19 October 2008

The Mountain of the Lord's House - An LDS Perspective on Temples, part 3

Being holy also requires us to be clean. The prophet Ezekiel spoke of the cleansing that comes in the temple and through temple service: "Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them" (Ezekiel 36: 25-27). The Lord promised a new heart, a heart softened by the Spirit, to those who receive saving ordinances and keep His statutes. This new heart allows us to be better people: better saints, better citizens, better mothers, fathers, and friends. It is a new heart that beats warmly within our chests, filling us with love and charity for our friends, neighbors, and the entire world. The temple is a place where we learn to live as better people in this world while striving to remain spotless from the sins of the world; Elder Maxwell stated, "Temple work is not an escape from the world but a reinforcing of our need to better the world while preparing ourselves for another and far better world. Thus, being in the Lord's house can help us to be different from the world in order to make more difference in the world" (N.A.M. Quote Book, p. 339). Inner change is not enough, we need to take that change and seek to bless others.

The Savior likened the gospel and the kingdom of heaven unto a pearl of great price, which a man sold all that he had in order to purchase (see Matt. 13: 45-46). The kingdom of heaven is something for which we need to be willing to give up everything. Hopefully, none of us view the gospel as a pearl of great pride instead of a pearl of great price. A pearl of great pride is something we hide away and don't share; we may have worked hard to obtain it and we want the world to know that. A pearl of great price is something that we give our all for and then share it with others so they too can experience the beauty and blessings of that pearl. That's what Elder Maxwell said about the temple - it's not a place that removes us from the world; it's a place that moves us to improve the world. The temple is not an exclusive club that keeps out the rabble (it's not a pearl of pride), it's an education center that gives us the opportunity to, as the BYU motto states, "Enter to learn, [and] go forth to serve;" the temple is a pearl of great price - something we should be willing to give our all for; it’s not just a one-time purchase but something that requires our whole lives. The price - the responsibility - of the temple is a life of willing sacrifice and service and of obedience and repentance.

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