This is the third in the series called: President Russell M. Nelson 101. President Nelson has, under the direction of the Savior, continued to place temples closer and closer to the entire membership of the Church at an unprecedented pace. He has emphasized how, in the temple, we can gain access to the power of Jesus Christ.
Read Russell M. Nelson 101 on the Temple, Part 1 here.
Read Russell M. Nelson 101 on the Atonement of Jesus Christ here.
Happy birthday, President Nelson. We’re so grateful and happy we have you.
Let these thoughts and teachings on the temple, coupled with the beautiful images, draw your heart closer to Him Whose Houses we celebrate.
Sunstones on the Nauvoo Illinois Temple at sunrise.
Increase Our Capacity for Virtue and Charity
“Regular worship in the house of the Lord increases our capacity for both virtue and charity. Thus, time in the temple increases our confidence before the Lord. Increased time in the temple will help us prepare for the Second Coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.”
(Confidence in the Presence of God–April 2025)
Every Sincere Seeker of Jesus Christ Will Find Him in the Temple
“Regular worship in the temple will help us. In the house of the Lord, we focus on Jesus Christ. We learn of Him. We make covenants to follow Him. We come to know Him. As we keep our temple covenants, we gain greater access to the Lord’s strengthening power. In the temple, we receive protection from the buffetings of the world. We experience the pure love of Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father in great abundance! We feel peace and spiritual reassurance, in contrast to the turbulence of the world. Here is my promise to you: Every sincere seeker of Jesus Christ will find Him in the temple.”
(The Lord Jesus Christ Will Come Again—October 2024)
Will Bless Your Life in Ways No Other Kind of Worship Can
“Jesus Christ is the reason we build temples. Each is His holy house. Making covenants and receiving essential ordinances in the temple, as well as seeking to draw closer to Him there, will bless your life in ways no other kind of worship can. For this reason, we are doing all within our power to make the blessings of the temple more accessible to our members around the world.”
(The Answer Is Always Jesus Christ—April 2023)
The bright and morning inverted stars that grace the Nauvoo Temple.
The Ability to Overcome Satan
“The temple can help us in our quest. There we are endowed with God’s power, giving us the ability to overcome Satan, the instigator of all contention.”
(Peacemakers Needed—April 2023)
Increased Access to the Power of Jesus Christ
“Each person who makes covenants in baptismal fonts and in temples—and keeps them—has increased access to the power of Jesus Christ. Please ponder that stunning truth! The reward for keeping covenants with God is heavenly power—power that strengthens us to withstand our trials, temptations, and heartaches better. This power eases our way…My plea to you this morning is to find rest from the intensity, uncertainty, and anguish of this world by overcoming the world through your covenants with God. … Spend more time in the temple, and seek to understand how the temple teaches you to rise above this fallen world.”
(Overcome the World and Find Rest—October 2022)
Increased Time in the Temple Will Bless Your Life
“It is significant that the Savior chose to appear to the people at the temple. It is His house. It is filled with His power. … I promise that increased time in the temple will bless your life in ways nothing else can.”
(Focus on the Temple—October 2022)
The gorgeous fence that surrounds the Provo City Center Temple.
Counteract the Intensifying Efforts of the Adversary
“With the dedication of each new temple, additional godly power comes into the world to strengthen us and counteract the intensifying efforts of the adversary.”
(What Is True?—October 2022)
Access to Godly Power
“Later we make additional covenants in the temple, where we receive even greater promises. Ordinances and covenants give us access to godly power. The covenant path is the only path that leads to exaltation and eternal life.”
(The Power of Spiritual Momentum—April 2022)
The Crowning Jewel
“Of course, the crowning jewel of the Restoration is the holy temple. Its sacred ordinances and covenants are pivotal to preparing a people who are ready to welcome the Savior at His Second Coming. … In some respects, it is easier to build a temple than it is to build a people prepared for a temple.”
(Closing Remarks—October 2019)
Beautiful water features of the Gilbert Arizona Temple.
The Most Sacred Structure in the Church
“God’s objective should be our objective. He wants His children to choose to return to Him, prepared, qualified, endowed, sealed, and faithful to covenants made in holy temples. … Brothers and sisters, we regard a temple as the most sacred structure in the Church. As we announce plans to construct a new temple, it becomes part of our sacred history.”
(Closing Remarks—April 2019)
Make an Appointment Regularly with the Lord
“Our need to be in the temple on a regular basis has never been greater. … I urge you to find a way to make an appointment regularly with the Lord—to be in His holy house—then keep that appointment with exactness and joy. I promise you that the Lord will bring the miracles He knows you need as you make sacrifices to serve and worship in His temples.”
(Becoming Exemplary Latter-day Saints—October 2018)
First light touches the entry to the Gilbert Arizona Temple.
Exaltation Requires Our Complete Fidelity Now to Covenants We Make
“Our message to the world is simple and sincere: we invite all of God’s children on both sides of the veil to come unto their Savior, receive the blessings of the holy temple, have enduring joy, and qualify for eternal life. Eventual exaltation requires our complete fidelity now to covenants we make and ordinances we receive in the house of the Lord. … Construction of these temples may not change your life, but your time in the temple surely will.”
(Let Us All Press On—April 2018)
Jesus Christ is Bringing the Blessings of the Temple Closer to His Children
“During times of our distress when temples are closed, you can still draw upon the power of your temple covenants and endowment as you honor your covenants. … Because Jesus Christ is at the center of everything we do in the temple, as you think more about the temple you will be thinking more about Him…Temples are a crowning part of the Restoration of the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. In God’s goodness and generosity, He is bringing the blessings of the temple closer to His children everywhere.”
(Go Forward in Faith—April 2020)
The Greatest of All of God’s Blessings
“That is why we have temples. The Lord’s ordinances and covenants prepare us for eternal life, the greatest of all of God’s blessings. … As we build and maintain these temples, we pray that each of you will build and maintain yourself so you can be worthy to enter the holy temple.”
(A New Normal—October 2020)
Eye of the storm light touches the Mt. Timpanogos Temple.
Be Faithful to those Essential Ordinances
“The Savior invites all to follow Him into the waters of baptism and, in time, to make additional covenants with God in the temple and receive and be faithful to those further essential ordinances. All these are required if we want to be exalted with our families and with God forever.”
(Come, Follow Me—April 2019)
