“Holy Father, we ask thee to assist us...with thy grace...that it may be done to thine honor and to thy divine acceptance...in a manner that we may be found worthy...to secure a fulfillment of the promises which thou hast made unto us, thy people...That thy glory may rest down upon thy people, and upon this thy house, which we now dedicate to thee, that it may be sanctified and consecrated holy, and that thy holy presence may be continually in this house; And that all people who shall enter upon the threshold of the Lord’s house may feel thy power, and feel constrained to acknowledge that thou hast sanctified it, and that it is thy house, a place of thy holiness” (D&C 109:10-13).
It has been too long since my last visit to the Temple. But recently I had this promise confirmed—that upon entering the Temple, I feel the Spirit and power of God that is there. I feel “constrained to acknowledge” that it is His holy place.
Elder Scott’s recent general conference talk encouraged us to seek out our kindred dead and perform ordinances for them, and included the promise, tossed in at the very end of his talk, that the Lord would make us “feel wonderful” when we participate in this process. This is another promise I have collected recently. I was under the impression that my living relatives had scoured all my family lines, that all the work within the last four hundred years was done. But the Church’s new family tree website made it easy for me to find someone who married into my family, and yet had not received any ordinances except being sealed to his spouse. An icon would appear next to each name when ordinances remained to be performed for that individual. I found one brother who married into the family, yet had not had his work completed. I printed off the ordinance request sheet, took it to the Temple, and within twenty four hours I was holding a name card for ordinance work for this man who had hidden without ordinances in my family tree for years. It was delightfully easy for me—I had always gone to the Temple as a patron; now I came as a successful researcher.
While using the family tree program, I also tried to see how far back I could go. I was astonished. Some lines through earls and minor royalty connected to kings and queens, and passed beyond AD to BC. Seventy-nine generations back, I connect with Roman royalty—all of it was there in one contiguous image, and my computer screen became a tiny window into my enormous family heritage. Nero, William the Conqueror, and many other notable figures can count me as a living descendant. Even more impressive are the unsung impoverished pioneer ancestors who gave all to get me into my mountain valley home today. I have luxuries that ancient kings could only dream of. Why do we have all this wealth?
Moses pronounced blessings on each of the tribes before they entered their promised land. Envision the baptismal font with its oxen facing all directions of the compass as you read the following: “And of Joseph he said, Blessed of the Lord be his land, for the precious things of heaven, for the dew, and for the deep that coucheth beneath, And for the precious fruits brought forth by the sun, and for the precious things put forth by the moon, And for the chief things of the ancient mountains, and for the precious things of the lasting hills, And for the precious things of the earth and fulness thereof, and for the good will of him that dwelt in the bush: let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the top of the head of him that was separated from his brethren. His glory is like the firstling of his bullock, and his horns are like the horns of (the wild ox): with them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth: and they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh” (Deut. 33:13-17).
We descendants of Joseph are blessed with all this wealth because he was our ancestor, and because we need it in order to perform the work of perfecting the saints, proclaiming the gospel, redeeming the dead—in essence, to gather. Temples, MTCs, meeting houses, transportation, Internet connections, telecommunications facilities of all kinds, printing scriptures and other materials, are all costly, and all are necessary for gathering Israel.
It was strange sitting in the baptistery among the youth. I did not have quite so many gray hairs the last time I was in that sacred place. I looked at them all, reading scriptures and Church magazines, and wondered about how the Lord would cut His work short in righteousness (D&C 109:59) with these people forming a spearhead in the missionary program. Afterward, I dried my hair and dressed to go upstairs for more ordinance work. With the lowered age for missionaries, I knew that many of the brothers and sisters sitting downstairs would soon be upstairs, too.
In D&C 110, the Lord accepts the dedication of the Kirtland Temple (one week after Joseph offers the dedicatory prayer). Then ancient prophets come, and present keys to Joseph. Most mentioned is the appearance of Elijah, who turns the key of sealing over to Joseph Smith, and tells him that the hearts of fathers and children will be turned to one another. Less noted, but just as significantly, Moses also appears to commit keys. He presents “the keys of the gathering of Israel.” This obviously implies missionary work, but there is also a family aspect to it.
An institute teacher told of an experience in which this power played a role. His teenage son had disappeared. Authorities were contacted, friends and family searched everywhere, but no one could locate him. A friend came in the midst of this crisis and gave the institute teacher a blessing. In the blessing, he told him he was the priesthood holder in his family, and commanded him to “gather” his son back home. He got into his car, and drove to a different city. He eventually happened upon his son, who was playing his violin for money on a street corner (and making a substantial salary per hour).
Moses imparted priesthood authority to gather Israel home; our children are part of Israel. Priesthood is more than just for missionary gathering. “When a seal is put upon the father and mother, it secures their posterity, so that they cannot be lost, but will be saved by virtue of the covenant of their father and their mother” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 321). Joseph Smith also taught of three priesthoods, not just Aaronic (3rd) and Melchizedek (1st): “The 2nd Priesthood is Patriarchal authority. Go to and finish the temple, and God will fill it with power, and you will then receive more knowledge concerning this priesthood” (TPJS, p. 323).
Those who honor their covenants and priesthood will have power to gather their families on either side of the veil. We perform priesthood ordinances on behalf of our ancestors; they use the power they are endowed with to gather us, physically and spiritually, to our home. They are empowered to intervene on our behalf. Temple covenants enable all of this.
When Zechariah was praying at the altar of incense in the Old Temple, he undoubtedly prayed for himself first, for his people, and for the world. While he prayed, Gabriel (or Noah, one of his ancestors; see History of the Church 3:386) appeared and announced that he and Elizabeth had been healed of their infertility, and that they would have a child, John, who would baptize the Messiah. His and his wife’s prayer for children was answered in the Temple.
You can count on one hand the things we can take with us from this life into the next. Memories, experience, relationships, priesthood, family, a righteous character—the list is brief. Covenants we have kept will survive the trip from this life into death. The Temple touches them all, and improves everything on the list. We are told to “lay up treasures in heaven.” There are heavenly treasures awaiting us in the Temple, the kind that bless us here and in the next life, if we will only go there and take the time to lay them up.
