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.