What Are Your Feelings About the House of the Lord?

My Come Follow Me studies for this week took me to 2 Samuel 11-12 and 1 Kings 3; 6-9; 11 in a lesson titled “Hear Thou in Heaven Their Prayer.” The following information introduced the lesson. 

Saul, David, and Solomon, the first three kings of Israel, all started out with so much promise. Humble, courageous, and wise, they each found favor with the Lord – at least at first. Sadly, each king also gave in to human weaknesses and temptation. They put their own desires before the Lord’s. And as we’ve seen over and over in the scriptures – and in our own lives – that led to tragedy.

But something important happened during the reign of Soloman that provided some hope for stability in the lives of the covenant people. Solomon built a temple. It was to be a more permanent house of the Lord than the tabernacle had been. And it would represent a more permanent presence of the Lord among His people. Solomon knew that the people would continue to face weakness and trials of various kinds. In dedicating the new holy house, Solomon pleaded with the Lord, “If they … return unto thee with all their heart, … then hear thou their prayer” (1 Kings 8:47-48). That’s part of what temple covenants do for us – they create a connection to God. They secure for us the promise that through our repentance and His mercy, He can “dwell among [us]” and never forsake us (1 Kings 6:13).

This block of scriptures teaches several principles, including the following: (1) The Lord can help me make good choices when I am tempted to sin (2 Samuel 11; 12:1-14). (2) The gift of discernment helps me distinguish between right and wrong (1 Kings 3:1-15). (3) Through covenants in the Lord’s house, the Lord dwells with me (1 Kings 6-8; 9:1-9). (4) “His heart was not perfect with the Lord” (1 Kings 8:61; 11:1-11).

This essay will discuss principle #3 about making covenants in the Lord’s house. Covenants are promises between God and an individual. God sets the conditions, and the individual agrees to abide by those conditions – or not.

The writer of 1 Kings 6-7 wrote a detailed description of the sacred house that Solomon built for the Lord. Although we may not understand the importance of the details, the ancient Israelites knew their importance. The important thing for us to take from these chapters is to get a sense of how important it was to the Israelites to have a house of the Lord. How important is it to you to have a House of the Lord that you can attend or in your community?

Some years ago, I was visiting my daughter and her new baby in Spring, Texas. The Houston Temple was close to her home, so I attended a temple session one day. I knew about where the temple was – particularly from a distance – but I lost sight of the temple as I drew closer to it. I stopped at a little store and asked for directions. There were three people in the store when I asked, and they knew exactly where “their” temple was located. They gave me directions, and I was able to find the temple without any problems. Although none of those people were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the temple was important to their community.

I lived in Alaska for about twenty-five years before a temple was built about one mile from my home. Until that temple was built, I had to travel outside of Alaska to attend a temple. Although our assigned temple was the Seattle Washington Temple, I usually traveled to Hawaii or Utah to attend the temple – Hawaii because it is Hawaii, and Utah because it is home and family. Whenever I was near a temple, I attended numerous temple sessions to soak up the temple spirit because I knew it would be months or even years before I could return.

Now, I live approximately one mile from the Anchorage Alaska Temple. Attending the temple is so convenient now that I feel an obligation as well as a desire to attend often. I usually attend the temple at least once each week because it gives me spiritual strength to face the problems of life.

Attending the temple often is one way that I keep the covenants that I make in the temple. Temple attendance gives me an opportunity to renew the covenants and to remember the promises that I made. It also gives me strength to better keep those covenants. I love to see the temple, and I love to go inside temples to feel the presence of the Savior there.

President Henry B. Eyring, then-Second Counselor in the First Presidency, spoke in the April 2021 General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on the topic “I Love to See the Temple,” the title of a song that children often sing in Primary. He taught the following information about temples. 

I know that temples of the Lord are holy places. My purpose today in speaking of temples is to increase your desire and mine to be worthy and ready for the increased opportunities for temple experiences that are coming for us.

For me, the greatest motivation to be worthy of temple experiences is what the Lord has said of His holy houses:

“Inasmuch as my people build a house unto me in the name of the Lord, and do not suffer any unclean thing to come into it, that it be not defiled, my glory shall rest upon it;

“Yea, and my presence shall be there, for I will come into it, and all the pure in heart that shall come into it shall see God.

“But if it be defiled I will not come into it, and my glory shall not be there; for I will not come into unholy temples.”

President Russell M. Nelson made clear for us that we can “see” the Savior in the temple in the sense that He becomes no longer unknown to us. President Nelson said this: “We understand Him. We comprehend His work and His glory. And we begin to feel the infinite impact of His matchless life.”