A VIST TO THE TEMPLE
This year I have had plenty of opportunities to listen to testimonies of brothers and sisters who had the privilege of visiting the house of the Lord. How wonderful have been those testimonies - very touching. Those are witnesses borne to their souls by the Spirit. A number of them share the blessings and the peace they felt while in there. Others have seen change in their lives. They are grateful. They testify of how true the Mormon Church is.
I wondered how these common men and women gained such testimonies. These are people from own community, people we have grown with, in other denominations, but how come they testify of a church they just joined recently? These were my questions. I never asked anyone.
These questions gave me much desire to visit the temple. I often prayed that all my worries and doubts would be answered one day. I knew without doubt that the answers would surely come. I took much time reading the pamphlet “Preparing to Enter the Holy Temple”. I looked forward to entering that holy house.
On 20 October 2015 I had my own turn to enter. My mind was calm. Full of great hope, I knew it was almost time. I walked side by side with my wife, leaning on her powerful and sealed testimony. I didn’t receive my answers that morning. Despite this, the hope in me didn’t dwindle. I still looked and waited for my answers.
As I walked out of the temple a deep, calm, but very strong feeling entered my mind. Then a number of names of my relatives started going through my mind. It was a long list but at the end were about six names of those who had gone beyond the veil. The feeling soon left but that list remained, stuck in my mind. I wondered why.
The following morning in the family history centre I discovered that five of those names were on the list I preserved for temple ordinances. The other person was my father whose ordinances my brother had already done. This brought deep thoughts. I wondered what it meant. Honestly speaking I didn’t know what it meant.
I managed to do their ordinances that day. Late in the afternoon I learnt of their gratitude for the work. There was evidence of that. I discovered why those names and why my father appeared among those names. I have learnt with gratitude in my heart that the temple ordinances are real. I have no doubt that in the temple those who have gone beyond are near and waiting for our service.
After the temple visit I learnt the importance of families and why I should always value every member of my family. There is surely gain in visiting the Lord’s house. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true. And families can be together forever.