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President's Message: Coleen K. MenloveFall 2001 Open House |
| INTRODUCTION Think back to your first impressions of the temple. What is your earliest memory of a temple? It may be an experience you had with your family, with the missionaries, a neighbor, or seeing a temple in a city in which you lived or visited. As a parent and as a teacher of children, you have an opportunity to be part of a child's first feelings and understanding about the temple. You have an opportunity to help children prepare to receive the blessings of the temple. In June of this year, Church members gathered in the San Antonio, Texas area to hear President Gordon B. Hinckley speak. He told them he had come to the area to look at possible building sites for a new temple. He said, "All who would like to see (a temple) in San Antonio, smile." Then he asked those gathered to make a resolution to prepare themselves to enter the house of the Lord. He said, "Get yourselves ready" ("Get yourselves ready" Church News, Jun. 30, 2001, 3, 7). This coming year you have an oppourtunity to help each child "get themselves ready." INVITATION--COME TO THE TEMPLE The cover of the "2002 Outline for Sharing Time and the Children's Sacrament Meeting Presentation" reminds us that the temple played an important part in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. He went to the temple when He was 12 years of age. A child's years in Primary end on his or her 12th birthday, which is the year that he or she, if worthy, can enter the temple to do baptisms on behalf of those who live beyond the veil. The teachings they receive in Primary are essential for preparing them for that experience. A bishop shared this experience: A few months ago I interviewed a girl advancing from Primary. I asked her, "What would you like to do now that you are 12?" I expected her to say girl things, bur her answer was, "I want to go to the temple to do baptisms for the dead with my brother." This is now a standard part of my Primary advancement interview -- to let them know that this is a privilege that is theirs. As a bishop I say, when you are 12 you can go to the temple just like Jesus. President Gordon B. Hinckley has set long but swift strides--especially in the area of temple building. Do you know how many temples have been dedicated since he became the president? (Answer:59) Do you know how many of these President Hinckley dedicated? (Answer: 45) Do you know how many were dedicated in just the years 2000 and 2001? (Answer:38) President Hinckley reminds us:There never has been a time (of temple construction) like it. That shows what you can get done if you set an objective and work your head off. Through the efforts of many wonderful, hard-working and very diligent and faithful people, it has come to pass (Deseret News, Jun. 30, 2001,6). These temples are being prepared for us and for the children we teach to attend as they become of age and are worthy. These temples are where all of us can be linked to past generations and where future eternal families will be established through holy priesthood sealing ordinances. The physical temples are being prepared. We must now prepare ourselves and the children we teach to be spiritually ready. President Hinckley's words invite us to come to the temple and receive the promised blessings:These temples are there to be used, and those who use them will reap a blessing of harmony in their lives. They will draw nearer unto the Lord and He will draw nearer unto them (Video #VHS 53912: Doctrine and Covenants and Church History: Temples and Families, #8). The Primary's 2002 focus on temples will help us and children better understand the work of our prophet in building temples and blessing lives. Our prophet desires for all of us to have temples within our reach. We can help children get themselves ready as we help them learn of the temple, help them prepare to be worthy, and we can love the children by testifying of our love for the temple.HELP CHILDREN LEARN OF THE TEMPLE Teaching the basic principles of the gospel--faith, repentance, baptism, and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost--will help place a child on the path but these principles and ordinances are not the final destination. The ultimate destination with its ultimate joy is exaltatioon with our families in the highest degree of the celestial kingdom living in the presence of Heavenly Father and the Savior. President David O. McKay taught, I believe there are few...who comprehend the full meaning and power of the temple endowment. Seen for what it is, it is the step-by-step ascent into the Eternal Presence (of the Lord). If our young people could but glimpse it, it would be the most powerful spiritual motivation of their lives (Truman G. Madsen, "The Highest in Us," (1978),103). We can pray for enhanced understanding and ability as we study and ponder how to teach children about the temple. Understanding deepens reverence for and appreciation of the holy temple. We want more than just to have children prepared to go through the temple. We want the principles taught in the temple to run through their daily lives now and throughout eternity.TEACH THE PLAN OF SALVATION The scriptures teach us principles of the plan of salvation. The temple is a place where we learn in depth. We learn how the Lord taught Adam and Eve, the first parents. Although we cannot teach children all that is revealed in the temple about the plan of salvation, there is much that we can teach them. When you first learned of the sharing time theme for 2002, you may have thought that the temple seemed too complex a subject to teach young children. Let's look at some of the resources we have and what we are already doing in our homes and in Primary to help children understand the teachings, ordinances, and blessings of the temple. We have the Holy Ghost to guide us, the scriptures, and the teachings of a living prophet. Our understanding of the plan of salvation is so much greater because of latter-day revelation found in the book of Moses in the Pearl of Great Price and because of the temple ordinances. A member of the Church said: I think we are just so use to these latter-day revelations and the teachings of the temple that we don't realize that it provides us the picture on the box for a very complicated jigsaw puzzle. And with that picture on the box, we know where each pice goes (Family Expo 2001, "The Temple as a Template for Teaching our Children," John W. Welch, Apr. 3, 2001). We also have divinely inspired Church-produced resources to help us develop lessons. Some of these include the outline for sharing time with its monthly concepts, scriptures, songs, suggested activities, and glossary of terms. You will be amazed as you browse through the indexes of the "Friend" and "Ensign" magazines under the words "family" and "temple" to see the articles available. Resources such as: "Temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints"; "A Member's Guide to Temple and Family History Work"; "Endowed from on High"; and the booklet, "The Holy Temple" by Boyd K. Packer are readily available through Church distribution centers. We have much to help us learn and teach about the plan of salvation and the ordinances and blessings of the temple.Important concepts about the temple are already being taught each week from Primary lesson manuals. Even in nursery and Sunbeam classes, we teach children that God created the earth. Then He looked at the earth and all that was in and upon it, and pronounced it to be good. We encourage children to see that beauty and to be grateful for the Creation. Some of the lessons in the Primary one manual are entitled, "I Am Thankful for the Day and the Night." "I Am Thankful for Water." "I Am Thankful for Trees, Plants, and Flowers." Adam and Eve were told to tend the Garden and find joy in it. Children can be taught to have joy in the Creation and to care for and use the things of the earth wisely. Adam and Eve learned that they were children of Heavenly Father and that He loved them. They learned that they were created in His image and to be thankful for their bodies. In Primary we Teach children about the sacred nature and purpose of their bodies. Our children can learn, just as Adam and Eve, the importance of clothing to protect our sacred body. Children from a very early age learn they can call upon Heavenly Father through prayer, just as did Adam and Eve. As children grow older, they are exposed to more opposition. They need to recognize the temptations and deceptions of Satan. They can be taught to have the desire to make righteous choices. They will make mistakes. They will have opportunities to admit they have done something wrong and apply the steps of repentance. As they learn to take responsibility for their actions, they will be ready to make baptismal covenants, and later temple covenants. We teach these basic principles the same way Adam and Eve were taught--line upon line--Primary lesson upon lesson. As you look in the lesson manuals at the table of contents you will see how they relate to the temple and understand how important it is for each child to receive the teachings in each lesson. TEACH WITH CLARITY Little children are believing and can easily misunderstand some of the things we say. Before the dedication of the Mount Timpanogos Utah Temple we took our children and four-year-old grandson, Andrew, to tour the temple. Andrew was in his grandfather's arms as we stood in line. We shared with him that his grandparents and his own parents had been married in a temple, and we hoped that he too, would be married in the temple. Andrew became more and more agitated during the film presentation and especially as we walked by the displays prior to entering the temple. His grandfather attempted to determine the reason for Andrew's behavior. Finally Andrew blurted out, "Please don't make me go inside the temple. I'm too young to get married." We must teach so that children will not misunderstand. Some of you have heard me speak of my now eight-year-old neighbor, Rebecca. As long as I can remember she has called me Sister Menglove. I didn't pay much attention to how she pronounced my name. I just thought she was doing the best she could to say it correctly. Recently we were in my yard, each with our gardening gloves on, pulling weeds together. She turned to me and said, "Isn't it strange that you like to wear garden gloves and your last name is Menglove?" All these years she had misundertood my name to be Mengloe instead of Menlove, and I never corrected her. Listen carefully to what children say and gently correct any misunderstandings. TEACH SYMBOLICALLY Teaching in the temple is often done in a symbolic fashion. Children can learn to think symbolically just as Rebecca symbolically connected my name to a gardening glove. The scriptures help prepare children to think symbolically. Christ used symbols to teach. Children may already be familiar with some gospel symbols. For instance, baptism is symbolic of cleansing. It is also symbolic of death, burial, and the resurrection, and of being born into a newness of life. Taking the name of Christ upon us is symbolic of our promising to represent Him by the way we live and of joining the family of Christ. The bread and water of the sacrament are symbolic of Christ's body and His blood. The temple itself is a symbol. The children of the Columbia River Washington Temple district held a Primary quarterly activity day where they sat near the contruction site, ate lunch, and enjoyed watching the temple being built. As they watched, some of the construction workers stopped by to explain their responsibility for the completion of the temple. Think about the symbolism in the construction of a temple. The foundation is established--firm and immovable. As the walls are built, they define the shape and separate the interior from the outside world. The spires reach toward heaven and remind us of the purpose of the temple--to prepare us for exaltaion. The angel Moroni statue symbolically calls all to come unto Christ. We have seen temples at night, bathed in light, standing symbolically as beacons in a world that experiences much spiritual darkenss. When we enter the temple, we dress in white, symbolic of purity and worthiness. Of couse, as we grow in maturity and experience, the truths taught symbolically in the temple take on greater meaning in our lives. But children can understand some of the symbols of the temple. The manual for the temple preparation class, "Endowed from on High," contains a chapter entitled, "Learning from the Lord through Symbols." This chapter can help us understand and teach about symbolism in the temple. TEACH OF THE BLESSINGS OF THE TEMPLE Some of the blessings of the temple are described in the Doctrine and Covenants, section 109, which is the prayer given at the dedication of the Kirtland Temple and received by Joseph Smith through revelation. President Boyd K. Packer writes: In the Church we build buildings of many kinds. In them we worship, we teach, we find recreation, we organize. We can organize stakes and wards and missions and quorums and Relief Societies in these buildings or even in rented halls. But, when we organize families according to the order that the Lord has revealed, we organize them in the temples. Temple marriage, that sealing ordinance, is a crowning blessing that you may claim in the holy temple (Boyd K. Packer, "The Holy Temple, 1). Help children to understand that the blessings of the temple are available because of that same priesthood power. Let me share with you just one example of the blessings of priesthood power. The naming and blessing of baby Annie was a tender experience for the ward members. Annie, her adoptive parents, family members and a few special friends had been in the temple just the day before to witness Annie being sealed to her parents. At the blessing, Annie's new father helped all of us to have a deeper undertanding of love and the blessings of the temple. In the blessing, he said, "Annie, may you come to know of your birth mother's love for you. She loved you enough to give you a father and mother who would take you to the temple and bind you eternally to a family."What blessings will now be available to Annie because she was sealed to covenant-keeping parents who will teach her the gospel of Jesus Christ and help her to prepare for her own endowment and temple marriage? Some of those blessings can include being together with her family together for time and throughout all eternity, exhalted in the highest degree of the celestial kingdom where she can dwell with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, inheriting thrones, kingdoms, and power (see D&C: 132, 19). Annie has been adopted into much more than a family. She will have an opportunity to be adopted into the family of Christ. She will be taught of baptism and the importance of making covenants and receiving ordinances that will bless her with the opportunity to have her own eternal family and eternal glory. Her birth mother, her new eternal parents, and her Heavenly Father all love Annie and have given her a great gift. HELP CHILDREN PREPARE FOR THE BLESSINGS OF THE TEMPLE Learning about the temple is not the only preparation needed. Preparation to receive the ordinances and blessings of the temple include becoming and staying worthy. In constructing meetinghouses, the planners refer to meetinghouse standards, but as they construct temples, they refer to temple standards. Whenever possible, President Hinckley arrives early before the dedication of a temple so that he can tour the completed building. He looks for anything that is not of temple standard--such as a nail not covered or any other blemishes. If he finds anything not of temple standard, he asks to have it repaired. A new temple is a building to be dedicated to the lord for His use and it must be, to the best of our ability, a worthy offering in every way. The Lord's people must also be worthy in every way, for no unclean thing is allowed to come into the temples. As we come to understand the value of temple ordinances, we do not question the high standards set by the Lord for entrance into the holy temple. Primary children ages four through seven are called CTRs, and children eight through eleven are called Valiants. Think for a moment how these two names relate to worthiness. CTR--CHOOSE THE RIGHT In our homes and in Primary, children learn that before we go to the temple, the Lord expects us to be free of habits that make our lives unclean and unhealthy, both spiritually and physically. We are instructed in Corinthians: Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are (1 Cor. 3:16-17). We need to "choose the right" standards to be worthy to enter and receive all the ordinances and blessings of the temple. A few years ago President Gordon B. Hinckley said:I urge our people everywhere, with all of the persuasiveness of which I am capable, to live worthy to hold a temple recommend, to secure one and regard it as a precious asset, and to make a greater effort to go to the house of the Lord and partake of the spirit and the blessings to be had therein ("Of Missions, Temples, and Stewardship," Ensign, Nov. 1995, 53) In a "Church News" article it was reported that President Hinckley stated that entrance to the temple will require each of us to:
Do these 13 requirements seem familiar? Yes, they are similar to the temple recommend interview. In our homes and in our Primary presidency meetings, we can study these requirements and make certain that we are living and teaching these principles. Many of them closely tie to "My Gospel Standards." As you study and compare the requirements for a temple recommend and the "My Gospel Standards" ask, "How can we more effectively teach each of these principles to the younger and the older children in our own homes and in our Primaries?" When we do this, we will be teaching children to know what is right and how to "choose the right." Recently my husband and I had a family event in our yard. After dessert we had a chance to gather all together and talk about "My Gospel Standards." We gave each child a "My Gospel Standards" poster for his or her room. As we called attention to the picture of the angel Moroni, we asked three-year-old Jacob what angel Moroni says. We knew this had been a discussion with his parents and that he was prepared to answer the question. His programmed reply was, "Toot, Toot, Toot. Be good." Be good, which translated means, "choose the right." Family members --great-grandparents, grandparents, parents, aunts, and uncles--were invited to sign the back of the "My Gospel Standards" posters. When the grandchildren left to go home, they not only took their posters with them, but they took words of love and encouragement written from family members to guide them in living the gospel. One aunt wrote, "Sarah Jane, you are beautiful. Always choose the right. Love, Aunt Margee." An uncle wrote, "Andrew, keep the faith. Love, Uncle Matt." Grandfather wrote, "The eyes of Moroni are upon you. Be good." It would have been ideal at this time to turn to the scriptures and read from Moroni's words. "And again I would exhort you that ye would come unto Christ, and lay hold upon every good gift, and touch not the evil gift, nor the unclean thing" (Moro. 10:30). We could have asked the children to take turns reading each of the standards and discuss how they define what "be good" means in our daily lives. The younger grandchildren distracted us and we missed this teaching moment. However, the lesson for that night was "The eyes of Moroni are upon you." We shared with the children that the statue of the angel Moroni placed on top of the temple could remind us to be good and to prepare to receive all the blesssings of the temple. It can also be a reminder to parents and teachers to help prepare children to come to the temple someday so that they can begin their eternal families. In the "Friend" magazine it says: The spirit and blessings of the temple can fill our homes as we live worthy lives. Even before we are old enough to go to the temple, we can prepare our hearts by being obedient and choosing the right ("Come Listen to a Prophet's Voice: Temple Blessings," "Friend, Aug. 2001,3). VALIANTSWhat does it mean to be valiant? It means to: Believe in Christ and His gospel with unshakable conviction. Elder Boyd K. Packer said: Ordinances and covenants become our credentials for admission into His presence. To worthily receive them is the quest of a lifetime; to keep them thereafter is the challenge of mortality ("Covenants," Ensign, May 1987, 24). When we receive temple blessings, we become accountable to live worthy of our increased knowledge and opportunities. The Lord has said, "For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required" (Luke 12:48). The valiant among us, including children, will not only choose the right but they will have the courage to continue to do the right. They will be valiant in their testimony of Heavenly Father's plan and in the Atonement of Jesus Christ.Primary weekday activities are for the very purpose of helping children be valiant each day as they courageously live the principles of the gospel. As leaders and teachers, we can plan wonderful quarterly activity days and Achievement Days that will help children become valiant doers of the word. LOVE THE CHILDREN AND TESTIFY OF THE TEMPLE Helping children learn about the temple and how to prepare to go there someday will be done best as we love the children and recognize the Lord's love for these little ones. Love the children in your Primary. Share your testimony of the blessings of the temple with them. Rejoice with the children in the love the Lord has for each of us. Tell them of His desire for them to return to His presence as eternal families. Each temple dedication is a time of rejoicing for the Church. When the Savior accepted the Kirtland Temple as His house, He said, "Let the hearts of your brethren rejoice, and let the hearts of all my people rejoice, who have, with their might, built this house to my name" (D&C 110:6). Testify to the children that the temple is a witness and a symbol of Heavenly Father's desire for us to return to His presence as eternal families. Attending the temple is an expression of our testimony of the plan of salvation and the infinite and eternal nature of the Atonement of His work. We can express gratitude in our prayers for the house of the Lord and the sacred ordinances performed there. We can include in our prayers a desire for our children to live worthy to receive temple blessings. TURNING OF HEARTS IS ABOUT LOVE Elias's words in the Kirtland Temple emphasized the blessings upon our children and their posterity as well as their ancestors. He said, "In us and our seed all generations after us should be blessed" (D&C 110:12). In the temple, promises flow to our children because they are born in the covenant or are sealed to us. What greater or more ennobling promises could be planted in the heart of a child? What greater aspiration and goal could a child have to guide him or her in life than the promise that he or she could become like our Father in Heaven? When this promise is planted in our children's hearts, we have given them a powerful source of strength to resist the temptaions of Satan and the vain things of the world. They will want to be prepared to enter the temple and secure these blessings for themselves, for their ancestors, and for their future children. ESTABLISH FAMILY PATTERNS President Boyd K. Packer suggests "Put the words "holy temple" and "home" together and you have what a temple is. (The house of the Lord","The Shield of Faith," Boyd K. Packer, 1998, 168). In our presidency meetings let us speak often the words "Temple" and "family" together. Let us be focused on assisting families now in the preparation of the future families that will be formed by those sitting in Primary chairs today. We testify of our love for the work of the temple when we establish righteous patterns within our homes, such as seeking the Lord through family prayer, holding family scripture study, gathering for family home evening, and sharing other family experiences that bind us in unity and love. Prophets have counseled us to obtain and display pictures of the temple where our children can see them. Let your children select the temple picture they want to display in their room. We help children to become doers of the work when we involve them in family history. It will strengthen their ties with the past in preparation for their future. HELP CHILDREN SHOW THEIR LOVE FOR THE TEMPLE At the Columbus Ohio Temple dedication a former stake president said, "The sacrifice and prayers of faithful Saints accomplished what's been done here." Another added, "We didn't build this temple with our hands like the Saints in Kirtland did. We built this temple with our hearts" ("Spiritual celebration surrounds dedication," "Church News," Sept. 11, 1999). There are countless stories of children feeling the joy of helping prepare temples for dedication. The night before President Hinckley arrived (for the dedication of the Columbus Ohio Temple) little girls dressed in Sunday clothes helped their mothers carefully tie plastic booties around the feet of approximately 125 metal chairs to prevent damage to the carpets." In all of our planning of ways to teach and involve the children, let us not forget that the basis for every temple ordinance and covenant is the plan of salvation and the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Every activity, every lesson, all we do in the Church, should lead to the Lord and His holy house. A few months ago I was traveling on an airplane on my way home to Salt Lake City. I was visiting with a man in the seat next to me. He was living in Salt Lake temporarily. From our conversation I learned that he liked hiking so I began to tell him about the wonderful mountains and how to get to the various canyons so he could see the wildflowers. I went into great detail about the varieties and the best week to see them in their full glory. Then he shifted the topic of conversation to the temple. First he asked about the exterior and then the interior but then he wanted to know the purpose of the temple. He had opened an opportunity for me, and I took it. However, I regretted the time wasted on wildflowers at the expense of eternal things. Don't just give children wildflowers, or a lesson in history or geography as you teach about the temple. They are eager and in need of much more--things of eternal significance. There is a need for children to hear testimony and feel the Spirit that testimony invites. The best way to show children our love for the temple and work done within its walls is to attend the temple regularly and testify often about the blessings received. Elder David B. Haight said, "When you return from the temple, share with your children and loved ones at home your feelings about what you experienced" ("Come to the House of the Lord," Ensign, May 1992, 16). CONCLUSION The temple is a place where families are united for all eternity. As temples are prepared, members must be prepared. To be prepared is more than just to "get yourself ready." It is also about helping our children to get ready by helping them learn about, prepare for, and love the temple as we teach and testify of the temple. We are here to help create those early feelings of testimonies within Heavenly Father's precious little ones. The work of preparing this generation is ours--yours and mine. It is a glorious work that will bless families on both sides of the veil. In the words of Moroni, "Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you" (Moroni 10:32). It is my prayer that you will be directed by the Spirit to know how to perform your work of preparing the children to receive the blessings of the temple and prepare to live as an eternal family in the presence of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. |
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