Temple prep conversations can sometimes feel like walking a tightrope. What is the line between helpful preparation and sharing too many details?
This hesitation is especially common when it comes to beautiful, sacred rituals we rarely discuss outside the temple walls, such as the temple prayer circle.
Thankfully, Church leaders have offered encouraging guidance on how to navigate these discussions. Elder David A. Bednar has taught, “We may discuss the basic purposes of and the doctrine and principles associated with temple ordinances and covenants.”
If you are looking for a trusted way to apply that counsel, a new book by Brigham Young University professor John Hilton III can help. Your Guide to the Temple Endowment provides straightforward, faith-promoting explanations of what first-time temple patrons will actually experience.
The excerpt below is a quick, accessible description of the temple prayer circle you can share with your loved ones before they receive their own endowment—or with anyone interested in learning more about temple worship:
The Prayer Circle
“Christ has taught us that His house is a house of prayer (see Doctrine and Covenants 88:119). We experience that firsthand in the temple. Toward the end of the endowment, members of the session can choose to participate in a group prayer. This is a special way for us to unite our faith in temples all around the world and pray for each other. The scriptures teach that there is power in praying for one another. You can put names of family members or friends who are in need of faith and prayers on the prayer roll at the temple or online.
“A temple worker will have already gathered the submitted names and placed them in a small pouch on the altar at the front of the endowment room. Anyone who wants to participate will gather in a circle around the altar and repeat the words of a prayer offered by an ordinance worker for those people whose names are in the pouch and others in need of heavenly blessings.1
“A ring or circle can be symbolic of eternity. As participants all face the altar, we can symbolically see them turning toward Christ. The prayer circle is a beautiful part of the endowment.
“Participating in the prayer circle is optional (there often isn’t room for everybody in the endowment session to participate). But when you feel comfortable doing so, I encourage you to participate. For me, it reminds me of the importance of meaningful prayer, and my personal prayers have improved as I’ve thought about lessons I’ve learned from the prayer circle.”
Get an inside look at the the new temple prep book in the articles below.
▶ Share this summary of the endowment video with first-time temple goers
▶ A step-by-step guide for every first-time temple goer
▶ The smart way one mom is prepping her teens for the temple endowment
Confidently prepare for the temple
Note
1. George S. Tate, “Prayer Circle,” in Encyclopedia of Mormonism, https://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/digital/api/collection/EoM/id/4066/download