My Mormon Third Eye: I See... How to Really Enjoy Your Next Visit to the Temple

Sunday, August 21, 2016

I See... How to Really Enjoy Your Next Visit to the Temple

The Mormon Third Eye is proud to serve as the unofficial remedial manual for modern Mormon members on how to get things done the right way in their own lives, homes and wards. In fact, approximately 10% of the Mormon Third Eye is dedicated to making Latter-day Saint life easier, with advice offered at all levels difficulty and capability, from the mercilessly mundane (how to deal with a bad dream) and seemingly silly (how to end any argument with your wife) to the unusually unique (how to keep your children morally clean before marriage)and sadly serious (how to know if your wife really, truly loves you). Now it's time learn how to really enjoy your visit nextto the temple.

Over the past almost 40 years I've either been serving in three temples (Seoul Korea, Washington DC, and Raleigh North Carolina) or visiting many more. The essence of temple worship is the opportunity we have to serve as “Saviors on Mt. Zion” and experience the joy that comes with doing something for someone that they cannot do for themselves. As we complete the saving ordinances for our ancestors, we are effectuating their release from spiritual prison and introduction into spiritual paradise while they await the joyful day of resurrection. Actually, the source of all the good feelings we feel as we serve others in any capacity anywhere anytime for anybody is the fact that we are doing something for someone that they cannot do for themselves. The atonement of Jesus Christ is the epitome of this principle- the only perfect man suffering for our sins and our sorrows, making the impossible possible- enjoying a stain-free eternity with our Father in Heaven. Can we even comprehend how happy the Savior must be as a result of this act of ultimate service?

The entrance to the Washington D.C. Temple, with a partial view of the water fountain out front.

Absolutely not. But we can have a taste of it. So... what if... what if... the next time you attended the temple, you did something for someone that they cannot do for themselves- an act of service for the dead AND the living?

Here is how you do it. The next time you go the temple to perform saving ordinances vicariously for your ancestors, take a completely immobilized wheelchair-bound recommend holder with you. To give them an opportunity to serve their ancestors, you will have to do everything for them. Everything. And you just might experience incomprehensible joy in the process.

This happened to me a few months ago during a temple shift. I was assigned to help an elderly man in a wheelchair complete endowment ordinances for one of his ancestors. All he could offer them was his body. I had to do everything else for him. Everything. And as I did so, I was infused with a quiet but powerful wave of peace and joy and love that is hard to describe.

I guess you could call it incomprehensible.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

The Mormon Third Eye Quote of the Week

"As men of the priesthood, we have an essential role to play in society, at home, and in the Church. But we must be men that women can trust, that children can trust, and that God can trust. In the Church and kingdom of God in these latter days, we cannot afford to have boys and men who are drifting. We cannot afford young men who lack self-discipline and live only to be entertained. We cannot afford young adult men who are going nowhere in life, who are not serious about forming families and making a real contribution in this world. We cannot afford husbands and fathers who fail to provide spiritual leadership in the home."

Elder D. Todd Christofferson
Priesthood Session Conference, October 2012

Why My Mormon Third Eye?

When I politely excused myself in the middle of dinner to make a bathroom stop, how did Mom know that I had uneaten peas in my pocket to flush down the toilet? When I came home late from a youth dance and slid quietly into bed to avoid waking parental units, how did Dad know, without looking at the car, that I smashed in the front bumper? When I watch my daughter play a video game, how do I know that she's not ready for her Geometry final?

Its the Third Eye. The notorious eye in the back of the head, the extra view of life that God blesses parents striving to do the right thing so they can see more of life than the children they chase after.

Our third eye also permits us to see things and feel emotions that are too refined, too far on the edge of our standard two-eyed peripheral vision to enjoy in its fullness. I've learned that I have a Mormon Third Eye; that is, as a life-long, fully-dedicated member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I have unique perspective on how the doctrines of the gospel and the demands of my faith in them intersect every other part of my mortal existence to create the entertaining, self-deprecating kaleidoscope of my life.

So... for those of you bold and bored enough to read this far, every so often I'll be sharing here what my Mormon third eye sees. Third eyes are relatively huge; they see the humorous, the entertaining, the embarrassing, the beautiful, the inspirational, and even the moral and political; however, they tend to ignore the evil, depressing and destructive: there is enough of that in world already!

The Four Secrets to Successful Living

Always Go Where There is Free Food - This includes ward and work parties, wedding receptions and missionary open houses; the money you spend to buy the ingredients for the world-famous triple chocolate cake you bring doesn’t count.
Never Pay Full Price for Anything – See my posts on Black Friday escapades for more information on this.
Never, Ever Press the Red Button - Usually, if you are faced with a red button somewhere, don’t press it – it usually means trouble. For example, the red button launches the missiles. Do yourself a favor and don’t press it.
Any Problem You Face Can Be Solved With Bungee Cords and Duct Tape - Bungee cord and duct tape technology has saved many marriages and ward parties. I’m not just talking about problems with plumbing or keeping groceries from bouncing around the trunk; I know of relationship and family issues that have been solved with creative applications of these two substances.