Stop Treating The Temple Secretly And Calling It Sacred.

Let me preface this with that as a temple worker, who has attended the temple over 200 times in the last three years, and has visited almost 70 temples in North America what I am going to say is totally ok to talk about outside of the temple. And it is a discussion we need to have.

Stop Treating The Temple Secretly And Calling It Sacred.

 Within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, many things have been designated as sacred. The Sacred Grove, the priesthood, marriage, family, scriptures, the sacrament, and Jesus Christ’s atonement just to name a few. We don’t treat any of these sacred things secretly. As a matter of fact, our missionaries knock on doors trying to explain why we believe these things to people.

But for some reason, we treat the temple differently than other sacred things. “The Temple is sacred, not secret” is the oft-repeated phrase by members of the church. But then when you ask questions about the temple they refuse to talk about it except in extremely secretive and vague terms. Forgetting that “Sacred means worthy of veneration and respect.” Elder Paul B. Pieper (To Hold Sacred, April 2012).

Sacred VS Secret.

When I was a missionary, I taught hundreds of people about the events that took place in the Sacred Grove. I testified almost daily about the sacred events of the early spring morning. Did I ever tell someone we could not talk about it because it was sacred? NO! Quite the opposite, instead I sought to explain why the sacred grove was important to me. And as I did people understood why it was important to me and they felt its sacred nature. As we seek to explain what the temple means to us others will learn for themselves that it truly is the house of the Lord and sacred not secret.

You don’t bring respect to the Lord and His house by never talking about it, to treat something sacredly is to seek to explain it to others. When they feel how much it matters to you, that is how you convey the sacred nature of something to them. We do this with the Book of Mormon, the Atonement, our testimonies, and more, why can’t we understand the same applies to the temple? In an unprecedented step and effort to show that the Temple is sacred, not a secret the Church recently released a YouTube video explaining the Temple Garment and Temple Robes. (Watch the video below or click here to watch it).

 “It was never intended that knowledge of these temple ceremonies would be limited to a select few who would be obliged to ensure that others never learn of them. It is quite the opposite, in fact.”
Boyd K. Packer (Preparing to Enter the Holy Temple.) 

What Can We Actually Talk About Outside The Temple?

Whenever I talk about the temple I always get asked: “Can you talk about that outside the temple?” In the temple, you only covenant not to reveal 4 things. Your new name, the names, signs, and keywords of the Holy Priesthood. Also, the exact details of the actual ordinances are only to be discussed in the temple.

But everything else within the proper settings can and should be talked about inside or outside of the temple. And when it is conveyed in love and respect all who listen will feel how sacred the temple is to you, and it will become sacred to them. There is a great danger when we don’t do this. When we stonewall questions people will turn to the internet. Where Satan will gladly have Anti-Mormons teach our youth and friends ‘about’ the temple. The duty falls on us to teach them the truth. Who knows but answering questions might lead to their conversion! I know a man who had questioned about the temple, answering them led to his investigation and I had the chance to baptize him. He is now sealed to his wife! Imagine what would’ve happened if I stonewalled his questions!

Sister Bonnie L. Oscarson taught: “If we don’t teach our children and youth true doctrine—and teach it clearly—the world will teach them Satan’s lies.” (GC: Oct 2016. Bold and italics added.)

How Should I Explain The Temple To My Friends?

 The key to explaining the temple is to keep it simple. And if they show respect and interest then you explain it in more detail. 

For example: When someone asks, “What is included in receiving your endowment?” I would reply with something simple like: “In the endowment, we watch a video about the creation of the world and the fall of Adam and Eve and the history of covenants. We enter into a series of covenants to obey and follow Jesus Christ. And at the end, we pass through a veil that is symbolic of death into the celestial room which is symbolic of heaven.” It is important to realize that many symbolic parts of the temple have more than one meaning and interpretation.

If they express more interest you can share more info like Brigham Young did when he said: “Your endowment is, to receive all those ordinances in the House of the Lord, which are necessary for you, after you have departed this life, to enable you to walk back to the presence of the Father, passing the angels who stand as sentinels, being enabled to give them the key words, the signs and tokens, pertaining to the Holy Priesthood, and gain your eternal exaltation in spite of earth and hell”
Brigham Young. (Journal of Discourses, 2:31.) 

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