Remembering Our Heavenly Home Through Temple Worship

By Anne Maxson

My parents divorced when I was 7. As part of the process, my childhood home was sold and I moved in with my mom. Over the next few years, my mom and I moved five times due to her social connections and choices. 

At the time of the divorce, my dad moved into his parents’ summer home/cabin and lived there year-round. The cabin was a child’s dream with over 40 acres of woods, trails, clearings used for football and baseball, and 1000 feet of lakeshore including a sandy point and a little cove with all sorts of wildlife. Even though I only spent a limited time there, the cabin came to feel like a safe haven for me, especially when there was so much upheaval and uncertainty otherwise. 

The cabin property was parceled and sold in 2015. The new owners tore down the cabin and now multiple homes line the property. I hadn’t been there since the summer of 2012 and it was difficult not to go back for one last visit before it belonged to someone else. Instead, I wrote down as much as possible and found as many old pictures as possible to share the memories with my kids. As I read through those thoughts and look at those pictures, it brings me right back to my time spent at the cabin throughout my life. I still wish there was a way to return. 

As I was thinking about this longing to return “home” I couldn’t help but think of how it may relate to my Heavenly Home. In his October 2017 General Conference talk, “A Yearning for Home,” Dieter F. Uchtdorf talks about a desire to return to our Heavenly Home. He says, “I believe that every man, woman, and child has felt the call of heaven at some point in his or her life. Deep within us is a longing to somehow reach past the veil and embrace Heavenly Parents we once knew and cherished. Some might suppress this yearning and deaden their souls to its call. But those who do not quench this light within themselves can embark on an incredible journey—a wondrous migration toward heavenly climes.”

For me, worshipping in the temple is a favorite way to remember “home.” The temple provides the opportunity to disconnect from this world and reconnect with heaven. It is there that I feel I can catch a small glimpse of what it must have been like. I can feel peace beyond what the world offers and gain greater clarity in having an eternal perspective on the trials of this life. In addition, living my life in accordance with temple covenants helps prepare me to return to my heavenly home. It is a celestial positive feedback loop. As I attend the temple, I am reminded of home and taught the tools and attributes that will help me to return to that home. As I utilize those tools, I want to be in the temple even more.