You don’t know what you’ve got ‘till it’s gone. That was certainly true when 2020 hit and the unthinkable happened and all our temples closed. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that possible. Once we COULDN’T go inside, I yearned for the experience so much.
In Jerusalem there is a sea they call the Dead Sea. It is called the Dead Sea because the salt content is so high that no fish or plants can live in it. Ezekiel had a vision in which he saw water flowing out of the temple. The farther he walked in the water away from the temple, the deeper the water got. The water flowed through the desert and into the Dead Sea. As the river ran, it gave life to the desert and healed the waters of the Dead Sea allowing fish and vegetation to grow.
What Ezekiel saw is not only a prophecy about future occurrences, but it also teaches us that there is healing that comes from the temple. I have felt that healing. Whenever I go to the temple, I feel almost a literal lifting of life’s burdens from my shoulders. My mind seems to clear from the worries of the world and my heart feels lighter. Even when my kids were little and I didn’t get to go very often, or maybe didn’t try as hard as I should have, I remember feeling like I was walking on clouds as I left the temple and wondering why I didn’t make the effort to go more often. It just felt like a reset. I left feeling renewed and ready to take on the world again with more clarity and power beyond my own.
November 10, 2020, my son Michael was able to receive his endowment of power in the Brigham City temple. The temples had been open for limited live ordinances and as Michael had received his mission call, we were privileged to accompany him that night. It is a night I will never forget. Michael and his chosen guests were the only ones in the whole temple. The workers were there for him. The lights and heater were on for him. It was such a sacred reminder that our Lord cares about each one of us individually. Since we hadn’t been able to attend the temple for most of that year, my appreciation was intensely felt as I sat in the endowment room with our family members. The Spirit was powerful. And emotionally I felt such a rush of healing for a year that had been immensely difficult.
The temple can bring such personal healing to our hearts as we attend and focus on serving the Lord and learning how to overcome the world. It can also be healing to families as we do the work to unite them beyond the veil. I don’t think we can possibly comprehend the healing, the power, and the understanding that comes from the temple. The work we do there to seal our own families and the families of others has power that our finite minds cannot even begin to understand.
Now that the temples are fully active again, my heart yearns to be inside it as regularly as I can. When I miss a week, I feel the absence in my life. I better understand what a blessing it is in my life and I try my best to take advantage of the opportunity to be there. I have so much faith in and gratitude for the blessings of the temple. I know that the covenants I have made there have empowered me and my family in ways I am not even aware of. As I have stood proxy and offered those opportunities to those who have passed on, I can feel how thin the veil between heaven and earth really is. It is a privilege to be in the temple. It is a privilege to be part of the fulfillment of Ezekiel’s vision. We get to wade through those healing rivers each time we make the effort to walk the halls of the temple. We are blessed and we are healed.
The Primary Manual for Come Follow Me is perfect for families with young children!
October Week 4 Lesson: October 24–30. Ezekiel 1–3; 33–34; 36–37; 47: “A New Spirit Will I Put within You” (churchofjesuschrist.org)
Click below to download these FREE coloring pages from Rising Moon Adventures that I created to go with this lesson:
Primary Insights for Come Follow Me videos –
(46) Rising Moon Adventures Scripture Story Time – YouTube
Song 1: The River by Jordan Feliz
Song 2: The River by Brian Doerksen
