How does preparing and going through the temple help you focus your perspective on the eternities?

[Yes]

Hello friends,

     I have been assigned to speak on the following matter - “How does preparing and going through the temple help you focus your perspective on the eternities”.

     In preparing my talk, I have become rather interested on what other people have experienced in regards to this question. Also, I would like help preparing the talk. Any tips on what I should share to make the talk meaningful and insightful would be very much appreciated. 

Edited September 20, 2018 by Yes

[Fether]

31 minutes ago, Yes said:

Hello friends,

     I have been assigned to speak on the following matter - “How does preparing and going through the temple help you focus your perspective on the eternities”.

     In preparing my talk, I have become rather interested on what other people have experienced in regards to this question. Also, I would like help preparing the talk. Any tips on what I should share to make the talk meaningful and insightful would be very much appreciated. 

I’ve always hated prompts like that haha. Depending on the question, it could be as foreign as “How did forgetting your mother’s birthday 8 times in a row teach you about the concept of a Freudian Slip?”

To which, of course, the answer is “Inreally wasn’t thinking about that so I guess it didn’t, I guess I haven’t been paying attention”

that would be the same response I would give if asked to give a talk based on that question.

[The Folk Prophet]

The temple is where we take upon ourselves the ordinances and covenants required for eternal life -- as in "the eternities". That's the reason we go (for ourselves and our dead). That's the point. That's the reason. That's the focus. Anything else is supplementary. But the focus is the eternities. As in "eternal" marriage -- which covenant all others lead too, and which covenant is the highest order of the priesthood, whereby we gain eternal life.

[zil]

Welcome, @Yes!

[Sunday21]

Hi @Yes Good to have you here! I notice that when I go through a session that by the time I am through, my problems seem much less important. Maybe there is a hint for me there? 

[anatess2]

So reading your OP, this came to mind:

There's that experiment where a child is given 5 marshmallows on a plate.  Then he is given instructions that he can eat the marshmallows right now, but if he waits 1 hour, then he can have as many marshmallows as he likes.  A kid usually can't wait the 1 hour because the temptation of the 5 marshmallows become too great.  The temptation becomes easier to bear if the child is constantly reminded of the unlimited marshmallows that is about to come.

I see this the same as going to the temple often.  It reminds me of the blessings to come for those who persevere in the eternal plan.

[Guest]

2 hours ago, Yes said:

Any tips on what I should share to make the talk meaningful and insightful would be very much appreciated. 

The main thing I remember about preparing for the temple was the Temple Prep class.  The main thing I remember from that class is the fact that we use symbolism in every aspect of our lives.  It is important that we focus on Eternal symbols frequently.

The temple is the place where we can receive eternal symbols to help us focus on Eternity.

As I taught the class myself many years later, I had a class member draw a tree in less than 3 seconds.  He essentially drew a lollipop.  I used that to point out that symbols do not have to truly resemble the thing they represent.  But we as a convention associate certain things with certain principles.

[JohnsonJones]

When given a general topic I've always had an easy time preparing a talk.

When given a specific topic, it gets much harder.  I once was given such a specific topic that the only thing I could think of doing was giving a lecture similar to what I give in school.  It was dry, doctrinal, and very specific as per the specifics of the topic.

What this has taught me when I would assign things is to make sure to allow latitude for the speaker.  Give them a topic for them to use, but don't be so specific as to corner them.

I would take it as a general topic such as The temple ordinances and Eternal Salvation, or just why do we go to the Temple.  Perhaps focus it as how going to the temple has effected your life or WHY do you go to the temple.  I think any such focuses would satisfy the actual idea or topic that the Bishopric want you to talk about.

[Yes]

I thank you all very much for your responses and input. Does anyone have any recommendations for quotes or scriptures I could throw in? I’m just about there, but a 25 minutes talk that’s not going to make the entire congregation fall asleep is hard to accomplish. Many thanks. 

[zil]

2 minutes ago, Yes said:

I thank you all very much for your responses and input. Does anyone have any recommendations for quotes or scriptures I could throw in? I’m just about there, but a 25 minutes talk that’s not going to make the entire congregation fall asleep is hard to accomplish. Many thanks. 

Perhaps...

https://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/2-pet/1.3-4?lang=eng&clang=eng#p2

https://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/84.19-22?lang=eng&clang=eng#p18

[JohnsonJones]

Quote

As we attend the temple, there can come to us a dimension of spirituality and a feeling of peace which will transcend any other feeling which could come into the human heart. We will grasp the true meaning of the words of the Savior when He said: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you. … Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”¹

Such peace can permeate any heart—hearts that are troubled, hearts that are burdened down with grief, hearts that feel confusion, hearts that plead for help.

I recently learned firsthand of a young man who attended the temple with a heart pleading for help. Many months earlier he had received his call to serve in a mission in South America. However, his visa was delayed for such a lengthy period that he was reassigned to a mission in the United States. Although disappointed that he could not serve in the area of his original call, he nonetheless worked hard in his new assignment, determined to serve to the best of his ability. He became discouraged, however, because of negative experiences he had with missionaries who seemed to him to be more interested in having a good time than in sharing the gospel.

A few short months later this young man suffered a very serious health challenge which left him partially paralyzed, and so he was sent home on a medical leave.

Some months later the young man had healed completely, and his paralysis had disappeared. He was informed that he would once again be able to serve as a missionary, a blessing for which he had prayed daily. The only disappointing news was that he would return to the same mission which he had left, where he felt the behaviors and attitudes of some missionaries were less than they should be.

He had come to the temple to seek comfort and a confirmation that he could have a good experience as a missionary. His parents also had prayed that this temple visit would provide the help their son needed.

As the young man entered the celestial room following the session, he sat in a chair and began to pray for guidance from his Heavenly Father.

Another who entered the celestial room shortly afterward was a young man whose name is Landon. As he walked into the room, his gaze was immediately drawn to the young man sitting on the chair, eyes closed and obviously praying. Landon received an unmistakable prompting that he should speak with the young man. Hesitant to interrupt, however, he decided to wait. After several minutes had gone by, the young man was still praying. Landon knew he could no longer postpone the prompting. He approached the young man and gently touched his shoulder. The young man opened his eyes, startled that he had been disturbed. Landon said quietly, “I have felt impressed that I need to talk with you, although I am not certain why.”

As they began to converse, the young man poured out his heart to Landon, explaining his circumstances and ending with his desire to receive some comfort and encouragement concerning his mission. Landon, who had returned from a successful mission just a year earlier, told of his own mission experiences, the challenges and concerns he had faced, the manner in which he had turned to the Lord for help, and the blessings he had received. His words were comforting and reassuring, and his enthusiasm for his mission was contagious. Eventually, as the young man’s fears subsided, a feeling of peace came to him. He felt deep gratitude as he realized his prayer had been answered.

The two young men prayed together, and then Landon prepared to leave, happy that he had listened to the inspiration which had come to him. As he stood to go, the young man asked Landon, “Where did you serve your mission?” To this point, neither of them had mentioned to the other the name of the mission in which he had served. When Landon replied with the name of his mission, tears welled up in the eyes of the young man. Landon had served in the very mission to which the young man would be returning!

In a recent letter to me, Landon shared with me the young man’s parting words to him: “I had faith Heavenly Father would bless me, but I never could have imagined that He would send someone to help me who had served in my own mission. I know now that all will be well.”² The humble prayer of a sincere heart had been heard and answered.

My brothers and sisters, in our lives we will have temptations; we will have trials and challenges. As we go to the temple, as we remember the covenants we make there, we will be better able to overcome those temptations and to bear our trials. In the temple we can find peace.

The blessings of the temple are priceless. One for which I am grateful every day of my life is that which my beloved wife, Frances, and I received as we knelt at a sacred altar and made covenants binding us together for all eternity. There is no blessing more precious to me than the peace and comfort I receive from the knowledge I have that she and I will be together again.

From a Talk by Thomas S. Monson.

Link

Blessings of the Temple Thomas S. Monson

And another story from Thomas S. Monson  (he is great for mining stories on this topic

Quote

May I share with you the account of Tihi and Tararaina Mou Tham and their 10 children. The entire family except for one daughter joined the Church in the early 1960s, when missionaries came to their island, located about 100 miles (160 km) south of Tahiti. Soon they began to desire the blessings of an eternal family sealing in the temple.

At that time the nearest temple to the Mou Tham family was the Hamilton New Zealand Temple, more than 2,500 miles (4,000 km) to the southwest, accessible only by expensive airplane travel. The large Mou Tham family, which eked out a meager living on a small plantation, had no money for airplane fare, nor was there any opportunity for employment on their Pacific island. So Brother Mou Tham and his son Gérard made the difficult decision to travel 3,000 miles (4,800 km) to work in New Caledonia, where another son was already employed.

The three Mou Tham men labored for four years. Brother Mou Tham alone returned home only once during that time, for the marriage of a daughter.

After four years, Brother Mou Tham and his sons had saved enough money to take the family to the New Zealand Temple. All who were members went except for one daughter, who was expecting a baby. They were sealed for time and eternity, an indescribable and joyful experience.

Brother Mou Tham returned from the temple directly to New Caledonia, where he worked for two more years to pay for the passage of the one daughter who had not been at the temple with them—a married daughter and her child and husband.

In their later years Brother and Sister Mou Tham desired to serve in the temple. By that time the Papeete Tahiti Temple had been constructed and dedicated, and they served four missions there.³

My brothers and sisters, temples are more than stone and mortar. They are filled with faith and fasting. They are built of trials and testimonies. They are sanctified by sacrifice and service.

and from later in the talk

Quote

Today most of us do not have to suffer great hardships in order to attend the temple. Eighty-five percent of the membership of the Church now live within 200 miles (320 km) of a temple, and for a great many of us, that distance is much shorter.

If you have been to the temple for yourselves and if you live within relatively close proximity to a temple, your sacrifice could be setting aside the time in your busy lives to visit the temple regularly. There is much to be done in our temples in behalf of those who wait beyond the veil. As we do the work for them, we will know that we have accomplished what they cannot do for themselves. President Joseph F. Smith, in a mighty declaration, stated, “Through our efforts in their behalf their chains of bondage will fall from them, and the darkness surrounding them will clear away, that light may shine upon them and they shall hear in the spirit world of the work that has been done for them by their children here, and will rejoice with you in your performance of these duties.”⁵ My brothers and sisters, the work is ours to do.

The above two quotes are from Thomas S. Monson's Talk found

The Holy Temple a Beacon to the World

[Yes]

Thank you all.