As we consider the principle of being prepared, imagine with me the following scene. You are sitting in the celestial room of the temple and notice a number of brides and grooms being reverently ushered in and out as they wait to be married for time and all eternity. A bride enters the celestial room, hand in hand with her sweetheart. She is wearing a simple but beautiful temple dress and a calm, peaceful, warm smile on her face. She is well groomed but not distracting. She takes her seat, glances about, and then is suddenly overcome with emotion. It seems that her tears come because of the awe and reverence she has for both the place she is in and the sacred ordinance awaiting her and the love of her life. Her demeanor seems to say, “How grateful I am to be in the Lord’s house today, ready to begin an eternal journey with a beloved eternal companion.” She seems prepared for much more than just an event.
Elder Russell M. Nelson taught, “As temples are prepared for the people, the people need to prepare themselves for the temple.”
As I am again reading about Captain Moroni in the Book of Mormon, I am reminded that one of Moroni’s greatest accomplishments was his careful preparation of the Nephites to withstand the frightening Lamanite army. He prepared his people so well that we read, “Behold, to [the Lamanites’] uttermost astonishment, [the Nephites] were prepared for them,in a manner which never had been known.”
That phrase, “prepared … in a manner which never had been known,” really caught my attention.
How can we better prepare for sacred temple blessings? The Lord taught, “And again, I will give unto you a pattern in all things.” Let’s consider a scriptural pattern to help us prepare well. Moroni’s preparation for the enemy took consistent and faithful diligence, and this pattern will require the same.
As we consider the parable of the ten virgins as a pattern for temple preparation, consider the words of a latter-day prophet who taught that “the oil of spiritual preparedness cannot be shared.” President Spencer W. Kimball helped clarify why the five “wise” young women could not share the oil in their lamps with those who were “foolish” when he said: “Attendance at sacrament meetings adds oil to our lamps, drop by drop over the years. Fasting, family prayer, home teaching, control of bodily appetites, preaching the gospel, studying the scriptures—each act of dedication and obedience is a drop added to our store. Deeds of kindness, payment of offerings and tithes, chaste thoughts and actions … —these, too, contribute importantly to the oil with which we can at midnight refuel our exhausted lamps.”
Can you see the pattern of preparedness—drop by drop—that can help us as we think how we might be more diligent in our preparation to receive sacred ordinances for ourselves and others?
We learn from Elder Richard G. Scott that “personal worthiness is an essential requirement to enjoy the blessings of the temple. … Worthy character is best forged from a life of consistent, correct choices centered in the teachings of the Master.” I love the word consistent. To be consistent is to be steady, constant, and dependable. What a great description of the principle of worthiness!
As we prepare ourselves to worthily enter the temple and are faithful to temple covenants, the Lord will bestow “a multiplicity of blessings” upon us. My good friend Bonnie Oscarson recently turned a scripture inside out when she said, “Where much is required, much more will be given.” I couldn’t agree more! Because we come to the temple to receive eternal blessings, it should not surprise us that a higher standard is required to qualify for those blessings. Again Elder Nelson taught: “Because the temple is the house of the Lord, standards for admission are set by Him. One enters as His guest. To hold a temple recommend is a priceless privilege and a tangible sign of obedience to God and His prophets.”
As we consistently and diligently add oil, drop by drop, to our spiritual lamps, doing these small and simple things, we can have our lamps “trimmed and burning” with astonishing preparation. My cute husband, who is a stake president, recently remarked that he can almost always tell when someone is prepared and worthy to enter the temple, because “they light up the room” when they come seeking a temple recommend.
I know there have been times when I have gone to renew my temple recommend where I have felt the spirit in a way that might light up the room. I’m sure that’s the kind of thing President Burton was referring to.
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