When I was setting my new years resolutions last year I decided, “I want to go to the temple 52 times this year!” Once a week: I thought that is a goal I could manage. And it would help me to follow the advice I had received when I returned from my mission earlier that year. My mission president told me to go every week if possible.
As I started getting back into life as a returned missionary, it was a lot rougher than I thought. I don’t know what vain delusion I was under, but I thought that of work, school, and dating, that dating would be the easiest of the three… Sadly I was wrong, and school and work are far easier.
After talking with my mission president’s wife, she suggested, “when dating gets you down, go to the Temple.” I loved the idea. That night I set a goal “every time a girl tells me no, I’ll go to the temple.” I did not realize how often I would be going to the Temple, but this gave me a chance to learn a lot.
Here are some things I learned by going to the temple 100 times this year.
You can always make time.
Making time for the temple is huge; rarely will you be sitting there with extra time to go to the temple. Set a goal to go once a week and then make the time needed to go. Don’t let the drudgery of every day weigh you down. One thing that I’ve found extremely helpful with my goal is to carry my temple clothes in my car. That way if you do finish your errands early, you will never be caught thinking, “I want to go, but I don’t have my Sunday clothes.” When I make time for the Lord and the Temple, the Lord always multiplies my effectiveness for the week.
The temple is the ultimate pick me up.
The biggest reason I’ve been to the temple 100 times this year is because this year was very hard, and I learned that when life is beating you down, the temple can lift you up. Not only can it lift you up, it can remind you of your divine potential. That reminder of your status with God is worth any sacrifice. When I find I'm discouraged, the temple gives me the courage to keep trying. I love doing sealings as it reminds me why I even try to date.
“As we do temple work, we develop a spiritual kinship with our Heavenly Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ that brings us peace, happiness, and eternal joy.”
~Franklin D. Richards