Remembering in the House of the Lord

By Lauren Madsen

“It is crucial to our happiness that we remember that we are sons and daughters of a loving Heavenly Father. Knowing and trusting this reality changes everything.”
—Gary B. Sabin

There is a spot in the temple that has become one of my favorite places to be assigned during my ordinance worker shift. It is in a higher traffic area where I am able to see people coming and going. Many faces have become familiar as I have seen patrons arrive faithfully at the same time every week. There is one particular couple I have observed and thought about often. They enter the temple together and approach the area where you can take the elevator or stairs to the dressing room. The woman stops and pauses, points her husband toward the main staircase, and she proceeds to the ordinance worker stairs leading to the basement. Every week it is the same. They walk in, they stop, he looks unsure, and she directs him. From observation this brother evidently has some difficulty with memory, yet they routinely return, and each time his wife reminds him where he needs to go. This loving exchange has led me to contemplate the many things we can be reminded of when we come to The House of the Lord.

Our world is often noisy and full of distractions that can keep us from remembering all kinds of things, and even some of the most vital things. That is why I love that the temple is a quiet place for reflection and remembering. Stepping through the doors of a House of the Lord helps us peel away the identities we hold in the world and retain the ones that matter most. President Nelson named these “enduring” identities as: children of God, children of the covenant, and disciples of Jesus Christ. Eliminating the worldly distractions makes it easier to remember who we are, who the Savior is, why we are here, the covenants we have made, and the blessings we have received. Time in the House of the Lord may provide glimpses backward, to who we were before we came to earth, and glimpses forward, to who we may become.

The word remember is found more than 180 times in the Book of Mormon and is one of the most used verbs within its pages. In the entire standard works, it is used 352 times, and when counting other variations of the word, the count goes up to more than 550. Clearly, remembering plays a significant part in our mortal experience. Sister Jutta B. Busche taught, “We, the children of the covenant whose eyes have been opened, have a great responsibility to be always aware of who we are.” Intentional time and worship in the temple will help us with this responsibility. 

Perhaps in a simpler time in history it may have been easier to remember eternal things. At the very least, I imagine it might have been somewhat simpler to find moments for quiet contemplation. Without devices constantly dinging and ringing and demanding attention, perhaps reflection even in the middle of mundane tasks may have been more achievable. For God’s work of gathering Israel in the last days to move forward, we must make time to be regularly reminded about who we are and who God is.

Is the House of the Lord the only place we can go to remember? No. Of course the Spirit can touch us and remind us in many other places, and certainly in sacred times like scripture study and partaking of the sacrament every week. But I do love the promise of President Nelson, “Time in the temple will help you to think celestial and to catch a vision of who you really are, who you can become and the kind of life you can have forever. Regular temple worship will enhance the way you see yourself and how you fit into God’s magnificent plan. I promise you that. . .Nothing will help you more to hold fast to the iron rod than worshipping in the temple as regularly as your circumstances permit. Nothing will protect you more as you encounter the world’s mists of darkness. Nothing will bolster your testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ and His Atonement or help you understand God’s magnificent plan more. Nothing will soothe your spirit more during times of pain. Nothing will open the heavens more. Nothing!”