"More Than Anything Else"

In his talk The Power of Godliness, Elder Kent F. Richards quoted Joseph Smith as having said that, in the early saints' perilous circumstances, they needed the blessings of the temple "more than anything else". Elder Richards then said that the same thing could be said for us. We live in difficult times, the challenges of which may even be equal to those faced by the Mormon pioneers. We need God's blessings no less than they did, and some of God's greatest blessings are found only in the temple.

Elder Richards listed many of the blessings that the temple can offer:

Our responsibility is to “receive” that which our Father offers. “For unto him that receiveth it shall be given more abundantly, even power”: power to receive all that He can and will give us—now and eternally; power to become sons and daughters of God, to know “the powers of heaven,” to speak in His name, and to receive “the power of [His] Spirit.” These powers become available personally to each one of us through the ordinances and the covenants of the temple.

Nephi saw our day in his great vision: “I, Nephi, beheld the power of the Lamb of God, that it descended upon the saints of the church of the Lamb, and upon the covenant people of the Lord, who were scattered upon all the face of the earth; and they were armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory.” (Emphasis added by Elder Richards)

When I read that last scripture, 1 Nephi 14: 14, I went in to the Gospel Library App to highlight it, only to find that I already had. I want to be "armed with righteousness and with the power of God." I want to have the strength and protection I need to withstand the temptations and other perils of my day. If those blessings are found in the temple, I want to visit the temple more frequently. In fact, it may be that I need the blessings of the temple more than I need anything else.

Yesterday, I blogged about how life is hard. The blessings of power that we can get from the temple can make life much easier. We'll still have to do hard things, but God will give us the strength and power we need to do them. We all frequently need the power and protection of God in our daily lives, and the one place where we can gain the greatest access to God's power is in the temple. If we are to withstand the evils and challenges of our day, we may need the blessings of the temple more dearly than we realise. In fact, if Elder Kent F. Richards is right, we need the blessings of the temple more than anything else.