The Temple - Life Changing

Last Sunday, as you know, was Mother's Day. I expected Sacrament Meeting to be the traditional salute to mothers, but instead, Brother Spencer spoke on a variety of subjects. The Spirit may not have told him who it was that needed this part of his talk, but I know it was for me.
I have been praying for several weeks for help in some areas of my life and there in his talk he brought up a list of blessings we will receive if we go to the temple often. Right there, in his list were each of those things I had been praying about! So I decided on the spot to set up a schedule for me to follow so that I could get the help I was seeking.
Immediately the blessings began to come because the Lord knew I was committed to going. It became easier for me to hold my tongue and replace unkind thoughts for kinder ones. In a talk by President Benson called, "Come to the Temple", he said:
"When you attend the temple and perform the ordinances that pertain to the house of the Lord, certain blessings will come to you:
- You will love your family with a deeper love than you have loved before.
- Your heart will be turned to your fathers and theirs to you.
- You will be endowed with power from on high as the Lord has promised.
- You will receive the key of the knowledge of God. You will learn how you can be like Him. Even the power of godliness will be manifest to you.
- You will be doing a great service to those who have passed to the other side of the veil."
He added:
"Many parents, in and out of the church, are concerned about protection against a cascading avalanche of wickedness which threatens to engulf [the world]. ...There is a power associated with ordinances of heaven - even the power of godliness - which can and will thwart the forces of evil if we will but be worthy of those sacred [covenants made in the temple of the Lord]. ...Our families will be protected, our children will be safeguarded as we live the gospel, visit the temple, and live close to the Lord".
And in 1984, President Hinckley said, "I am satisfied that if our people would attend the temple more, there would be less selfishness in their lives. There would be less absence of love in their relationships. There would be more fidelity on the part of husbands and wives. There would be more of love and peace and happiness in the homes of our people."

This experience has had a profound effect in my life. I expect it to be life changing, even life lifting as I continue to keep my committment to attend the temple often. I will be forever grateful for this timely reminder.