LOCAL LEADER MESSAGE
Gathering the Wheat into the Garners
What a blessing it is to be numbered among those who are gathered and to have the opportunity to be crowned with celestial glory through making and keeping temple covenants.
The Lord has declared “I must gather together my people, . . . that the wheat may be secured in the garners to possess eternal life, and be crowned with celestial glory.”1
The word “garner” is not a word we use much in this day and age. These days we use synonyms such as barns, silos, warehouses or storerooms—places into which goods are gathered and preserved. But in the parable of the wheat and the tares, the Lord gathers the wheat into the garners, which is symbolic of the holy temple.2 This gathering must take place in order to possess eternal life, and to be crowned with celestial glory as we remain faithful and endure to the end.
What a blessing it is to be numbered among those who are gathered, to have the opportunity to be crowned with celestial glory.
It stands to reason that President Russell M. Nelson has stated that gathering Israel “is the most important work in the world”.3
Two aspects come to my mind when thinking of the gathering.
Firstly, I need to make sure that I am amongst, and remain amongst, those who are being gathered. Secondly, let me help the Lord to gather others.
I remember well the day I first visited the temple. I was a young missionary and I went to the London England Temple to receive my endowments just before entering the mission field.
Thinking back, I felt that I was in a holy place and it felt so right to put on white temple clothing in place of my normal clothes. In so doing, I felt the symbolism of leaving the world behind outside and experiencing heaven on earth. This added to the feeling of holiness.
In August of 1985, the same year that the Johannesburg South Africa Temple was dedicated, my wife, Amanda and I were sealed there for time and all eternity. There again, the feeling that I was in a holy place came over me as we knelt and looked at each other across the altar. My joy was full.
Regular, consistent temple attendance in the years that followed has increased my faith in Jesus Christ and has given me an added measure of the Spirit.
Having the Spirit with us is so essential. It allows us to have an eternal perspective, understanding that the temporary pleasures and vain ambitions of this world have no lasting significance. On the other hand, making and keeping our covenants have far-reaching eternal consequences for good.
For those of you who do not live close to a temple, but have a desire to attend, I say to you, do not give up hope, have faith that the Lord will help you find a way. He wants you to be gathered in and make covenants with our Heavenly Father.
To those who do not have a desire to attend the temple, or who have not understood that the temple should be a priority in our lives, I say unto you, “awake and arouse your faculties”4, as Alma invites us to do. Think of the eternities—soon this life will be over, and then what?
To those of you who have let your temple recommend expire, I would like to ask you to follow the counsel of Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles when he said, “begin the process now to become ‘recommended to the Lord’ so that His Spirit will be with you in abundance and His standards will bring you ‘peace of conscience’”.5
Being “recommended to the Lord” is to have, and be worthy of a current temple recommend. Make a commitment to yourself to never let it expire.
My son-in-law, now serving as a bishop in my home stake, received a great blessing from his own regular temple attendance.
During one visit to the temple, he had the opportunity to meet our daughter, Emily. After returning home that evening, he shared with members of his family that he had the impression he had met his wife. After a short courtship, Jaxon asked for my daughter’s hand in marriage and they were sealed in that same temple for time and eternity.
A blessing I have experienced is to be able to attend the temple with all our married children and their spouses. Sitting in the celestial room with all of them gave my wife, Mandy, and I such joy, even the thought to say, “my joy is full.”
Brothers and sisters, the temples are an expression of Heavenly Father’s love for us. He wants to crown us “with celestial glory”.6 I testify that as we make a commitment never to let our temple recommends expire and to strive to be worthy of that recommend, we will be blessed with joy in this life and eternal life in the world to come.
Glenn M. Holmes was named an Area Seventy in April 2019. He is married to Amanda Mary Asgeir-Nielsen and they are the parents of four children. They reside in Benoni, South Africa.