My younger sister will be receiving her endowment soon. Before she goes, there is something I want to tell her: think of receiving your endowment as orientation day, not graduation day.
I have Melinda W. Brown to thank for this idea. She teaches a class on the temple for a young single adult stake at Brigham Young University. She’s also the author of the new book An Endowment of Love. Melinda was recently a guest on the Magnify podcast, where she explained the idea of orientation day versus graduation day.
She explains that one of the biggest misconceptions she sees with her students is that they approach receiving their endowment with a “finish-line mentality.”
For many, the endowment ordinance is something they’ve heard about and perhaps looked forward to their whole lives—but it’s also an experience that holds a lot of unknowns. Additionally, receiving the endowment is often a big event attended by extended family members. These factors can lead a young person to feel anxious or even a bit fearful as their appointment at the temple comes closer.
To help ease their concerns, Melinda repeatedly tells her students to think of the endowment as a starting point, not a finish line. In other words, a temple orientation day, not a graduation day. Here is what Melinda tells her students:
“When you started college, … you had a couple days of orientation. You didn’t expect yourself to know everything. In fact, that would be ridiculous. You were coming to start college. It’s not your graduation day; it’s your orientation day. It’s a beginning. If you can let go of that finish-line idea [of receiving the endowment], you give yourself a lot more room for healthy growth.”
Melinda explains the benefits of this mentality:
“[The temple] doesn’t become this scary pressure that leaves them thinking, ‘Well, I guess I failed because I didn’t really even get that.’ You’d much rather have them leaving saying, ‘Wow, I am excited to go back because, clearly, I have a lot to grasp and understand. This is going to take time, and it’s meant to take time.’
“[The temple is] a rest-of-your-life sort of experience. So, it does help to see it that way—orientation day.”
I love Melinda’s analogy. I also love that her class in Provo is called “Temple+” rather than temple preparation. While preparing for your first time in the temple is important, becoming a lifelong temple learner is even more significant. (You can experience Melinda’s class with this free course on LDS Living’s YouTube channel.)
Temple worship is all about deepening our relationship and connection with Jesus Christ. And you don’t ever finish or graduate from a relationship. Instead, you continue to show by your actions that you want to grow closer and know more about someone.
My love for the Savior has deepened through temple worship, and I want the same for my sister. I am hopeful that having a conversation with her about “temple orientation day” will help start her off in the right direction.
If you want to learn more from Melinda, listen to the full Magnify episode wherever you get your podcasts and check out her new book below.
A fresh perspective on the temple
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