The Temple

This last weekend I had an amazing opportunity! I got to go through the temple for the first time. Now I didn't write this post right after this amazing event because I really wanted to gather my thoughts and contemplate the beautiful experience I had before I wrote it down for the whole world to read. 

First of all, for those who don't know anything about temples, I am going to give a quick overview! :) 

First, have you ever seen a temple? A temple is a lovely white building usually with a spire and a golden angel sitting atop that spire with a trumpet. The Seattle temple (the one I went through this weekend) looks like this:

But you may be more familiar with the Salt Lake Temple which looks like this:

Temples are buildings constructed and dedicated to the Lord. It's a sacred place where we go to learn, make sacred covenants (or promises) with God and draw closer to our Savior. On lds.org it says: "In the Temple we are taught, we make covenants and we are promised blessings. We receive ordinances that enable us to live in the presence of God" If you look through the Bible and at the history of the world, God has always instructed his children to build up temples to him (2 Chronicles 5:1-14, Ezra 3:1-13) and it's not any different today. 

Of course, in order to enter the temple you have to be worthy and living your life in accordance with God's law and you have to be prepared spiritually. You must make certain covenants before you enter the temple (such as repenting and being baptized by the proper authority) because God is a God of order. You cannot make the serious covenants in the temple if you have not made or kept your baptismal covenants. 

So really anyone can enter the temple and Heavenly Father wants everyone to go through the temple, they just have to be willing to keep his commandments, live his gospel and keep their baptismal covenants. :) 

If you want any more information, you can go to to lds.org and read up on it a bit. 

Now I want to talk about my experience going through the temple: 

Here is Me with my Lovely Parents right before we went in! 

I was not quite sure what to expect because the covenants that are made inside the temple are so sacred that we do not discuss them outside of the temple. I was told beforehand that the experience would be overwhelming and there would be a lot that I wouldn't understand but that it was important to focus on the spirit and how I felt. 

I was overwhelmed and I didn't understand a lot, but that's the beauty of the temple: you get to keep going back!

These are my thoughts after mulling the whole experience over in my head for a few days:

1. There is an undeniable peace in the temple, you can really tell it is the house of the Lord
2. Christ is at the center of everything you learn and do in the temple. As our redeemer and Savior, He is the focus of all the promises we make. 
3. Our Heavenly Father loves us and wants so badly for us to return to Him
4. I felt Love. I felt Love for those around me and I felt Loved by those around me, especially my parents. At the end of the session, I walked into the room and my Mom was waiting for me with outstretched arms. I walked into her arms and felt encircled by her Love. It made me realize that the connection of families is really an eternal thing! I am sealed to my family forever and they are sealed to me forever and no matter what happens in this life, we will always be together. Death may separate us for a time but I feel confident that when we leave this life our family will be waiting for us, just as my mom was waiting for me, with outstretched arms.
5. I need to go back! Like I said, there is so much I don't understand and probably won't understand for some time but I need to go back and try and learn all that I can! 
6. If we are righteous, we are blessed! God loves us and is ready and willing to bless us! The temple is a blessing he wants all of His children to receive. This is why missionary work is so important, so that we might bring others to know of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and eventually enter the temple and make those same sacred covenants! 

I am grateful for all that I have been given! I am grateful for the opportunity to go through the temple. When I was finished with the session, one of the temple workers told me that my mission was for 18 months but that the promises I made would last an eternity! This is true! 

~Keep Smiling!~ :)