in the house of God

On the side of each temple there is a phrase that says: "Holiness to the Lord. The House of the Lord." If memory serves me right, these words were first coined by Brigham Young to be engraved on the Salt Lake City Temple. These words describes these building perfectly.

I have always known that temples were holy places, and I have often gained spiritual strength from spending time within those walls. I have times that have little significance beyond that little boost, times when I have sacred experiences I can't write down here, and times when I sit and have all out "heart to hearts" with my Heavenly Father about my life and the way it's going. Today was one of those latter times. I had the day off and felt drawn to the temple. So I went, and the Spirit I felt there was powerful, moments that filled my soul with deep warmth. The Lord was touching my heart, preparing it for something-- inspiration, revelation, I'm not completely sure, but I stayed there a long while after I finished the work I went there to do and had one of my heart to hearts. It had been a while since I had done that, and it felt good to talk in depth through things with my Heavenly Father. I know what you're thinking: I don't have to go to the temple to pray like that; and usually, I would say you were right. Yet today it was a refuge for me, a place devoid of distraction like food, sleep, roommates, and technology. I needed that. I needed to be in a place where I had nothing better to do than turn my thoughts to spiritual, eternal things. I am so grateful for my time at the temple today.

Interestingly enough, I have been finding that the more I spend time there, as a temple worker and as a patron, the more comfortable I get in the house of the Lord and the closer I draw to Him. I guess it is kind of like when we spend time in someone's home. The more time we spend there the more comfortable and familiar we are with the paintings on the walls, the feel of the couches and chairs, the personalities of the people who live there, and the presence of the Spirit that may or may not be there. I count my blessings for the opportunity I have to spend so much time in my Heavenly Father's home, to grow more comfortable there and to feel His holy
presence so often.