Lessons from the Temple

I have a new appreciation for the temple, lately, but I rather doubt that my experience of the temple mirrors the experiences of others. Many go to the temple to do a service. Others, like me, go to be "serviced". I am a selfish temple attender. I seldom focus my thoughts on the individual whose work is being done, although when he does cross my mind it feels companionable. However, I feel that I have been receiving much more from the visit than just the experience of the endowment.

I have also concluded that, for me at least, there really are things to learn every time I attend. However, I can't say I usually have new insights about the endowment itself. I worry a bit about being misunderstood, (Wow! Dad finally got religion!), but I sense that I probably ought to share a couple of the "lessons" I feel I have been given.

1. I am the creator of my life experience and I am completely responsible for everything that happens in my life.

I know...very trite and new age, but let me explain. I arrived at the temple one afternoon when I had done a lot of mental blaming of others during the day. You know what they say.....before you get mad there is always an angel on your shoulder asking, "Do you want to be right, or do you want to be happy"? I had done a lot of being right that day. As I sat there, trying to find the spirit, it hit me forcefully just how completely responsible I was for everything I had experienced that day. I could visualize, clearly, how different actions and reactions on my part could have changed everything. I came away with a new perspective on the fact that I am a powerful creative being. I am always responsible for my life experience. A promise was made by me, that day, that I would spend more time focusing on my actions, and significantly less time judging (blaming) others.

2. Music can help to access the spirit.

In this case, I am speaking about music you hear internally...in your mind. The first two visits to the temple this month had been wonderful, but on this particular day I couldn't seem to find the thread. It was almost as if I was experiencing a dullness of thought, a lack of communion. About an hour in, however, a happy old pop song called "Sunshine, lollipops and rainbows" began running through my head. I know that the story would sound better if it had been Tabernacle Choir music, but I had to take what I could get. We are not discussing some holy person. My mood picked up as I began to change the words. "Sunshine, lollipops and rainbows, everything that's wonderful is what I feel here in the temple. Brighter than a lucky penny, when I'm here the rain goes, disappears, and I feel so fine! Ok, embarrassing, but you get the drift. Before the end of the session, everything had changed, and I was having a powerful, joyful experience. It struck me at the end that music, all joyful music, was a gift of God to help us access a greater portion of the spirit. I strongly feel that this is true.

I couldn't seem to leave the temple last month without a strong sense of having been taught. To my surprise, for the first time, I have had the experience of the temple as a truly joyful place. In fact, I have a very strong impression that one purpose of the temple is to help us expand our ability to experience joy. Considering the fact that I have never really enjoyed the temple in the past, and have often gone to great lengths to avoid it, this is a surprising time for me.

Looking back at the last couple of posts, I have let this blog get very dull and even preachy, which is not my usual style. I suppose, in some ways, I am treating it more like a journal, so any of you who are reading this will just have to bear with me. But I do feel, even at my advanced age, that I am learning something new, and that is exciting!