Chapter 17

Temple Work: Turning Our Hearts to Our Families and to the Lord

When we enter the house of the Lord worthily, we receive ordinances that help prepare us, our ancestors, and our descendants to dwell in God’s presence forever.

From the Life of Wilford Woodruff

When the Kirtland Temple was dedicated on March 27, 1836, Wilford Woodruff was serving a full-time mission in the southern United States. Three weeks later he heard of the events of the dedication and wrote in his journal that the news was “glorious in the first degree.” 1 After he had completed his mission, he returned to Kirtland, arriving “on foot in a hard snowstorm.” He recorded, “We came in sight of the temple of the Lord before we reached the village, and I truly felt to rejoice at the sight as it was the first time that mine eyes ever beheld the house of the Lord built by commandment and revelation.” 2

Wilford Woodruff’s love for temple work never faded. He participated in all phases of the work—from construction to dedication and from family history work to ordinance work for the dead. He also rejoiced in the temple ordinances he and his family members received for themselves.

President Woodruff spoke often of the time when he received the endowment. The Prophet Joseph Smith, sensing that his earthly ministry would soon come to an end, administered the endowment to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in Nauvoo, even before the temple was completed. President Woodruff testified: “Joseph Smith first made known to me the very ordinances which we give to the Latter-day Saints in our endowments. I received my endowments under the direction of Joseph Smith.” 3

As a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and later as President of the Church, Wilford Woodruff participated in a continuing effort to build temples. He assisted in the work at the temple in Nauvoo, Illinois, and at temples in four cities in Utah: Logan, St. George, Manti, and Salt Lake City. He offered the dedicatory prayers at the temples in Manti and Salt Lake City.

The Salt Lake Temple, which was completed after 40 years of the Saints’ devoted labor, had special significance for President Woodruff. He first saw the temple in a detailed vision before the Saints reached the Salt Lake Valley. 4 Four days after arriving in the valley, he was present when President Brigham Young was inspired to choose the temple site. 5 Years before the temple’s completion, he had a dream in which he was given the key to the temple and was instructed by President Young to “let all into the temple who seek for salvation.” 6 He was a tireless advocate for the completion of the temple, even during times of trial and persecution. And when the construction was finally completed in April 1893, he followed President Young’s instruction in the dream, organizing three weeks of dedicatory services to ensure that all the Saints would have an opportunity to attend.

After the dedication of the Salt Lake Temple, President Woodruff emphasized the importance of the family in temple work. He said: “We want the Latter-day Saints from this time to trace their genealogies as far as they can, and to be sealed to their fathers and mothers. Have children sealed to their parents, and run this chain through as far as you can get it.” 7 (To read the historical account behind this teaching, see pages v–ix.

• How did Elder Wilford Woodruff respond when he heard of the dedication of the Kirtland Temple and when he saw the temple for the first time? (See page 173.) Have you had similar experiences that would be appropriate to share?

• In what ways did the early Latter-day Saints show their interest in temples? (See pages 175–76.) Why should we be “deeply interested” in temple work?

• Review the final paragraph on page 174. In what ways do you see temple service and family history research as “one work”? (See pages 176–78.) How has this work helped you turn your heart to your ancestors and your descendants?

• Why do we need the sealing ordinance to “obtain the fullness of celestial glory”? (See pages 176–77; see also D&C 131:1–4.)

• Scan the entire chapter, looking for statements about family relationships. What can we learn from these teachings? How can our understanding of the house of the Lord influence our feelings about our own homes?

• In what ways has attending the temple blessed you and your family? How can parents teach their children to reverence the temple and prepare to receive temple ordinances?

• Pages 178–81 contain some of President Woodruff’s counsel to help the Saints prepare for the Salt Lake Temple dedication. How can this counsel help us each time we enter the temple?

• What are some principles that are taught in the dedicatory prayer of the Salt Lake Temple? (See pages 176, 177–78, 181–82.) Ponder or discuss how the words in the prayer can help us in our efforts to do temple and family history work.

Notes

1. Journal of Wilford Woodruff, April 19, 1836, Archives of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

2. Journal of Wilford Woodruff, November 25, 1836.

3. The Discourses of Wilford Woodruff, sel. G. Homer Durham (1946), 148.

4. See The Discourses of Wilford Woodruff, 162.

5. See Journal of Wilford Woodruff, July 28, 1847.

6. Journal of Wilford Woodruff, March 12, 1887.

7. The Discourses of Wilford Woodruff, 157.

8. In Conference Report, October 1994, 114; or Ensign, November 1994, 85.

9. In James R. Clark, comp., Messages of the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 6 vols. (1965–75), 3:236.

10. Salt Lake Herald Church and Farm, June 15, 1895, 386.

11. Deseret Weekly, August 6, 1892, 193.

12. “An Epistle to the Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” Millennial Star, November 14, 1887, 730–31.

13. Deseret Weekly, November 14, 1891, 660.

14. The Discourses of Wilford Woodruff, 337.

15. Deseret News: Semi-Weekly, December 21, 1869, 2.

16. Deseret Weekly, October 22, 1892, 548.

17. Millennial Star, May 28, 1894, 338–39.

18. The Discourses of Wilford Woodruff, 339–41.

19. Millennial Star, May 7, 1893, 305. President Woodruff gave these instructions to help the Saints prepare to attend the dedication of the Salt Lake Temple.

20. In Messages of the First Presidency, 3:242–44. President Woodruff gave these instructions to help the Saints prepare to attend the dedication of the Salt Lake Temple.

21. The Discourses of Wilford Woodruff, 335, 337–38.

[picture] “We want the Latter-day Saints … to trace their genealogies as far as they can, and to be sealed to their fathers and mothers.”

[picture] Recommends like this one were distributed to Church members who were worthy to attend dedication services in the Salt Lake Temple.