I had only been to the Temple once a year ago so I completely forgot how to put on the ceremonial clothing. A very nice 19ish year old man tied my tie for me and helped my goofy arse get good and ready for Temple work.
Others helped too and said is was nice having me there.
My wife and I had a very spiritual and comforting experience. What struck me was how kind and compassionate people and Temple workers were. I felt not just welcomed but felt my presence was appreciated and sought after.
Wouldn't it be great if we were on as good behavior at church every Sunday? Or if we were as Christlike in our conduct and speech with everyone around us in every area of daily life?
The hands of men have built the Temple of The Lord but the hands of God made the Earth we live on. The Earth itself is a Temple. It has been sanctified by God Himself.
Why should we reserve our best for the Temple but slack off in all other areas of daily life?
I hate to think any of the absolutely wonderful people I met at the Temple only treated me so well because I was Temple worthy or a fellow member.
But Jesus offered all He met in His life that same Christlike love, forgiveness and understanding. Should we not do the same?
I know many people have horror stories about church so I want to share one from a friend.
She was disfellowshipped and every Sunday the Bishop would confront her in the foyer and remind her, publicly, that she was not to take the sacrament or offer a prayer because she was disfellowshipped. He shamed her every week until no one would sit next to her for fear of associating with "those people."
She eventually quit attending church. It was only in the last couple of years that she has returned and has since gained a stronger testimony. How much faster and easier would her journey have been had she been treated with love rather than scorn and shame?
Last year I was in church during a talk from a man who had been excommunicated and then rejoined the church. The only reason I know he'd been excommunicated is because of the two women behind me who gossiped about him during his entire talk. Perhaps there was something he said that could have touched their hearts if they had been open to his words.
Why are so many of us guilty of this mistreatment? Especially when we are capable of so much more, so much better.
We often are not fulfilling the one commandment Jesus gave which was to love everyone as He loved us.
We can all do better. Unless you've been translated and are reading this from beyond the veil, you have something , big or small, to work on. We all do.
But why do we reserve our Christlike love and speech for special occasions and then slack off and shame people , judge people, and treat others in ways none of us could picture Christ doing?
None of us is perfect we all have our moments of good and bad but often our bad moments are needed even essential because in those moments we can learn to be better people.
We're often not being the people Jesus knows we can be. And we're probably disappointing Mr. Rogers too. So there's that.