President Gordon B. Hinckley on the blessings of temple worthiness and attendance

President Gordon B. Hinckley (1910-2008) was called to the Quorum of Twelve in 1961. He served as a counselor in the First Presidency from 1981-1995, then as Church President until his death in 2008.

"Our people cannot partake of all of the blessings of the gospel unless they can receive their own temple ordinances and then make these ordinances available to those of their kindred dead and others....

"These unique and wonderful buildings, and the ordinances administered therein, represent the ultimate in our worship. These ordinances become the most profound expressions of our theology. I urge our people everywhere, with all of the persuasiveness of which I am capable, to live worthy to hold a temple recommend, to secure one and regard it as a precious asset, and to make a greater effort to go to the house of the Lord and partake of the spirit and the blessings to be had therein. I am satisfied that every man or woman who goes to the temple in a spirit of sincerity and faith leaves the house of the Lord a better man or woman. There is need for constant improvement in all of our lives. There is need occasionally to leave the noise and the tumult of the world and step within the walls of a sacred house of God, there to feel His spirit in an environment of holiness and peace."

- Gordon B. Hinckley, "Of Missions, Temples, and Stewardship," Ensign, Nov. 1995, p. 53
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President Hinckley's vision of the importance of the temple in our lives changed the direction of the Church in a significant way. The dramatic expansion of temple-building worldwide provides a profound opportunity for all to experience the sacred ordinances, to serve their "kindred dead," and to return regularly for the blessings that are promised for faithful attendance.

In the temple, President Hinckley states, we experience the "ultimate in our worship." We go to be close to God, to learn of Him and His plan for our lives, and to be strengthened by His power.

I am touched by President Hinckley's urging "with all of the persuasiveness of which I am capable" that we live worthy of a temple recommend, and make a greater effort to attend the temple. It's clear he feels the eternal significance and present importance of that standard of worthiness, and of the opportunity it offers worthy holders of the recommend.

Those are wonderful blessings promised: personal growth and improvement, escape from the pressures and frustrations of a noisy world, and immersion in a setting of holiness and peace. We should all make a greater effort to claim those blessings!