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Aaronic Priesthood Manual 3

Preparing for the Temple Endowment

"Lesson 32: Preparing for the Temple Endowment," Aaronic Priesthood Manual 3, 131

OBJECTIVE

Each young man will prepare to receive his temple endowment and prepare to make this experience beautiful and sacred.

PREPARATION

SUGGESTED LESSON DEVELOPMENT

Purposes of Temples

Pictures, handouts, and discussion

Display the pictures of various temples and of an ordinance room. Hand out to class members the following statements taken from an article by Elder John A. Widtsoe ("Looking Toward the Temple," Ensign, Jan. 1972, pp. 56-57). Have the young men read each quotation in turn. Discuss the statements with the young men.

Chalkboard discussion

List on the chalkboard some of the ordinances that are performed inside the temple:

Explain that ordinances performed in the temple have symbolic meaning. In the ordinance of baptism, for example, we are buried in water and brought out again. This symbolizes the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord. All temple ordinances are symbolic of gospel truths. Because more is taught in the temple than a person can comprehend in one visit, worthy members should return often to the temple where possible.

The Endowment Is Vital to Each Person's Exaltation

Story

The ordinances of the temple were so important to one young Latter-day Saint girl that she went to great lengths to feel the spirit of the temple. Tell the following story in your own words:

Dedication of the Nauvoo Temple took place on 30 April 1846 and the following three days. Few of those already on the trail to Winter Quarters returned for the dedication, but one who did was fourteen-year-old Elvira Stevens. Orphaned in Nauvoo and traveling west with her sister and brother-in-law, Elvira crossed the Mississippi River three times to attend the services, the only member of her wagon company to do so. "The heavenly power was so great," she wrote, "I then crossed and recrossed to be benefitted by it, as young as I was." Elvira had not yet received the temple ordinances, but the spiritual power of the edifice itself and the circumstances of its dedication remained prominent memories of her brief and troubled life in Nauvoo. (See Carol Cornwall Madsen, In Their Own Words [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1994], p. 23.)

Chalkboard discussion

Explain that the better prepared the young men are, the better they will understand the endowment when they go to the temple. This lesson will help prepare them and give them suggestions for further preparation.

Write the word endowment on the chalkboard. Ask the young men to define it.

On the chalkboard write, Endowment means a gift of spiritual blessings.

Scripture and discussion

Ask the young men to explain why they think the endowment is necessary. Have them read, mark, and discuss Doctrine and Covenants 124:40-41.

Quotation

Read the following statement:

"Let me give you a definition in brief. Your endowment is, to receive all those ordinances in the house of the Lord, which are necessary for you, after you have departed this life, to enable you to walk back to the presence of the Father, passing the angels who stand as sentinels, being enabled to give them the key words, the signs and tokens, pertaining to the holy Priesthood, and gain your eternal exaltation in spite of earth and hell" (Brigham Young, Discourses of Brigham Young, sel. John A. Widtsoe [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1954], p. 416).

Chalkboard discussion

Write Doctrine and Covenants 124:40-41 on the chalkboard. Place the following words and phrases below the reference in this way:

Doctrine and Covenants 124:40-41
Exaltation in the presence of God
Continued faithfulness
Eternal marriage
Temple endowment
The holy priesthood
Gift of the Holy Ghost
Baptism
Repentance
Faith in Jesus Christ

 

Bear testimony that the temple endowment is essential to each person's exaltation. It is a necessary step in order to gain exaltation in the celestial kingdom and attain godhood.

Requirements for a Temple Recommend

Bishop's presentation

The bishop may wish to show his temple recommend book to the young men (and young women, if present) and explain that he has been ordained to be a common judge in Israel. To obtain a temple recommend, a Church member must have a personal worthiness interview each year with a member of the bishopric and a member of the stake presidency. The bishop may wish to read from the temple recommend book the specific questions that will be asked, or he may paraphrase them in simple terms. He should invite the class members to privately examine their own lives to see if they could qualify for a temple recommend. If not, they should begin to make themselves worthy.

The bishop might explain that honesty in the interviews is vital. The young people are really responding to Heavenly Father through his representatives.

The bishop might explain that each young person will be interviewed individually and must sign the recommend to indicate that he or she has answered all questions correctly and honestly. The bishop witnesses that signature. Later a member of the stake presidency will interview the individual and must also sign the recommend.

Discussion

Discuss how young people can prepare to be interviewed for their temple recommends and to receive their own endowments. Relate the preparations to the purpose of the endowment already discussed earlier in the lesson, and help the class members bring out the following points:

Testimony

Bear your testimony of the joy and satisfaction that come to those who live worthy to enter the temple to receive their endowment and who remain worthy of these blessings throughout their lives.

Questions Concerning the Temple

Discussion

This is an ideal opportunity to answer any appropriate questions the young people have concerning the endowment. Included here are nine questions often asked by young people preparing to go through the temple. Use any or all of the information that follows.

Hand out the slips of paper containing the questions. Have the class members read their questions one at a time. Then discuss the answers.

Conclusion

Scripture and testimony

Have the young men read and mark Doctrine and Covenants 105:18. Bear testimony to the truth of this scripture, as well as to the importance of the endowment.

Challenge

Challenge each young man to commit himself to righteous choices concerning dating and courtship and to living the commandments of God in order to be worthy of a temple recommend.

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