The Most Important Signature

Earlier today, I attended the temple for the first time in months. In order to enter one of our temples, you need a Temple Recommend, which you can get by having an interview with your Bishop, followed by your Stake President (another member of the Stake Presidency may be able to conduct the interview in his place. I'm not sure). During each of these interviews, your Priesthood leaders will ask you questions regarding your worthiness to enter the temple. If you pass both interviews, the interviewers will sign your Recommend. However, there's one more signature your temple recommend needs before it's complete, and it may be the most important signature of the three - yours.

After your Temple Recommend Interview with your Bishop, you'll be asked to sign your own Temple Recommend. When you do so, if you do so, you are basically signing a document stating that you're worthy to enter the temple. You are affirming, to the church, to your Bishop, to the Lord, and to yourself, that you think you're worthy. This is a bold claim, and one that you have to make with a perfect knowledge of your personality and past, and with the knowledge that God knows better than anyone whether you're worthy or not. If you can sign your Recommend confidently, then either you have no idea what you're getting yourself into, or you truly feel ready to stand before the judgment bar of God (in which case, you probably are).

It's important that our Bishops and our Stake Presidents feel that we're worthy to enter the temple, but it's even more important that we feel that we are. Sometimes, we judge ourselves too harshly. Sometimes, not harshly enough. It's important to truly ponder our standing with God until we know how worthy or unworthy we are. If we find ourselves lacking, we should ask God what He wants us to work on. But if we deeply reflect on ourselves and our choices, and find that we really are worthy to enter the house of the Lord, that is a really good feeling. It's a feeling that, if you don't feel it now, is worth working toward, not just for the sensation of inner peace, but for the personal knowledge that you are on good terms with God. It's good to know.

If you haven't done so recently, I would recommend taking a moment or two for self-reflection. Think about the Lord's standards and think about yourself (remembering to factor in the power of the Atonement). Do you measure up? If so, you're in pretty good shape. If not, then there's something you need to repent of, and odds are you already know what it is. Either way, it's important to know where you stand. It's one thing for other people to judge that you're worthy to enter the temple. It's a much more powerful thing to know for yourself.