Temple Preparation: Lesson 201

Jesus Christ Is at the Center of All Temple Worship

“That I May Dwell Among Them”

The temple is a holy place dedicated and set apart from the world to help us draw closer to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. The center of our worship can be found in what is written on each temple: “The House of the Lord.” Everything in the temple is centered on our Savior Jesus Christ. This lesson can help students feel a greater desire to be closer to Jesus Christ in His house.

Student preparation: Invite students to ponder on the blessings that they, or others they know, have received by attending the temple.

Possible Learning Activities

The center of temple worship

Consider beginning class by displaying a bicycle tire or any other object that has a distinct center. You could adapt the questions based on the object you choose to display.

• Why is the center of a bicycle tire important?

• How would removing the center affect the purpose of the tire?

In speaking about the temple, Elder Allen D. Haynie of the Seventy taught:

[Jesus Christ] is why we come to the temple. He is who our Father in Heaven desires us to meet in the temple. He is at the center of every symbol, every ordinance, every covenant, and every hoped-for blessing in the temple. Seeking Jesus in the temple enables us to understand why we are in the temple and why we should return. (“Meeting Jesus in the House of the Lord,” [Brigham Young University devotional, Oct. 10, 2023], 6, speeches.byu.edu)

• How could remembering that the Savior is central to everything we do in the temple affect the experience you have there?

Help students understand that while temples are beautiful buildings, we draw closer to Jesus Christ by what happens inside the temple.

To further illustrate this point, you might show the video “A Symbol of Jesus Christ” (1:11).

To help students reflect on their feelings about the temple, consider displaying the following scale and instructions.

Using the scale provided, consider how you would rank how strongly you agree with each of the following statements:

• The temple is a place where I go to feel close to Jesus Christ.

• I desire to strengthen my relationship with the Savior in His holy house.

Throughout today’s lesson, write down impressions that you may receive from the Spirit that increase your desire to be in the temple.

Temples in the Old Testament

To help your students understand the purpose of temples using the Old Testament, consider writing “The tabernacle” and “temple of Solomon” on the board. You could display the accompanying images of these buildings and invite students to try to match the image with the name and share what they know about each.

If helpful, you could share the following:

The tabernacle was the first house of the Lord, or temple, mentioned in the Old Testament (around 1300 BC). It was a portable structure for the Israelites while they traveled in the wilderness. The temple of Solomon was a permanent house of the Lord built in Jerusalem (around 1000 BC). The temple was later destroyed and rebuilt (around 500 BC). Each time the Lord commanded His people to build a house to Him in the Old Testament, He shared similar promises.

You might organize the students into groups of three and invite each group member to read and report on one of the following passages. To help students remember the Lord’s purpose for temples, you might also invite them to link these verses in their scriptures.

Read the following scripture references, looking for what the Lord promised His covenant people if they built a house to Him.

• Exodus 25:8 (tabernacle)

• 1 Kings 6:12–13

• Haggai 2:7

  Invite students to share what they found. Each group could summarize a truth we can learn from these three passages that can apply to temples today.

  Students might have identified something similar to the Lord commands His people to build temples so He can dwell among them.

• What do you think it means that through temples the Lord can “dwell” among us?

To have the Lord “dwell” among us could mean feeling His presence and power, coming to know Him better, and strengthening our relationship with Him.

Blessings from worshipping the Lord in His house

One way we see evidence that the Lord dwells among us in His house is through the blessings He gives us as we attend the temple.

• What blessings have you seen, or do you think can come, from worshiping the Lord in His house?

Consider listing students’ responses on the board.

Studying the following statement can help students identify additional blessings that come from worshiping the Lord in His house. Consider organizing students into pairs. Invite them to read the statement together and answer the accompanying questions.

President Russell M. Nelson taught:

[T]hose who serve and worship in the house of the Lord … can expect to receive answers to prayer, personal revelation, greater faith, strength, comfort, increased knowledge, and increased power.

Time in the temple will help you to think celestial and to catch a vision of who you really are, who you can become, and the kind of life you can have forever. Regular temple worship will enhance the way you see yourself and how you fit into God’s magnificent plan. I promise you that.

… My dear brothers and sisters, here is my promise. Nothing will help you more to hold fast to the iron rod than worshipping in the temple as regularly as your circumstances permit. Nothing will protect you more as you encounter the world’s mists of darkness. Nothing will bolster your testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ and His Atonement or help you understand God’s magnificent plan more. Nothing will soothe your spirit more during times of pain. Nothing will open the heavens more. Nothing! (“Rejoice in the Gift of Priesthood Keys,” Liahona, May 2024, 121, 122)

• What blessings did President Nelson promise that could address real needs of teenagers?

• Which, if any, of these blessings from the Lord have you or someone you know experienced?

After students have had an opportunity to discuss the questions in pairs, you could invite some of them to share what they discussed along with any questions they may have about the blessings.

Making it personal

To help students feel the value of these blessings, consider giving them an opportunity to write their responses to one or all of the following questions in their journals. After enough time, you could invite volunteers to share what they wrote.

• How have you felt closer to the Lord in the temple?

• How have you experienced any of the blessings listed as a result of attending the temple?

Choose one of the blessings listed that you would like to receive.

• Why do you feel like you could use this blessing in your life right now?

Consider concluding with a testimony or personal experience about ways we can feel close to the Lord in His holy house.

Additional Resources

What are ways we come closer to Jesus Christ because of the temple?

President Russell M. Nelson instructed:

Each person who makes covenants in baptismal fonts and in temples—and keeps them—has increased access to the power of Jesus Christ. Please ponder that stunning truth! (“Overcome the World and Find Rest,” Liahona, Nov. 2022, 96)

Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught:

The temple is literally the house of the Lord. I promise you as you come worthily and prayerfully to His holy house, you will be armed with His power, His name will be upon you, His angels will have charge over you, and you will grow up in the blessing of the Holy Ghost.

The Lord promised, “Every soul who forsaketh his sins and cometh unto me, and calleth on my name, and obeyeth my voice, and keepeth my commandments, shall see my face and know that I am” [Doctrine and Covenants 93:1]. There are many different ways to see the face of Christ, and there is no better place than in His holy house. (“Temples, Houses of the Lord Dotting the Earth,” Liahona, May 2024, 113) (time code 12:22 to 13:10)

How can worshipping in the Lord’s house bless me in today’s world?

Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught:

In this day of confusion and commotion, I testify that the temple is His holy house and will help preserve us, protect us, and prepare us for the glorious day when, with all His holy angels, our Savior returns in majesty, power, and great glory. (“Temples, Houses of the Lord Dotting the Earth,” Liahona, May 2024, 114)

Supplemental Learning Activities

Alternate beginning

You could begin class by displaying an image of a temple like the one at the beginning of this lesson and ask students the following question:

• What are different reactions people might have when they see a temple?

After students share several answers, you might select two or three responses that reflect a variety of reactions. Or you could display the following reactions on the board and invite students to think about how these reactions differ from each other.

Reaction 1: “Temples are pretty buildings.”

Reaction 2: “I love how I feel in the temple.”

You could then help students to see how reaction 2 focuses on the importance of what happens in the temple rather than the structure itself.

Other times temples were a part of God’s work

To help students think about the role of the temple among God’s people in the scriptures, you might invite them to reflect on times outside of the Old Testament when covenant people built or worshipped in temples.

Examples include:

• Luke 2:27, 46 (Jesus was brought to the temple as an infant and later taught in the temple as a child. There are several examples of Jesus in the temple as an adult [Matt. 21:12–16; Mark 12:35–37; Luke 21:37–38])

• 2 Nephi 5:16 (Land of Nephi)

• Mosiah 2:1 (Land of Zarahemla)

• Doctrine and Covenants 124:39–41 (Saints commanded to build a temple in Nauvoo, Illinois)

• Doctrine and Covenants 109:2–4 (Dedicatory prayer of the Kirtland Temple)

• What does the Lord’s commandment to build temples teach you about Him?

The purpose of the house of the Lord

As an alternative to the two scenarios used in the lesson, you could show the following video as a summary of the purpose of temples.

Show the video “Mormon Temples” (1:40) available atchurchofJesusChrist.org to help summarize what they have learned and felt.

Students could be invited to share how they think being close to the Lord in His temples can help change people’s hearts.