I don’t mean to bombard you with “churchy” posts. I’ve written two very close together recently, and now here’s a third. I was going to hold off on publishing this one for a while so you could have a breather, but I’ve been working on it for over two months, so now that it’s ready, I don’t want to let it sit any longer!
Nicky went through the temple back in June to receive his endowment. This is an occasion in which Nicky made some covenants or promises to God prior to serving his mission and began wearing the sacred temple garment.
I read the book first and marked some passages that stood out to me. That way, if he didn't read it from cover to cover, he could at least be aware of some of the highlights. I did my best to have conversations with Nicky about the temple and provide him with resources to answer his questions.
I put together a document with some of the information I thought would be helpful in preparing Nicky for the temple. I did my best to teach Nicky what I could, but a lot of the work needed to be his own choosing, so I provided him with some good resources and then stepped back and let him do with it what he wanted.
Since I worked kind of hard to compile the information, I wanted to share it on my blog for anyone who might want it. You can access the document here. If you are helping a child prepare for the temple, or if you just want to review some of the information pertaining to the temple for your own purposes, feel free to check it out. Hopefully you will find it helpful.
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It had been a while since I studied the temple in such depth. During this recent course of study, I was particularly drawn to the purposes and blessings of the temple garment.
Purposes of the holy garment:
- To symbolize righteousness and purity
- To help us understand and remember the covenants we have made
- To symbolize the Atonement as we "put on Christ"
- To invite Christ's power and influence into our lives
Blessings of wearing the garment:
- Increases our desire to be like Christ
- Power to love and serve more completely
- Power to resist temptation
- Ability to withstand the world's confounding voices
With the current trends and the way garments are discussed in social media, I had forgotten how much I truly love being able to wear my garments. When I went through the temple at age 19, I tried to learn everything I could about the temple and be as prepared as possible to take that step. I was really excited to start wearing garments. I remember walking around LDS Business College (now Ensign College) the day after I went through the temple thinking, "I'm wearing garments now, and no one here even knows!" I felt like a new person, and I wanted to announce it to everyone. I've lost a little bit of that enthusiasm over the past 22 years, but I've been reminded lately that it's an honor and blessing to wear temple garments, and I worked hard to be able to wear them, so I'm going to work it! I always love the way it feels to put them back on after exercising or going swimming. I always enjoy getting new garments - so fresh and so white! But I also like it when they're a little worn and dingy because it shows they've been lived in and well-used. I'm grateful for this feeling of renewal because I realized that I was beginning to be persuaded by outer voices to feel critical or causal about the garments, and that's not my truth. My truth is I feel blessed through wearing my garments, and I don't want to forget that.
“I like to think of the garment as the Lord’s way of letting us take part of the temple with us when we leave. It is true that we carry from the Lord’s house inspired teachings and sacred covenants written in our minds and hearts. However, the one tangible remembrance we carry with us back into the world is the garment. And though we cannot always be in the temple, a part of it can always be with us to bless our lives."
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