Line upon Line

This is the second in the series called: President Russell M. Nelson 101. President Nelson has, under the direction of the Savior, placed temples closer and closer to the entire membership of the Church and has given us plenty of spiritual reasons why this is being done. The temple leads us closer and closer to Jesus Christ and allows our ancestors to have the sacred ordinances of salvation extended to them.

Read yesterday’s Russell M. Nelson 101 article on the Atonement of Jesus Christ here.

Happy birthday, President Nelson. We’re so grateful and happy we have you.

We are reminded of his consistent, powerful teachings on the temple and how, in the temple, the Spirit teaches us how to be devoted disciples of the Savior Jesus Christ and draw closer to Him.

The Rome Italy Temple.

The Magnificent Depth of Blessings

“Positive spiritual momentum increases as we worship in the temple and grow in our understanding of the magnificent breadth and depth of the blessings we receive there. I plead with you to counter worldly ways by focusing on the eternal blessings of the temple. Your time there brings blessings for eternity.”
(Now Is the Time–April 2022)

Keep Your Covenants

“The Lord has clearly taught that only men and women who are sealed as husband and wife in the temple, and who keep their covenants, will be together throughout the eternities.”
(Think Celestial!–October 2023)

Rejoice in Priesthood Keys

“Temple work makes these exquisite blessings available to all of God’s children, regardless of where or when they lived or now live. Let us rejoice that priesthood keys are once again on the earth!”
(Rejoice in the Gift of Priesthood Keys–April 2024)

The Temple Spiritually Empowers You

“Joseph Smith’s dedicatory prayer of the Kirtland Temple is a tutorial about how the temple spiritually empowers you and me to meet the challenges of life in these last days. … The temple is ‘a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God.’ … Those who serve and worship in the house of the Lord … can expect to receive answers to prayer, personal revelation, greater faith, strength, comfort, increased knowledge, and increased power.”
(Rejoice in the Gift of Priesthood Keys–April 2024)

The Rome Italy Temple Spire

The Lord Will Teach You How to Draw Upon His Power

“Establish a pattern of regular temple attendance. This may require a little more sacrifice in your life. More regular time in the temple will allow the Lord to teach you how to draw upon His priesthood power with which you have been endowed in His temple.”
(Sisters’ Participation in the Gathering of Israel–October 2018)

Direct Access to the Power of God

“Several months ago, at the end of a temple endowment session, I said to my wife Wendy, ‘I hope the sisters understand the spiritual treasures that are theirs in the temple.’ … Every woman and every man who makes covenants with God and keeps those covenants, and who participates worthily in priesthood ordinances, has direct access to the power of God. Those who are endowed in the house of the Lord receive a gift of God’s priesthood power by virtue of their covenant, along with a gift of knowledge to know how to draw upon that power.”
(Spiritual Treasures–October 2019)

Armed with God’s Power

“Satan certainly does not want you to understand that every time you worthily serve and worship in the temple, you leave armed with God’s power and with His angels having ‘charge over’ you.”
(Spiritual Treasures–October 2019)

The Lord Teaches in His Own Way

“We can also hear Him in the temple. The house of the Lord is a house of learning. There the Lord teaches in His own way. There each ordinance teaches about the Savior. There we learn how to part the veil and communicate more clearly with heaven. There we learn how to rebuke the adversary and draw upon the Lord’s priesthood power to strengthen us and those we love.”
(Hear Him–April 2020)

Moroni sculpture atop the Rome Italy Temple.

Schedule Regular Time in the Temple

“When these temporary COVID-19 restrictions are lifted, please schedule regular time to worship and serve in the temple. Every minute of that time will bless you and your family in ways nothing else can.”
(Hear Him–April 2020)

A Place of Security

“The temple—the house of the Lord—is a place of security unlike any other. There, you sisters are endowed with priesthood power through the sacred priesthood covenants you make. There, your families are sealed for eternity. Even this year, when access to our temples has been seriously limited, your endowment has given you constant access to God’s power as you have honored your covenants with Him.”
(Embrace the Future with Faith–October 2020)

Stand Ye in Holy Places

“Often when the Lord warns us about the perils of the last days, He counsels thus: ‘Stand ye in holy places, and be not moved.’ These ‘holy places’ certainly include the Lord’s temples and meetinghouses. But as our ability to gather in these places has been restricted in varying degrees, we have learned that one of the holiest of places on earth is the home—yes, even your home. … Just 185 years ago, this very day, April 3, 1836, Elijah restored the keys of the priesthood that allow our families to be sealed together forever.”
(What We Are Learning and Will Never Forget–April 2021)

Doors to the Saratoga Springs Utah Temple.

Make Time for the Lord

“As I emphasized this morning, please make time for the Lord in His holy house. Nothing will strengthen your spiritual foundation like temple service and temple worship.”
(Make Time for the Lord–October 2021)

A Vital Part of the Restoration

“Keep your temple covenants and blessings foremost in your minds and hearts. Stay true to the covenants you have made. … Temples are a vital part of the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ in its fulness. Ordinances of the temple fill our lives with power and strength available in no other way.”
(COVID-19 and Temples–April 2021)

The Savior and His doctrine are the Very Heart of the Temple

“The temple lies at the center of strengthening our faith and spiritual fortitude because the Savior and His doctrine are the very heart of the temple. Everything taught in the temple, through instruction and through the Spirit, increases our understanding of Jesus Christ. His essential ordinances bind us to Him through sacred priesthood covenants. Then, as we keep our covenants, He endows us with His healing, strengthening power.”
(The Temple and Your Spiritual Foundation–October 2021)

The Crowning, Life-Changing Ordinance

“If I could speak with each husband and wife who have still not been sealed in the temple, I would plead with you to take the necessary steps to receive that crowning, life-changing ordinance. Will it make a difference? Only if you want to progress forever and be together forever. Wishing to be together forever will not make it so. No other ceremony or contract will make it so.”
(The Temple and Your Spiritual Foundation–October 2021)

These nine words are engraved in every temple. Saratoga Springs Utah Temple.

Spiritual Doors Will Open

“And to each of you who has made temple covenants, I plead with you to seek—prayerfully and consistently—to understand temple covenants and ordinances. Spiritual doors will open. You will learn how to part the veil between heaven and earth, how to ask for God’s angels to attend you, and how better to receive direction from heaven. Your diligent efforts to do so will reinforce and strengthen your spiritual foundation.”
(The Temple and Your Spiritual Foundation–October 2021)

Live Inside Your Temple Covenants

“Whenever any kind of upheaval occurs in your life, the safest place to be spiritually is living inside your temple covenants!”
(The Temple and Your Spiritual Foundation–October 2021)

Be Worthy of Admission to His Holy House

“For these sacred purposes, holy temples now dot the earth. I emphasize again that construction of these temples may not change your life, but your service in the temple surely will. … Our safest insurance is to continue to be worthy of admission to His holy house. The greatest gift you could give to the Lord is to keep yourself unspotted from the world, worthy to attend His holy house.”
(The Future of the Church: Preparing the World for the Savior’s Second Coming–April 2020, Liahona)

Helping to Gather Israel on Both Sides of the Veil

“When we speak of gathering Israel on both sides of the veil, we are referring, of course, to missionary, temple, and family history work. … Anytime we do anything that helps anyone—on either side of the veil—to make and keep their covenants with God, we are helping to gather Israel.”
(Let God Prevail–October 2020)

Paris France Temple

The Heavens Will Open

“When we couple increased purity and obedience with fasting, diligent seeking, study of the scriptures and the words of living prophets, and temple and family history work, the heavens will open. The Lord, in turn, will fulfill His promise: ‘I will impart unto you of my Spirit, which shall enlighten your mind.’”
(Grow into the Principle of Revelation–January 2021, Liahona)

Fix Your Focus on Jesus Christ

“Never underestimate the profound truth that ‘the Spirit speaketh … of things as they really are, and of things as they really will be.’ … Nothing invites the Spirit more than fixing your focus on Jesus Christ. … Please make time for the Lord in His holy house.”
(Make Time for the Lord–October 2021)

Heavens are Just as Open to Women

“The heavens are just as open to women who are endowed with God’s power flowing from their priesthood covenants as they are to men who bear the priesthood. … Sisters, you have the right to draw liberally upon the Savior’s power to help your family and others you love.”
(Spiritual Treasures–October 2019)

Houston Texas Temple at early dawn.

Ask the Lord to Teach You How to Open the Heavens

“Take time to ponder what you hear and feel when you are [in the temple]. Ask the Lord to teach you how to open the heavens to bless your life and the lives of those you love and serve.”
(Hear Him–April 2020)

Power and Strength Available in No Other Way

“I pray that your desire to worship and serve in the temple burns more brightly now than ever. … Ordinances of the temple fill our lives with power and strength available in no other way.”
(COVID-19 and Temples–April 2021)

First light touches Houston Texas Temple.

A Spiritual Foundation Built Solidly Upon Jesus Christ

“Please believe me when I say that when your spiritual foundation is built solidly upon Jesus Christ, you have no need to fear. As you are true to your covenants made in the temple, you will be strengthened by His power. Then, when spiritual earthquakes occur, you will be able to stand strong because your spiritual foundation is solid and immovable.”
(The Temple and Your Spiritual Foundation–October 2021) https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2021/10/47nelson?lang=eng

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Watch for another in the Russell M. Nelson 101 series on young missionary service.