in heaven, providing
for the continuity of the family.
President Brigham Young - Opposition to Temple Work
We cannot … administer the further ordinances of God, in the fullest sense of the word, legally unto the people … until we have a temple built for that purpose (DBY, 394–95).
Some say, “I do not like to do it, for we never began to build a temple without the bells of hell beginning to ring.” I want to hear them ring again. We completed a temple in Kirtland and in Nauvoo; and did not the bells of hell toll all the time we were building them? They did, every week and every day (DBY, 410).
