What To Bring To The Temple

"Those who bring nothing to the temple take nothing away."

This quote, though taken from a Magic: the Gathering card, is surprisingly accurate when applied to actual LDS temples. While donations are not accepted at our temples, one does need to bring a spiritual offering with them to the temple in order to take any blessings with them from it. This offering includes a reverent spirit, respect for the sacredness of the temple, devotion to God, a commitment to keep one's promises, and a willingness to repent. Those who come to the temple with the right attitude and the intention to give their heart to God will gain great blessings from the Lord in return. In addition, those who bring an acceptable spiritual offering to the temple will retain all elements of their offering as they leave, perhaps even in greater abundance. For example, those who enter the temple with a respect for its sacredness may leave the temple with an even greater appreciation for how sacred it is.

However, while great blessings can be gained by those who attend the temple with the proper attitude, those who don't have that spirit when they enter the temple will be similarly empty-handed when they leave. God often magnifies and multiplies our offerings. If there is nothing for Him to multiply, the product of the multiplication will be zero. However, if we are willing to let the spirit enter our hearts, the spirit of the Lord can touch our hearts while we're at the temple, even if we take nothing with us but a willingness to receive His spirit. A willingness to receive the spirit may, if God deems it so, be offering enough. But if one doesn't even bring that much with them to the temple, I expect that they won't take even that much with them when they leave.

Latter-Day Saints don't take many physical things with them to the temple. Mostly, we just need our Temple Recommend cards and the proper attire. But unless we also bring a small spiritual offering, we can't expect to gain many spiritual blessings from the experience. On the other hand, those who bring to the temple at least a little bit of love for God and a small amount of desire to serve Him can be richly rewarded by their visit. Those who bring nothing to the temple take nothing away, but those who bring willing hearts to the temple will leave with their souls filled.