Home and Temple

I love being with my family. There is great peace in having a home where love is felt and shared, and eternal goals are pursued. I recall the comparison: "Only the home can compare with the temple in sacredness" (source).


Yesterday we took a trip to San Antonio for family fun and temple worship. It's interesting how close in harmony those two purposes are, or can be. Can family fun and temple worship be in harmony? Yes!

"Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith ... and wholesome recreational activities" (source, emphasis added).

After a nice break at the zoo, we headed to the temple. The last stretch of the route takes us on a twisty road with nice views. At one point the temple suddenly appears. Each time we get to this point, we ask the children to identify the temple and then we sing I Love to See the Temple (listen). However, after spotting the temple, and before we sang, David announced in the most tender and loving tone, "I love you, Mommy!" Even though he hasn't yet worshiped in the temple with us, something about the temple invoked this beautiful reaction. I think it's because he can feel the Spirit on our temple visits, and I think he understands that the temple is special because we treat it special.

If the home can compare with the temple in sacredness, and I know it can, then I want to have a home where we know that home is special because we treat it special. I want us to share tender "I love you's" at the thought of being together. Most of all, I want the Spirit to be in our home, comparable to the sweet feeling of love and peace that we find at the temple. I want to establish our family on faith and wholesome family fun.