I was asked to speak in the Champaign Stake Conference on "How me might shepherd the saints for whom we have stewardship to the House of the Lord?" The Champaign Stake is made up of all the members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that live in Effingham, Mattoon, Tuscola, Paris, Champaign, Urbana, Mahommet, St. Joseph, Rantoul, Danville and everywhere in between. I have decided to post my talk for any of my family who want to read it or anyone in the stake who missed it and wants to read it. Anyone else is welcome to read it, but remember it is directed to members of the Champaign Stake. If you have questions, you are welcome to ask.
I would like to begin with my testimony of Jesus Christ. I know He lives. I know it is because of Him that the ordinances of the Temple have effect in our lives now and in eternity. It is because of Him that our families can be together forever. A few months ago an Elder in my quorum asked why we focus on the Temple so much when Jesus Christ is the center of the church. At the time I wasn’t sure how to respond. After pondering and studying, I have found at least part of the answer. We do not worship the Temple; we worship Jesus Christ in the Temple. The temple is so important because it is there we learn about Jesus Christ, his atonement, and our relationship with Him and our Heavenly Father. As Elder Scott said in the April general conference, “Understand the doctrine related to temple ordinances, especially the significance of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. While participating in temple ordinances, consider your relationship to Jesus Christ and His relationship to our Heavenly Father. This simple act will lead to greater understanding of the supernal nature of the temple ordinances.”
Moses 1:39 teaches that God’s work and glory is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. As we assist in baptisms and temple ordinances, we are assisting in this work. Those for whom we have stewardship cannot get to the temple unless they are baptized, and they cannot get to the highest degree of the celestial kingdom unless they get to the temple.
As we bring joy to the Savior by finding, retaining, and reactivating, I feel it is important to keep our focus on the temple. As Elder Bednar said, “The baptismal covenant clearly contemplates a future event or events and looks forward to the temple.” That is where those we have found, retained, and helped reactivate will be gathered into the garners that they are not lost.
I am grateful my brother, currently serving in the Mexico, Leon mission has caught this vision. In a recent e-mail he wrote, “We need to push going to the temple more. If people are going to the temple they don´t have problems with word of wisdom, chastity, tithing, and they go to church on sunday. We are trying to get our converts to go to the temple to do baptisms for the dead so that they can feel the spirit there and have a desire to go back.”
It is so important for us to worship in the temple regularly and to help those we have stewardship over worship in the temple regularly. As we shepherd the saints to the temple, let us remember in the flock there are young lambs, mother ewes, strong bucks, and even the occasional black sheep. In the April general conference Elder Bednar extended invitations regarding the temple to different groups of people. As I read his invitations, ponder over who you have stewardship over that falls into each of these categories.
“Within the sound of my voice are many young women, young men, and children. I plead with you to be worthy, to be steadfast, and to look forward with great anticipation to the day you will receive the ordinances and blessings of the temple.
Within the sound of my voice are individuals who should have but have not yet received the ordinances of the house of the Lord. Whatever the reason, however long the delay, I invite you to begin making the spiritual preparations so you can receive the blessings available only in the holy temple.
Within the sound of my voice are individuals who have received the ordinances of the temple and for various reasons have not returned to the house of the Lord in quite some time. Please repent, prepare, and do whatever needs to be done so you can again worship in the temple and more fully remember and honor your sacred covenants.
Within the sound of my voice are many individuals who hold current temple recommends and strive worthily to use them. I commend you for your faithfulness and devotion.”
Now hopefully each of you has one or more people in mind for whom you have stewardship. Now as I give the rest of my talk, pay attention to thoughts that may come into your mind or your heart of ways to shepherd them to the house of the Lord.
In Alma we read “Behold, the field was ripe, and blessed are ye, for ye did thrust in the sickle, and did reap with your might, yea, all the day long did ye labor; and behold the number of your sheaves! And they shall be gathered into the garners, that they are not wasted”. Elder Bednar taught “the sheaves in this analogy represent newly baptized members of the Church. The garners are the holy temples.” These newly baptized members of the church gathered to the temple were those whom Ammon had taught. What did Ammon do to get them safely gathered into the temple? As I have studied Ammon’s ministry and Elder Bednar’s talk last April, I have found four steps which I feel that as shepherds we need to lead with in order for the sheep to follow. I call them belief, attitude, desire and do.
Belief
Elder Bednar asked several temple presidents what they had learned that they wished they understood better when serving as general authorities. He summarized their responses “I have come to understand better the protection available through our temple covenants and what it means to make an acceptable offering of temple worship. There is a difference between church-attending, tithe-paying members who occasionally rush into the temple to go through a session and those members who faithfully and consistently worship in the temple.” When Ammon was preparing to go on his mission among the Lamanites, his father, Mosiah was hesitant to let them go until the Lord made this promise, “Let them go up, for many shall believe on their words, and they shall have eternal life; and I will deliver thy sons out of the hands of the Lamanites.” We read of this promise being fulfilled in a very direct and dramatic way later on when the angry Lamanite raises his sword to smite Ammon and falls dead in the attempt. This same promise is to all who honorably hold a name and standing in the house of the Lord as found in D&C 109:26 “no combination of wickedness shall have power to rise up and prevail over thy people upon whom thy name shall be put in this house;” With the scary place this world is becoming, that is a blessing I want for my family. Do we and those we have stewardship over believe in the protective power of the temple covenants?
Attitude
Elder Bednar quotes Brigham Young saying while the Salt Lake temple was being built “If you wish this Temple built, go to work and do all you can…Some say, ‘I do not like to do it, for we never began to build a Temple without the bells of hell beginning to ring.’ I want to hear them ring again. All the tribes of hell will be on the move,…but what do you think it will amount to? You have all the time seen what it has amounted to”. When Ammon left to go on his mission among the Lamanites there were skeptics who said “Do ye suppose that ye can bring the Lamanites to the knowledge of the truth? Do ye suppose that ye can convince the Lamanites of the incorrectness of the traditions of their fathers, as stiffnecked a people as they are?” Ammon did not listen to them. Ammon had an “I can” attitude. He believed he could teach the Lamanites.
In our day some may ask “Do ye suppose that you can drive 3.5 hours to the temple? Do ye suppose that you can take 3 kids all the way to St. Louis and ask someone else to watch them so that you can do work for your kindred dead? Do ye suppose that we could find someone who would watch our kids who are full of energy and like to run around and climb on things?” I am grateful for the example of a family in our ward who had a can do attitude. They invited my wife and I to ride with their family on the last of their monthly St. Louis temple trips two weeks before the father finished his PhD and they moved across the country. On a cold winter morning they loaded their 3 children, including their newborn son, in the van, with us so that we could take a turn watching the children while the mom and dad went through a session together. The wife drove so that her husband could type the last chapter of his dissertation on a laptop on the way down and back. (I offered to take a turn driving, but they must have seen me driving before because they refused). It would have been easy for this family to say, “I can’t go to the temple,” but instead they said “I can” and they did. We need to help those for whom we have stewardship develop an “I can” attitude towards worshipping in the house of the Lord.
Desire
Elder Bednar said that as a stake president he testified and taught relentlessly about the eternal importance of temple ordinances, temple covenants, and temple worship. He said, “The deepest desire of our presidency was for every member of the stake to receive the blessings of the temple, to be worthy of and to use frequently a temple recommend.” Ammon had a burning desire in his labor as well, “Now they were desirous that salvation should be declared to every creature, for they could not bear that any human soul should perish.”
In October I had the great joy and blessing of taking a brother in my quorum who had been baptized the year before to the temple to receive his endowments. I asked this brother what it was that got him from baptism to the temple. He responded, “My desire to return to God and get to the Celestial Kingdom.”
My mother helped me develop the desire to go to the temple. The Bountiful temple was dedicated while I was in 9th grade. My brothers and sisters over the age of 8 and I were able to attend the dedication with my parents. As we left the temple, my mom paused because she felt that she did not want to leave the temple and take her family back out into the world. Her example helped me prepare and look forward to the day when I could return to receive the ordinances of the temple. I look forward to and pray for the day when my mom and dad will be able to have all of their children in the temple. I am the oldest of 13 children, my youngest brother is 4. It will be a few years before this desire is realized.
Do
Again quoting Brigham Young, Elder Bednar said, “Now is the time for labor. Let the fire of the covenant which you made in the House of the Lord, burn in your hearts, like flame unquenchable”. Ammon taught King Lamoni that the spirit gave him power according to his faith and desires.
In my service as Elders’ quorum president, we have tried using google calendars and quorum temple trips to encourage the members of our quorum to get to the temple. Neither has been highly successful. However, I always see members of my quorum worshipping in the St. Louis temple. Why? I feel it is their beliefs, attitudes, and desires that lead them to do it.
Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to serve in the temple on a first Tuesday. I was working in initiatory, when I heard an unseen temple worker say, “Wow, we’ve got two tall patrons today.” A familiar voice responded, “Yes, and that other tall brother is my Elders’ quorum president.” Shortly after another brother joined us who was also a brother from our Elders’ quorum. I love to see members of my quorum at the temple. I didn’t know either of these brothers would be in the temple that day. I think it says something of the members of our stake that I can drive so far to the temple and see so many of you there.
Now, as shepherds it is important that we nurture beliefs, attitudes, and desires in those we have stewardship over. Yet the reality remains that the temple is 3.5 hours away. It would be challenging for those whom we have stewardship over to just ride their bikes to the temple, maybe they can to church, but not to the temple. Also many of those we have stewardship over have small children that need to be cared for. I feel that the best assistance with these realities is at the home-teaching level. As Elders’ quorum president, as much as I would like to, I cannot drive all the members of my quorum down to the temple. Just ask the three members of my quorum who crammed into the back seat of our Toyota Corrolla on a recent temple trip. There is not room for the whole quorum in my car!
When I first moved to this area, President Kevin Nelson gave me the assignment to help the families I was assigned to home-teach get to the temple. I realized that what the families I was assigned to most needed was someone to watch their children while they went to the temple. A couple months later one of the families I home-taught invited us to ride to the temple with them. Brittney and I agreed to watch their daughter while they did a temple session together. Everything was fine until the daughter’s diaper leaked all over Brittney’s dress while she was holding her. Thanks to hand dryers in the restroom, Brittney was able to dry her dress and enter the temple. It proved to be a memorable experience that we find great joy in. My mission president used to say that he would move heaven and earth to help a family get to the temple. I figure that if President Mask is willing to move heaven and earth, I ought to be willing to move my schedule and plans to help a family get to the temple.
While sitting in the Celestial room of the temple, I like to imagine various members of my quorum walking through the door into the Celestial room. Brethren whom I care about and know what joy would come into their lives from serving in the temple. Then I follow up on those desires in personal priesthood interviews and visits in the home where we as an Elders’ quorum presidency encourage and invite members of our quorum to receive their endowments if they have not yet, or if they have already been, to prayerfully set a family temple commitment based on their circumstances and capabilities as Elder Scott taught in conference last April.
In our shepherding the saints to the House of the Lord, let us remember the Savior’s teaching in John 10 “The shepherd of the sheep leadeth them out, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.” I am grateful that our stake presidency not only ask us to attend the temple on the first Tuesday of the month, they lead us to the temple by their example.
“Dear to the heart of the Shepherd, Dear are the lambs of his fold; Some from the pastures are straying, Hungry and helpless and cold. See, the Good Shepherd is seeking, Seeking the lambs that are lost, Bringing them in with rejoicing, Saved at such infinite cost.” (Hymns, 221)
“And one of the Elders answered saying unto me, what are these which are arrayed in white robes, and whence came they?
And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, these are they which came out of great tribulation and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Therefore are they before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple: and He that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.
They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.
For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.” (Rev. 7:13-17)
Ponder the connections between this Hymn #221 in our Hymn book and these verses found in Revelation 7. May we and those for whom we have stewardship overcome any tribulation preventing us from getting to the temple assisted by our belief, attitude and desires. That we may be dressed in white robes serving day and night in the temple, that we may qualify for these precious promises.
I am grateful for my wife Brittney and her example. When I knelt, trembling on my knee and asked her to marry me, she responded, “Only if it is for eternity.” I am grateful for the covenants we made in the temple and that we can be together forever. Last night when I came home from priesthood leadership meeting, I was feeling slightly overwhelmed and frustrated and wondered if it is all worth it. Then I went into the kitchen where Brittney was making dinner and put my arms around her and I knew in that moment that being with Brittney forever was worth everything and anything which the Lord may ask of me, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
