Beautiful Temples

Some weeks are just a challenge. New opportunities come our way that require some growing pains before we reach new heights. I must say, the refiners fire gets quite hot. Really hot.

Today I went to the temple. Before I went inside, I sat in the parking lot for a while thinking about how I wanted to feel while I was there. I wanted to feel peace, love, and strength. As I sat there thinking more about temples, a memory from earlier in the week came to mind.

I was in one of my new nursing classes this semester when my professor was talking about how adults treat their bodies. She mentioned how some people truly believe that their bodies are a temple.

I believe this. I've always kept it in mind with modesty and the word of wisdom.

But today I had a new thought.

Temples are beautiful. The more we treat ourselves, and each other like temples, the more beautiful we are.

So how can I treat myself and others like a temple?

1. Recognize Beauty. Just like temples are beautiful and shine with the light of hope, we are also beautiful. Never lose sight of your beauty or worth. During challenging times, it is easy to get down on ourselves and not see our true potential. Maybe this is the challenge itself. The discouraging thoughts that come to our head about our lack of adequacy are not true. We are divine children of Heavenly Father, and he loves us more than we can comprehend. As we seek to see the true beauty in others, we will not be so inclined to compare ourselves. We will recognize that each person is of infinite worth, and needed in this perfect and beautiful Plan of Happiness.

2. Make the Temple a Priority. Making the temple a priority is always a blessing in our lives. As we devote our time to a greater focus on the temple, our lives are deeply enriched. Make your personal temple a priority. Take the time to stand in your own personal holy places and be still. Peace will come. Take the priority of helping others come to this peace. Ponder how you can best come to the aid of someone else, but do this with reverence. When I go to the temple, the sacredness I feel there does not depend on the amount of people who are there. The temple has a calm spirit of its own. We don't need to call upon a large number of things to serve ourselves or others. We just need to quietly help ourselves and others feel the spirit. With gentleness comes sincere and lasting peace.

3. Love the Temple. Love yourself and others. I love the temple so much that I could never deny it's worth. I hope I can always love myself and others in that same way. This means being patient with ourselves and others, forgiving ourselves and others, asking for forgiveness and changing for our benefit, and being loyal and dedicated even through our long sufferings. This is charity, which is the pure love of Christ. Howard W. Hunter said:

"Those who are filled with the love of Christ do not seek to force others to do better; they inspire others to do better, indeed inspire them to the pursuit of God. We need to extend the hand of friendship. We need to be kinder, more gentle, more forgiving, and slower to anger. We need to love one another with the pure love of Christ."

This is the love I feel from the temple.

When your challenges seem big, and you feel weak and small, remember that you are a beautiful temple. You are greater and stronger than you think.