The temple is a marvelous intersection of heaven and earth. Recently there have been significant changes and insights there that can increase our awareness of spiritual things. Let’s GO BACK to the temple to gain additional light, feel the power of the spirit and be in the company of God, family, and angels…
“I Felt Her Presence Strongly”
Allison Tullis commented,
“On my first time back to the temple since reopening, I took a family name that I had meant to do long before Covid but had kept putting off. I was so happy to finally do her work and had felt so guilty they she had to wait so long. While I was receiving the new name, I felt her presence so strongly and heard the words,
“Thank you!”
“I could feel her happiness that she was finally receiving her endowment which took away my guilt and caused me such happiness, too![i]
What a beautiful experience! When we’re at that intersection of heaven and earth, beautiful things happen…
Powerful Spiritual Experience
David Newbold shares an extraordinarily sweet experience he had after his wife died.
“Lorene told me numerous times while on hospice care how much she appreciated what I did for her, and I repeatedly said to her that she was saving me and that my caring for her was a blessing.
I went to the temple on Saturday, 1 June 2019. I’m sad that I had not been to the temple for over 1½ years. After Lorene died, I wanted to go by myself but did not get there. I feared that Lorene’s spirit would not join me there, and I would be devastated by that distance. Oh, how Satan strives to mislead us!
Well, I cannot remember ever having had a more powerful spiritual experience in my life! Lorene was there, and her spirit and love enveloped me. I felt that loving influence stronger than I ever imagined that it could be. It was SO real! I am grateful to the Lord for blessing me with that experience. I will cherish it, for it gives me the strength to continue my sojourn in mortality.” [ii]
Elder Gerrit W. Gong taught,
“As we honor our covenants, we may sometimes feel we are in the company of angels. And we will be – those we love and who bless us on this side of the veil and those who love and bless us from the other side of the veil.”[iii]
“They Are Here!”
Through a series of sacrifices and miracles, Jan and Peter Emery from Australia, made a never to be forgotten trip to the Salt Lake Temple to do over 100 family names. Of this wonderful event Jan wrote,
“What an amazing moment! Walking to the Temple and walking inside I found it hard to comprehend that here we were in the Salt Lake Temple! A moment I had never imagined. This experience was the most Spiritual ever as we walked along the long passage under the Temple to the baptismal area.
“We were handed our clothes for the baptisms and as soon as I was given my clothes it was like my soul entered a different dimension and I cried and cried. I could not stop as I felt the spirits of my family. They were there!
As I was about to enter the font, the worker in the font said to me,
‘They are here! You can feel them, can’t you?’
I, still sobbing quietly said, ‘Yes I can!’”[iv]
Family relationships are so intimate and beautiful. Death doesn’t change our feelings. If anything, it enhances them. The temple is a place for those connections to be heightened. The temple is a place where promises can be kept, as well as a place of healing…
“The Spirit Was Palpable”
President Russell M. Nelson relates a marvelous experience where the spirits of two of his former heart patients came to him at night wanting their temple work done. He says,
“…many years ago when, as a heart surgeon, I was not able to save the lives of two little sisters… I was heartbroken when both girls died following their operations… For almost six decades, I have been haunted by this situation and have grieved for the Hatfields. I tried several times to establish contact with them, without success.
“Then one night last May, I was awakened by those two little girls from the other side of the veil. Though I did not see or hear them with my physical senses, I felt their presence. Spiritually, I heard their pleadings. Their message was brief and clear: “Brother Nelson, we are not sealed to anyone! Can you help us?” Soon thereafter, I learned that their mother had passed away, but their father and younger brother were still alive.
Emboldened by the pleadings of Laural Ann and Gay Lynn, I tried again to contact their father, who I learned was living with his son Shawn. This time they were willing to meet with me.
“In June, I literally knelt in front of Jimmy, now 88 years old, and had a heart-to-heart talk with him. I spoke of his daughters’ pleadings and told him I would be honored to perform sealing ordinances for his family…And when Jimmy and Shawn each accepted my offer, I was overjoyed! …Wendy and I wept as we participated in that sublime experience. Many hearts were healed that day!” [v]
Elder Henry B. Eyring taught,
“I know that temples of the Lord are holy places…be worthy and ready for the increased opportunities for temple experiences that are coming…[and learn]
the spiritual teaching about the Savior that we can receive in the temple.
“It is in the temple that we can receive the assurance of loving family connections that will continue after death and last for eternity.”[vi]
“Just Go to the Temple!”
Yvonne Swinson shared a powerful temple experience that included her departed father. She wrote,
“When my father’s lymphoma took a dramatic turn for the worse, we were convinced his time was brief. He looked terrible because of the effects of his illness. I remember quietly saying to him,
‘Dad, after you die will you please come back just once? I just want to see you healthy one more time.’
He thoughtfully responded,
‘Just go to the temple, that’s where I’ll be!’
“Shortly after he died, I attended the Washington DC temple. When I came to the veil, I strongly felt my father right there. I could feel his hand on my shoulder, and he spoke to me through the words of the temple ceremony. I was amazed at how clearly and beautifully my concern from a year earlier was answered in that precious moment in the temple.”[vii].
In that glorious experience, Yvonne’s father kept a precious appointment with her in the temple. She was so glad she was in the intersection of Heaven and earth that day.
Feeling God’s Presence
Because the temple is an intersection of earth and heaven, we can INTERSECT WITH HEAVEN there. We may or may not sense ancestors or angels there, but when we are worthy and spiritually acclimated, at the very LEAST, we will feel peace! Who doesn’t need more peace and heart healing in their lives?
Let’s GO BACK to the temple!
You can CONTACT me at [email protected].
[i] Allison Tullis comment on Anne’s article “Just Go to the Temple,” https://latterdaysaintmag.com/just-go-to-the-temple-and-they-will-be-there/
[ii] David Newbold, personal correspondence. Used with permission.
[iii] Gerrit W. Gong, “Covenant Belonging,” October Conference, 2019.
[iv] Jan and Peter Emery, personal correspondence. Used with permission.
[v] Russell M. Nelson, “The Price of Priesthood Power,” April Conference, 2016
[vi] Henry B/ Eyring, “I Love to See the Temple.” April Conference 2021.
[vii] Yvonne Swinson, personal correspondence. Used with permission.
