THE HOLY TEMPLE
Ohayo Gosai-masu! Good morning, brothers and sisters. I’m thankful for this opportunity to stand
before you and share some of my thoughts. It’s great to see so many familiar faces. I know some of you from when we served
together in the Newark 2nd Ward, which included half of Newark and a part of
Fremont. Also many of you have made a
tremendous impact in my life and my family over the years. I am grateful for the great example you have
been to me and my family.
I am grateful for the
opportunity of serving together with Bishop Anderson, Brother Aquino, Brother
Ross, and Brother Yoos. And would like
to congratulate the new Bishopric. I
know that they will do a great job. Lastly,
I am grateful for the great opportunity of serving together with my wife in the
Japan Tokyo South Mission. The “Land of
Rising Sun”. Home of my ancestors. Returning home since I grew up in Hiroshima
from 3 months old to 10 years old.
The gospel proclaimed to the
world by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the gospel of Jesus
Christ as restored to the earth in this dispensation and is for the redemption
of all mankind. The Lord himself has
revealed what is essential for the salvation and exaltation of his
children. One of these essentials is
that temples are to be built for the performance of ordinances that cannot be
performed in any other place.
Throughout history, the Lord
has commanded His people to build temples.
The Church is working to build temples all over the world to make temple
blessings more available for a greater number of Heavenly Father's
children. At the last semi-annual
General Conference of the Church in April, 2 additional temples were announced
in Cedar City, Utah, and Rio Janeiro, Brazil.
I believe that worldwide there are 140 operating temples and 30
announced or under construction.
The Prophet Joseph Smith
spoke about the building of temples:
“What was the object of gathering the Jews, or the people of God in any
age of the world?…. The main object was to build unto the Lord a house whereby
He could reveal unto His people the ordinances of His house and the glories of
His kingdom, and teach the people the way of salvation; for these are the
certain ordinances and principles that, when they are taught and practiced,
must be done in a place or house built for that purpose….. It is for the same purpose that God gathers
together His people in the Last days, to build unto the Lord a house to prepare
them for the ordinances and endowments.”
So what is a temple?
Elder James E. Talmage
wrote: “The term ‘temple’…. Is of
restricted and specific meaning….A temple is…a place specially set apart for
service regarded as sacred… The Latin Templum was the equivalent of the
Hebrew Beth Elohim, and signified the abode of Deity; hence, as associated with
Divine worship, it meant literally the House of the Lord……A temple is more than
chapel or church, more than synagogue or cathedral; it is a structure erected
as the house of the Lord, sacred to the closest communion between the Lord
himself and the holy priesthood, and devoted to the highest and most sacred
ordinances.”
We are blessed to have a
beautiful Oakland Temple. “A great
white temple of the Lord will grace those hills, a glorious ensign to the
nations.” This was the prophecy of
President George Albert Smith in 1924 when, as a member of the Council of the
Twelve, he looked over the San Francisco East Bay hills.
The site he envisioned was
purchased in 1942, and construction of the magnificent five towered Oakland
Temple, which commands a sweeping view of the entire Bay area and the Pacific
Ocean, began 20 years later in May 1962.
The building is constructed (from base to tower) with sierra white
granite. The center tower is 169 feet
high, and four smaller towers, each 95 feet high, are covered with blue glass
mosaic and gold leaf. At night they are
illuminated from within. There are two
sculptured panels on the exterior north and south of the temple, one depicting
the Savior in Palestine and the other his appearance to the Nephites in
America.
It was dedicated November 17,
1964, by President of our Church, David O. McKay, the fifth and last temple he
dedicated.
“What ordinances are
performed in temples?”
Many Christians believe that
at the time of death, our status before the Lord is determined for all
eternity. Christ said to Nicodemus,
“Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the
Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (John 3:5).
Yet we know that many people
have died without the ordinance of baptism, and according to Christ’s statement
to Nicodemus, they would be eliminated from entering into the kingdom of
God. Baptism is an earthly ordinance
that can be performed only by the living.
Baptism for the dead was practiced by the early Christians. There was vicarious work for the dead at that
time, and there is today. Today,
baptisms are again performed by the living in behalf of individuals who have
died, as is also the laying on the hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost for
these same deceased people. These
ordinances for the dead are performed only in the Temple, the house of the
Lord.
The endowment is another
ordinance performed in our temples. It
consists of two parts: first, a series
of instructions, and second, promises or covenants that person receiving the
endowment makes ------promises to live righteously and comply with the
requirements of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The endowment is an ordinance for the great blessing of the Saints -----
both living and dead. It is also an
ordinance performed by the living in behalf of deceased individuals.
Another temple ordinance is
that of celestial marriage, where wife is sealed to husband and husband is
sealed to wife for eternity. We know
that civil marriage end at death; but eternal marriages performed in the temple
may exist forever. Children born to a
husband and wife after an eternal marriage are automatically sealed to their
parents for eternity. If children are
born before the wife is sealed to her husband, there is a temple sealing
ordinance that can seal these children to their parents for eternity, and
children can be sealed vicariously to parents who have passed away.
In the ordinances of the
temple, the foundations of the eternal family are sealed in place. The Church has the responsibility ----and the
authority ---- to preserve and protect the family as the foundation of society. All of these priesthood temple ordinances are
essential for the salvation and exaltation of children of Our Heavenly Father.
We have a great work to
do. We must accomplish the priesthood
temple ordinance work necessary for our own exaltation; then we must do the
necessary work for those who did not have the opportunity to accept the gospel
in this life. Doing work for others is
accomplished in two steps: first, by
family history research to determine our ancestors; and second, by performing
the temple ordinances to give them the same opportunities afforded to the living.
There are many members of the
Church who have only limited access to the temples. They pursue family history research and have
the temple ordinance work done by others.
Then, there are some members who engage in temple work, but fail to do
family history research on their own family lines. Although they perform a
divine service in assisting others, they lose a blessing by not seeking their
own kindred dead as divinely directed by latter-day prophets.
I have learned that those who
engage in family history research and then perform the temple ordinance work
for those whose names they have found will know the additional joy of receiving
both blessings.
Three (3) months ago, we went
to Japan, not only to visit my wife’s sister and her husband who are serving as
senior missionaries, but also to do some family history research on my side of
family in Hiroshima, Japan. We visited a
Buddhist Temple priest, who keeps a record for the living as well as for those
who passed on. Also we visited two city halls
in Hiroshima and Wakayama. We were
really fortunate to uncover 4 generations and 40 ancestors. We have a lot of temple work to do for them.
Those who passed on are
anxiously waiting for us to search out their names and then go to the temples
to officiate in their behalf. The
Prophet Joseph Smith said, “The greatest responsibility in this world that God
has laid upon us is to seek after our dead.”
He also said: “This doctrine was
the burden of the scriptures. Those
Saints who neglect it in behalf of their deceased relatives, do it at the peril
of their own salvation.”
When we attend the temple and
perform the ordinances, certain blessings will come to us:
·
We will receive
the spirit of Elijah, which will turn our hearts to our spouse, to our children,
and to our ancestors.
·
We will love our
family with a deeper love than we have loved before.
·
Our hearts will
be turned to our fathers and theirs to us.
·
We will be
endowed with power from on high as the Lord has promised.
·
We will receive
the key of the knowledge of God. We will
learn how we can be like Him. Even the
power of godliness will be manifest to us.
·
We will be doing
a great service to those who have passed to the other side of the veil in order
that they might be “judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to
God in the spirit.” (D & C 138:34).
It would please the Lord for
every adult member to be worthy of --- and to carry --- a current temple
recommend, even if they won’t be able to use them. The things that we must do and not do to be
worthy of a temple recommend are the very things that ensure we will be happy
as individuals and as families.
All of our efforts in
proclaiming the gospel, perfecting the Saints, and redeeming the dead lead to
the holy temple. This is because the
temple ordinances are absolutely crucial; we cannot return to God’s presence
without them.
President Gordon B. Hinckley
said: “Everything that occurs in the
temple is eternal in its consequences…. Entering the temple is a privilege to
be earned and not a right that automatically goes with Church membership.”
Brothers and Sisters, go to
the temple often. And those that don’t
have a current recommend, make a commitment and see your Bishop. We should go not only for our kindred dead but
also for the personal blessing of temple worship. The temple is a sanctuary from the
world. It is a bit of heaven on
earth.
Let us make the temple, with
temple worship and temple covenants and temple marriage, our ultimate earthly
goal. Let us teach and share with our
children the spiritual feelings we have in the temple. Let us seek with all our hearts and find for
ourselves and our families, the blessings of the temple, in the name of Jesus
Christ, Amen.
