After nearly two years of grief and darkness after a divorce, I fell on my knees and pleaded with the Lord to show me the next step on my spiritual path.
“Marriage . . . is ordained of God,” Elder Christofferson teaches in his talk, The Sealing Power, but, “in the imperfect present, this is not the reality . . . for some.” I understood well the imperfect present he talked about. For those in this situation, Elder Christofferson advises that we can have “hope in Christ” as we “wait upon the Lord.”
During this painful experience, while I waited on the Lord, I learned that life is complicated, and sometimes circumstances are not ideal, but our covenants with the Lord are never complicated. We can have peace under any circumstance if we are bonded by covenant with Jesus Christ.
Within two days of my prayer for guidance, Heavenly Father gave me personal miracles that helped me trust Him and made clear to me that even after a divorce, I belonged in His kingdom.
The Power of Regular Temple Worship
God answered my prayer, in part, through bringing my husband, Ryan, into my life. Our meeting had a profound impact on me. I felt immense peace and clarity and knew I wanted to marry Ryan in the temple.
I felt humbled and undeserving when we walked through the doors inscribed with “House of the Lord” as an engaged couple, but knew I was home. I was in my Father’s house, and He filled me with His pure unquestioning love.
Despite the faith and miracles that brought Ryan and me together, we still experienced some growing pains, especially during the first months of our marriage. In the aftermath of one particularly heated argument, my husband made this inspired suggestion, “What if we go to the temple together once a week?”
I hesitated.
Neither of us had ever attended the temple every week. We both had demanding careers and a young family. I also assumed that I would attend the temple with greater frequency when I had more time in the sunset season of my life.
But in my heart, I knew that attending the temple more frequently would be good for us. So, I agreed.
It would be hard to overstate the lasting impact the decision to attend the temple once a week has had on our marriage and my life.
Some nights we walked into the temple feeling tension and not speaking to each other. By the time we walked out of the temple, we were apologizing and holding hands. He softened our hearts, enlarged our celestial perspective, and united us.
Steady temple service activated God’s “sealing and healing power” in our marriage. At first, it felt like a sacrifice to make it to the temple each week, but soon we looked forward to being in the temple regularly because we steadily grew closer to each other and to God.
Tutoring in the Temple
As I spent more time in the temple, Heavenly Father made it clear to me that my covenants with Him were at the foundation of my faith. I discovered that attending the temple strengthened my relationship with Jesus Christ. Our Savior is the merciful golden thread that binds us to God. He wraps us in the garment of the Holy Priesthood to protect us and remind us of our promises and His love.
A key that unlocked a flow of revelation was my temple journal. Each week, I paused to write what the Spirit whispered to me. The Holy Ghost often warmed my heart with my Savior’s love. The Comforter assured me that I was a royal daughter of God. Each time I witnessed women exercising the power of the priesthood in the Lord’s house, I felt empowered in my vital role as a woman in Christ’s Church.
One of the greatest blessings of regular temple attendance has been the ability to better hear the voice of the Lord. Direct answers have come as a result of prayer in the celestial room or through instruction in the Lord’s house. I have gained insights about how to help my children, specific promptings to serve, and even complete transformations in my mindset. I have felt revelation more clearly as I have been physically in His house.
Additionally, my husband and I have both been blessed immensely in temporal ways. Both of our careers have felt more guided. Our anxiety lessened as the peace of Christ increased in our lives. Friction in our marriage diminished and our loving connections with our children have grown, with greater peace in our home.
Temple Blessings are for All of Us
God wants to pour out the blessings of Abraham on all His sons and daughters. Coming from a family of mixed faith, I do not have the opportunity to attend the temple with my family of origin or (due to my family’s hesitations) perform my own family history work at this time. But I have felt my family expand through temple service. President Nelson testified “The ultimate blessings of the Abrahamic covenant are conferred in holy temples.” The future accumulation of God’s expansive promise awaits those who love Him.
Over the years, I have sensed the loving presence of celestial siblings in my time in the temple. I have shared the hope of covenant belonging when I acted as a proxy for children who waited hundreds of years to be sealed to their parents. As Elder Christofferson explains, “With access to the sealing power, our hearts naturally turn to those who have gone before.” My heart has turned to and united with my brothers and sisters beyond the veil as I have cultivated a larger family in Christ.
As I continue to worship and serve regularly in the temple eight years since our decision to attend more often, one of the most beautiful assurances I have received is that God will never leave us. I can hold on to Christ and His infinite atoning power because His pure love never fails. And I can bask in it when I enter His house.
Elder Christofferson witnessed, “I testify that the Atonement of Jesus Christ has made immortality a verity and the possibility of exalted family relationships a reality.” Our consistent commitment to living our temple covenants increases our capacity to receive God’s sealing power to nourish celestial relationships now and forever.
Do you need miracles in your family? I invite you to try out President Russell M. Nelson’s prophetic promise: “The Lord will bring the miracles He knows you need as you make sacrifices to serve and worship in His temples.”
Just go to the house of the Lord—and go often—the blessings you need will come.
For me, what felt at first like a sacrifice has been a source of spiritual strength, gentle individual tutoring, and a spring of constant Heavenly love.
Hear more from Shima on this week's Magnify podcast episode, Jesus Makes Our Family Tree Whole.
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