Becoming Temples of the Lord

Often the scriptures are like a puzzle. We find pieces scattered throughout the Bible and the Latter-day scriptures and when we put these pieces together, we are in awe at the “picture” that emerges and the depth of the message that gives more meaning and direction to the purpose of our lives.

I had one of these experiences several years ago as I read 3 Nephi one Sunday afternoon and saw something I hadn’t seen before. I noticed that Jesus Christ, in his teachings to the Nephites, mentioned the parable of building our house upon the rock or the sand three times in chapters 11, 14, and 18. In studying more carefully what preceded each account, I realized that He was giving us a blueprint, if you will, for building our personal “temple,” which if we would build, He would come and reside in it.

There are several verses scattered throughout the scriptures that talk about building these personal temples. Spiritual parallels can also be drawn from the construction of ancient and latter-day temples. Paul understood the analogy when he said, “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16)

The Church, as a whole, has also been likened unto a temple as it is built “upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets; Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord” (Ephesians 2:20-21).

The Cost

Before anyone begins to build a house, he must consider how much expense it will take and whether or not they have the funds to complete it. In spiritually building our temple, Jesus gives a parable, as recorded in Luke chapter 14, warning us that we should seriously consider the costs of what is required before undertaking such a commitment to build.

Jesus said:

For which of you, intending to build a tower [temple], sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply [perhaps], after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him. And this he said, signifying there should not any man follow him, unless he was able to continue, saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish (vs. 28-30 JST, inserts added).

What is the cost of discipleship or the building of our personal temple? Jesus said:

He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. (Matt. 10: 37-39)

What He is asking is for us to give Him everything. If we hold anything back, we are not worthy of Him. We should not say that God is our co-pilot in life; we must say that He is our pilot.

Neal A. Maxwell explains,

The submission of one’s will is really the only uniquely personal thing we have to place on God’s altar. The many things we ‘give’ are actually the things He has already given or loaned to us [i.e. our time, talents, substance, etc.]. However, when you and I finally submit ourselves, by letting our individual wills be swallowed up in God’s will, then we are really giving something to Him! It is the only possession which is truly ours to give!” [1]

President Ezra T. Benson promised, “Men and women who turn their lives over to Christ will soon discover that He can make a lot more out of their lives then they can”. [2] By giving our agency, if you will, back to God, then He can finally work with us and perfect us because we are letting Him design and construct the house instead of following our own plans.

Jesus said:

Verily I say unto you, it is my will that you should build a house. If you keep my commandments you shall have power to build it … Now here is wisdom, and the mind of the Lord — let the house be built, not after the manner of the world, for I give not unto you that ye shall live after the manner of the world; therefore, let it be built after the manner which I shall show unto … you (Doc. & Cov. 95:11-14).

And behold, it must be done according to the pattern which I have given unto you (Doc. & Cov. 94:2)

And it shall be dedicated unto the Lord from the foundation thereof, according to the order of the priesthood, according to the pattern which shall be given unto you … and it shall be wholly dedicated unto the Lord … and ye shall not suffer any unclean thing to come in unto it; and my glory shall be there and my presence shall be there (Doc. & Cov. 94:6-8).

Even though Christ was talking to Joseph Smith about building the Kirtland Temple, we can liken these scriptures to ourselves as well.

The Foundation

Buildings must have a good, solid foundation in order to support the weight of the structure and secure it in place. Jesus states that the foundation for building our spiritual temple is repentance, belief, baptism and reception of the Holy Ghost.[3]

This is my doctrine … I bear record that the Father commandeth all men, everywhere, to repent and believe in me. And whoso believeth in me, and is baptized, the same shall be saved…and whoso believeth in me believeth in the Father also; and unto him will the Father bear record of me, for he will visit him with fire and with the Holy Ghost (3 Nephi 11:32-35).

He continues with :

Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine, and whoso buildeth upon this buildeth upon my rock [the strongest foundation there is!], and the gates of hell shall not prevail against them” (vs. 39). He warns that those who do not establish this for doctrine, “buildeth upon a sandy foundation, and the gates of hell stand open to receive such when the floods come and the winds beat upon them” (vs. 40).

Likewise, Joseph Smith stated that the first principles [or foundation] of the Gospel are faith, repentance, baptism and the reception of the Holy Ghost. (A of F #4). These foundation principles make total sense because, as Christ explained, we must give our lives to Him and the only way to do that is to first believe in Him — to trust that He can really perfect us!

Second, we truly must be willing to give up all our sins which are stumbling blocks, not building blocks to our salvation. Baptism is the great symbol of our commitment — we are immersed completely, symbolic of our total commitment. Baptism is also a symbol of the “death” of our old selves and “resurrected” into our new life in Christ. Reception of the Holy Ghost is our quickening or enlightenment of our souls and the instrument whereby we are instructed in how to build our lives.  

Building the Structure

Now that the foundation is laid, the structural process can begin. Chapters 12-14 of Third Nephi give instruction on the building our spiritual temple and serious study and application in our lives of these chapters is necessary to understand the design.

Briefly, Jesus outlines the steps in what we know as the Beatitudes and also charges the saints that they are to be the light of the world and the salt of the world. He wants us to live the higher law as He explains that not only should we not kill, but we should not hold anger against one another; adultery is certainly a sin, but lust is also. He taught that we should not try to get even but to bear our afflictions with patience and to go the second mile — that we should even love our enemies!

In chapter 13, Jesus warns of the hypocrisy of pride — of doing things to be seen of others and for seeking worldly treasures. We need to remember that the great and spacious building in Lehi’s dream was not built upon a foundation for it “stood as it were in the air, high above the earth” (1 Nephi 8:26) and that it represented “the pride of the world: and it fell, and the fall thereof was exceedingly great” (1 Nephi 11:36).

Then in chapter 14, Jesus warns of judging others and seeing the “motes” of faults in others instead of focusing on the “beams” of sin in ourselves. We are to forgive trespasses of others if we are to be forgiven of our sins. He concludes this chapter with:

Whoso heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, who built his house upon a rock … and every one that heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them not shall be likened unto a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand — and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house; and it fell and great was the fall of it (vs. 24-27). [4]

Jesus taught these principles to the Nephites at the temple in the land of Bountiful. Ironically, a great place to learn how to build our spiritual temples is in our latter-day temples! The covenants we make there are rich in meaning and symbolism [there are “measuring tool” symbols in the temple!] and can truly teach us how to build our inner selves.

In Ezekiel (chapters 40 – 42) is the vision that Ezekiel had of the heavenly temple. An angelic messenger handed Ezekiel a measuring reed and told him to measure the temple, which he did, starting with the outer court and working his way into the Holy of Holies. He paid attention to the details such as the little chambers, the posts, the arches, the windows, the steps and the palm trees that were on the posts, and other fixtures as he progressed. In doing so, he learned how the heavenly temple was built.

A lesson we can learn from these chapters is that we likewise, need to pay attention in the temple to all the details and “measure” them with the “reed of the Spirit” to understand how it is built and how we can apply those principles, or measures, in our lives.

We should go to the temple often to receive these instructions. Nephi, in building the ship “did go into the mount oft, and I did pray oft unto the Lord; wherefore the Lord showed unto me great things” (1 Nephi 17:3). Mountains were used anciently when no temple was available, and the temple is sometimes referred to as the mountain of the Lord (see Isaiah 2:2-3). [5]

Nephi said, “I did build it after the manner which the Lord had shown unto me; wherefore, it was not after the manner of men”.[6] We are not to build our lives after the manner of men’s wisdom.

We cannot build our spiritual temples on our own. Christ is the architect for He is our creator. He is the contractor for he has paid the price so that we can be created in His likeness.

He is the foreman, for he oversees our progress and He is the carpenter for He is very involved in customizing our lives for optimal growth.

C. S. Lewis said:

Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of — throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself. [7]

 

Built upon the Rock

In chapter 18 of Third Nephi, we find the third parable about building upon the sand or the rock. Jesus had commanded his disciples to bring bread and wine and He blessed it and broke the bread and commanded the disciples to distribute to the multitude. He said:

This shall ye always observe to do, even as I have done, even as I have broken bread and blessed it and given it unto you. And this shall ye do in remembrance of my body, which I have shown unto you. And it shall be a testimony unto the Father that ye do always remember me. And if ye do always remember me ye shall have my Spirit to be with you (vs. 6-7).  

Regarding the wine He said,

This doth witness unto the Father that ye are willing to do that which I have commanded you…and ye shall do it in remembrance of my blood, which I have shed for you, that ye may witness unto the Father that ye do always remember me. And if ye do always remember me ye shall have my Spirit to be with you (vs.10-11).

Then He says in verse 12, “And I give unto you a commandment that ye shall do these things. And if ye shall always do these things blessed are ye, for ye are built upon my rock.”

The key to keeping our spiritual temple solid and firm is to “always remember Him” in our thoughts and actions. Partaking of the sacrament weekly helps to remind us to do so. Then when “the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall” (Helaman 5:12).

As we experience the marvelous building process in our lives, we must give all glory to Him and come to realize, as Moses did, that we truly are nothing! (Moses 1:10) “For by him were all things created…and he is before all things, and by him all things consist” (Colossians 1:16-17).

            Alma said, “Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things!”(Alma 26:12, emphasis added).

When our spiritual temple is complete, we will have nothing to boast of, but will be truly amazed at His grace.

Moroni understood this when he said,

Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God. And again, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, then are ye sanctified in Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the blood of Christ, which is in the covenant of the Father unto the remission of your sins, that ye become holy, without spot (Moroni 10:32-33).  

Faith, repentance, baptism and reception of the Holy Ghost lay the foundation for our spiritual “temples.” Obedience to the commandments, good works, love towards God and our fellowman are the elements of design. As we build our temples with Christ and do it with an eye single to His glory, then we can have the promise of having His spirit to always be with us. That is the purpose of building our temples — a place where the spirit of the Lord can reside.

 

[1] Maxwell, Neal A., If Thou Endure It Well, Bookcraft 1996, p. 54

[2] Ezra Taft Benson, “Born of God,” Ensign, Nov. 1985, 5

[3] This article uses the analogy of building a temple for our spiritual progress. There are other analogies in the scriptures for the same doctrine. For example, instead of using the foundation for the principles of faith, repentance, baptism and reception of the Holy Ghost, Nephi uses the same principles as a gate that leads to a path on a journey to the tree of life in 2 Nephi 31:17. Alma uses the analogy of a seed that grows into a tree of life in Alma chapter 36.

[4] It is interesting to note the similar wording between “the fall thereof was exceedingly great” regarding the building of pride in Lehi’s dream and the “great was the fall of it” to the house built upon the sand after chapters 12-14 of 3^rd Nephi. In Pres. Benson’s April 1989 Conference talk, entitled “Beware of Pride”, the parallels between the aspects of pride and the concepts Jesus taught in chapters 12 – 14 correlate each other remarkably.

[5] The brother of Jared likewise went to the top of a mountain to receive instructions on how to build their ships.

[6] Note the similar wording between the building of the ship and the instructions on the Kirtland Temple — both were not to be built after the manner of men.

[7] C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity