Temples purify

As I’ve been finishing up my Old Testament study guide, I’ve had one thought over and over:

I’m sure glad we aren’t asked to do animal sacrifices anymore. 

For many reasons.

I know I’ve learned that Christ did away with animal sacrifices and that instead, we are now asked to sacrifice our wills and hearts to Him.

I loved the additional angle Joseph taught in this scripture:

“Let us, therefore, as a church and a people, and as Latter-day Saints, offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness; and let us present in his holy temple, when it is finished, a book containing the records of our dead, which shall be worthy of all acceptation.” D&C 128:24

Joseph said that one of our biggest offerings, our biggest sacrifices, will be handing the Lord a book.

And in this book, we will present the names of every proxy ordinance we have performed, collectively as a church.

Can you even imagine?!

Can you picture a prophet handing the Savior a giant record of all the temple work that has been completed in this dispensation?

Now, I have no clue if there will actually be a physical book handed over, or maybe a computer, or maybe it’s all symbolic.

But either way, I don’t want to be the slacker in this worldwide Latter-day Saint group project.

I want to be able to tell the Lord I contributed to that book as much as I could.

Because temple work IS a sacrifice.

It is our big purification.

Instead of sacrificing unblemished firstlings, we are in the temple, allowing our hearts to be molded and shaped.

Focusing on selfless, eternal things.

The book is so so so important.

But the biggest point will be what happened to our hearts in the process of making that book.

How many worldly desires and selfish actions were transformed into beautiful, clean, pure hearts, ready to give over to the Savior?

My takeaway from this week’s powerful study?

I think temple work is much more important than I can even begin to realize right now.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black