The Value and Importance of the Temple

In Haggai, we read a lot about the importance of the temple.  Haggai, the prophet, called for the children of Israel to build a temple.  They had delayed it until that point and there were consequences for that.  Haggai 1:5 says, "he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes."  I thought this was a great visual.  The money they earn soon disappears.  They will try as hard as they can to feed and clothe their families but there will never be enough unless they set priority in building the temple.

In verse 12 of chapter 1 we read that the people heeded Haggai's counsel and set to work building the temple.  What a great example they are.  It can be hard placing the temple at the center of our priorities at times.  There is so much we have to do to take care of ourselves and our families every day.  But I have seen the blessings of making the temple a priority.  I try to make it to the temple on a monthly basis and the Spirit is so much more a part of my life as I do this.  The covenants I make in the temple impact me and my family into the eternities.  The work that goes on in the temple is what the Gospel is all about.

"Saviors on Mount Zion"

Read Obadiah 1:17, 21; Doctrine and Covenants 128:5, 15; institute student manual Points to Ponder, “Saviors on Mount Zion” (pg. 259); Bible Dictionary, “Obadiah” (pg. 739). Explain in a paragraph or two what is taught in these references. In what ways does the temple deliver the faithful? How does the temple represent holiness?

All of these references are talking about doing saving ordinances for the dead. In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints we believe that God wants all of His children to return to His presence in the next life.  The Unfortunate things is that a lot of people do not have the chance to accept His Gospel in this life.  They were not able to partake in the saving ordinances that will make it possible for them to return to Him; saving ordinances like baptism, endowment, and being sealed in families.  The loving Father in Heaven I know would not allow them to die in their sins without a chance to return to Him.

The main purpose of temples on the earth today is to do those saving ordinances for those that have passed on.  Members of the Church that have been found worthy to enter the temple are baptized, endowed, and sealed in the name of those that have passed on.  By doing this we are linked together as God's children and we come closer to Him.

I think I can adequately express how much I love the temple.  When I am there I feel God all around me.  I feel at peace; the worries of the worries are left behind at the door.  It is the most sacred and happiest place I have ever been.

Daniel

I loved reading the story of Daniel and the lion's den.  I don't think I have ever actually read it before.  It can be found in Daniel 6.

Daniel was favored of the Lord and King Darius because he had the Spirit with him (verse 3).  King Darius loved this about Daniel so much that he intended to put Daniel over all the other princes and presidents, which made the princes and presidents jealous.  They had King Darius sign a decree that any found worshiping God would be put into the lion's den (7-9).

Daniel did not follow this decree.  He continued to pray in his home with the windows open for all to see 3 times a day (10).  When the princes and presidents saw this they reported him to King Darius.  Darius did not want to throw Daniel in the lion's den but the decree was written in a way that it could not be changed (12).  There was nothing Darius could do so he had to put Daniel in the lion's den.

At this point, King Darius shows great faith.  He reminded Daniel that his God would save him (16) and then he went home and he prayed and fasted ALL night (18).  And Darius turned out to be very right.  Daniel was saved and the princes and presidents were thrown into the lion's den along with their families (24, pretty gruesome verse).

King Darius then sends out a decree to the people.  In this decree, he describes God to be living, steadfast, and a miracle worker (26-27).

I love this story.  It is so encouraging to me.  I may never face death as a result of living my religion but there are times when I will receive persecution.  I know that as I faithfully live the Gospel, the Lord will protect me.  I will receive blessings for following His commandments.

Scattered Israel

In Jeremiah we read a lot about the "scattering of Israel" because of their wickedness.  They would not follow the Lord.  They worshiped false idols and would not follow the commandments.  There is a lot of time spent on how Israel will be punished for their sins, which is being taken captive by other nations, or "scattering" them.  But there is also some promises by the Lord that they will be gathered together again and no other nation will rule over them.  They will be saved from their captivity and find rest (46:27).  He will punish the kings of those that have ruled over them (50:17-18).  The Lord will not leave them in the state they are.  He will rescue them and help them find rest.

In Doctrine and Covenants 110:11 we read that Moses gave Joseph Smith the keys for the gathering of Israel.  And we see that going on today.  Missionaries have been sent all over the world to preach the Gospel to all who will hear, gathering Israel by preaching and baptizing.  The descendents of Israel are being taught the Gospel and being gathered into the fold.  They are finding peace and happiness in the Gospel.

Jeremiah

Jeremiah was a prophet that lived in Jerusalem around 600 BC.  He spent his time crying repentance unto the people.  If they did not repent, Jerusalem was going to be destroyed.

The condition in Judah at the time were horrible.  Wickedness was running rampant: adultery, corrupt priests, worshiping idols, and any other thing you could imagine.  According to Jeremiah 7:21-28, they would not obey the Lord and follow His commandments, they forsook the prophets, they followed their evil imaginations, and they would not listen to the Lord.  The worst part of it all was that the people liked it that way.  They were so ingrained in sin that Jeremiah compared their repentance to a leopard trying to lose his spots.  Not that they were beyond forgiveness, but that they simply would not seek it.

Jeremiah preaching to Judah has a great connection to the Book of Mormon.  Right in the very first chapter of 1 Nephi we learn that Nephi and his family lived in Jerusalem.  Lehi, his father had lived there his whole life.  In verse 4 it talks about prophets that had been called to preach repentance because if they would not then Jerusalem would be destroyed.  This is also happening around 600 BC.  One of the prophets mentioned in 1 Nephi is Jeremiah!  Pretty cool to make a connection in the Bible to get an idea of where the Book of Mormon starts.

"For My Thoughts Are Not Your Thoughts"

Isaiah 55 is a great chapter.  In this chapter we learn that our thoughts are not the Lord's thoughts.  His ways are higher than our ways.  This is such a comforting thought to me.  To me this means that I have someone to turn to to help me make decisions and to find out what is best for me and my family.  I do not see the whole picture, but the Lord does and He will direct me.  I will never be disappointed by relying on the Lord.

So how can we turn our ways into the Lord's ways?  We can do this by following His commandments.  We find out what the Lord's ways are through revelation.  All the things that have been revealed by the scriptures and the prophets are the things that the Lord would have us do to draw closer to Him.  We can also seek personal revelation by seeking out answers to our questions and praying to receive answers.  When we do what the Lord would have us do, we draw closer to Him and our ways eventually become His ways.

One example I can think of in which the Lord's way is clearly higher than man's way is waiting to have intimate relations with our significant other until after marriage.  Man's way, or the world's way, would be to have sex whenever and with whomever feels good at the time.  However, more often than not this only brings heartache.  It also casts aside the sacredness of procreation as the world focuses on the pleasure aspect and see pregnancy as an inconvenience.  It also increases the chance of pregnancy in an unideal situation.  The Lord's way, sex after marriage, causes a lot less heartache and the circumstance of children being brought into a loving home.  It really is higher than the ways of the world.

Isaiah and Jesus Christ

Isaiah talks about Christ a lot.  In the following scriptures we find out a lot about Christ:

• Isaiah 40:10–31
• Isaiah 41:1–4, 10–14
• Isaiah 42:9–16
• Isaiah 43:1–7, 10–15, 22–25
• Isaiah 44:6–8; 21–24
• Isaiah 45: 20–25
• Isaiah 46:3–9

1. God- Jesus Christ is the God of the Old Testament.  In the LDS faith we believe in the Godhead.  We believe that God our Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ our Redeemer, and the Holy Ghost are three separate beings.  We know God and Jesus Christ have separate bodies of flesh and blood and that the Holy Ghost is a separate spirit.  There are a lot of times in these scriptures where Christ says that He is God and there is none other.  This may seem to contradict the Godhead theory.  We know that all three entities of the Godhead are one in purpose.  This would explain why it says that in these scriptures and the other places where it says that God and Christ are one.

2. Redeemer- Jesus Christ is our Redeemer.  Christ had not been born at the time of Isaiah so Isaiah prophesies about the future coming of the Lord and the Atonement.  Christ suffered and died for us.  He suffered all of our pains, sicknesses, sadness, etc. while He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane.  He later died on the cross.  He did all of this so that He could pay the price for our sins that we would never be able to pay.  He also did it so that we had someone to turn to who truly knew the struggles we were going through.  Christ redeemed us all.

3. Creator- Christ created the earth.  He did the physical work of creating all that we know and love about the earth that we live on.  He created the sun and moon, the mountains and waters, land and animals.  He created us to be dominion over the earth.  He created us in the likeness of God because we have the potential to be like Him.

These are the 3 main names the Lord is called by.  Of course, there are many others throughout the scriptures.  He is our Savior.  He died for us.  He knows us and He loves us.

Isaiah

I really like chapter 6 of Isaiah.  I think we can all relate to this chapter in some way.  At the beginning of the chapter, Isaiah feels unworthy to be standing in the midst of the angels and the Lord.  He really felt the weight of his sins and feels unnerved by it (Isaiah 6:5).  But it wasn't long before those feelings were changed.  An angel came down up Isaiah and placed a live coal upon his mouth (pictured above) and all of his sins were forgiven (6:6-7).  After Isaiah knew his sins were forgiven he had more confidence in standing before the Lord.  This can be concluded when the Lord asks who he can send to teach the people and Isaiah volunteers to do the work (6:8).

There is another example of this found in the Book of Mormon.  Alma the Younger spent a lot of time bringing people away from the Church.  It got to the point where he was struck dumb by an angel to stop him.  During this time, Alma remembered all of his sins and he was tormented by them (Alma 36:12-14).  He could not stand the thought of going before the Lord (36:15).  But he found hope.  He remembered what his father had taught him about the Atonement of Jesus Christ and he asked forgiveness of the Lord (36:17-18).  And the torment was washed away (36:19).  He was filled with joy and longed to be in the presence of God (36:20-22).

Most of the time I feel as though I am not worthy to stand before God.  I am often critical of others and do not treat them the way I should.  I am often complacent and do not do all that I should.  I get angered and lash out at my husband and kids.  I could go on for days.  All of these things make me feel as though I could never be able to look my God in the eye.  But those are the times that I call upon the power of the Atonement and feel clean again.  I feel the love that God has for me and I feel the strength to do a little better in helping others feel that love.  The Atonement is real.  God knows and loves us and wants us to use the power of the Atonement to make it back to Him.

Ecclesiastes

The book of Ecclesiastes consists of "reflections on some of the deepest problems of life, as they present themselves to the thoughtful observer."
The author describes himself as "son of David, king of Jerusalem."
Ecclesiastes is written from the point of view of the world.
Ecclesiastes should not be construed as "theological pronouncements on the condition of the soul."
(All from the Bible Dictionary under Ecclesiastes.)

The author of Ecclesiastes turned to many different things to find happiness: alcohol (2:3), he built houses (2:4), gardens (2:5), money (2:8), pleasure (2:1), etc.  None of these worldly things brought him happiness.

In Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 we read that there is a time and a season for all things.  As humans, we can only learn so many things at one time.  It has to come line upon line, precept upon precept.  We cannot try to achieve all things all at once.  If we push ourselves faster than we are able, we will burn out and fail.  If someone is pushed to accept the Gospel before they are ready, it could put a bad taste in their mouth and turn them off the Church for the rest of their lives.  We must do the best we can right now so we can grow.

In 4:9-12 it talks about how two is better than one.  They can help each other and lift one another when the other one falls.  I am better married than I am alone.  It is important for me to strengthen my marriage and watch out for my husband as he watches out for me.  I will be better at putting his needs before mine, taking care of him, and lifting him when he is down.  5:1 talks about being more ready to hear.  I need to be better at listening to the guidance the Spirit gives me to do God's will.  I will be better at finding ways to apply the scriptures to my life so I will be more in tune with the Spirit.

12:7, 13-14

From verse 7, we learn that when we die our spirits return to the presence of God.  The "whole duty of man" is to fear God (in this case, to reverence Him) and to keep His commandments.

Esther

I love the story of Esther!  My husband and I love it so much that we named our daughter Hadassah (Esther 2:7) after her.  Esther is the story of great courage.  And not just by Esther but others as well.  I am going to talk about a few of those courageous people in this post.

Vashti

We don't always talk about Vashti.  She is only mentioned in the first chapter, but she leaves a last impact in that chapter.  The king had a feast of all the princes and Vashti, the queen, had her own feast as well (Esther 1:9).  The king had her beckoned to appear before him (1:10-11) but Vashti refused (1:12).  Out of fear that the women of the land would follow her example, a law was written that the men of the land would rule over their houses and Vashti was dethroned (1:18-22).  The scriptures do not tell us the reason Vashti refused the king but she must have known that she was risking her life to do it.  This shows great courage.

Mordecai

Mordecai also shows great courage in this story.  He actually set the destruction of the Jews in motion through his act of courage.  Mordecai refused to bow before Haman, first prince in the king's court (3:1-2).  We have already established what can happen to those that disobey the king so Mordecai refused to bow before Haman at the risk of his own life.  Because of this act, Haman asked the king to set out a decree to kill all the Jews (3:6-15).  He then asks Esther to risk her own life and go before the king to try and save the Jews (4).

Esther

I just love Esther.  She was asked to do a hard thing from the beginning.  When she was taken into the palace to be presented before the king she had to keep her identity as a Jew secret (2:10).  That in and of itself can be a very hard thing to do.  In chapter 4 she was asked to do the hardest thing of all.  Mordecai asked her to go before the king without being called.  The punishment for that is death.  But she very bravely said she would do it to save her people.

I have learned so much from the book of Esther over the years.  All of these people did very hard things even though their lives were on the line.  They did what was right, no matter the cost.  I strive to have the faith and courage Esther did every time I receive a prompting from the Spirit to do something.  It is not always easy.  But it will always be worth it.

Elijah and Elisha

Elijah was translated at the end of his ministry.  The scriptures say, "Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven" (2 Kings 2:11).  I did some research in 3 Nephi 28 in the Book of Mormon and in the study guide for the Old Testament on what exactly "translation" means.  Simply put, translation means to not taste of death.  To it in common worldly terms it would mean to become immortal.  But not in the sense that we become immortal at the Resurrection.  Translated beings still go through a resurrection of sorts (it is different because they never die).  Because it is not the same as resurrection, being taken up into heaven does not mean that Elijah was taken up into the Celestial glory.  This will happen after the Resurrection, as with all of us.

I think the purpose for translated beings is to further the work of the Lord.  In 3 Nephi 28, 3 apostles ask to be able to remain on earth indefinitely so that they can do His work.  The Lord grants them their wish because they asked with sincere heart and good intentions.  In their case, they remained on the earth to serve and do good.  Elijah was taken up into heaven but we do know he comes to earth to restore the sealing power.

Elisha was to succeed Elijah the prophet after he was translated.  Lord called him through Elijah the prophet (1 Kings 19: 16-21).  Just before his translation, Elijah asked Elisha what his desire was.  Elisha answered that his one desire was to given a double portion of Elijah's spirit (2 Kings 2:9).  Elijah replied that if Elisha saw his translation that he would be given his desire (2 Kings 2:10).  Elisha did witness Elijah being taken up into heaven (2 Kings 2:12).  In verse 15 of 2 Kings 2, we find that Elisha's desire was granted unto him.  When the sons of the prophets that he had met with earlier saw Elisha, they saw that the spirit of Elijah did rest upon him.

Elijah

Elijah lived around the time of 914 BC.  Jehoshaphat was the king of Judah at the time.  He was such a faithful prophet of the Lord that he was translated, or taken up to heaven without tasting death.  He was given the priesthood keys for the sealing power and then restored that priesthood to the earth in our day.

Another prophet that was granted the sealing was Nephi, son of Helaman, in the Book of Mormon (Helaman 10: 4-10).  There are a lot of similarities between this passage and 1 Kings 17 about Elijah.  God promised Nephi that whatever Nephi would say would be done would be done.  This is because of the "unwearyingness" Nephi showed in keeping the commandments.  To me, this shows that Nephi had great faith in God.  The woman in the story of Elijah also showed great faith.  She has enough food for a tiny little meal for her and her son.  Elijah asked her to feed him.  Although she knew she did not have enough she did it anyways.  For her faith she was given enough feed for all three of them to live off of for a few weeks.  And when her son had dies, Elijah used the power of the priesthood to bring him back to life.

My life has been directly affected by Elijah the prophet.  As I mentioned earlier, he restored the sealing power to this.  For those not familiar with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and the work we do in the temple, this is the power to seal families together for all eternity and to do all saving ordinances for the living and dead.  I have partaken of these saving ordinances.  I have been baptized, received my endowments, and have been sealed to my husband for all eternity.  My life would be completely different if it were not for these ordinances.  I would not put as much focus on my family.  I probably would not even be married with kids at this time in my life.  I would not have the blessings that come from knowing my husband and children.  I would not have pure joy in my life.  For that is what these ordinances have brought into my life, pure joy.