I Love To See the Temple (Serving Others)

We are very fortunate to live in Utah and be close to so many temples. For this activity, we took the girls to the temple to walk the grounds. Being the summer... we were few in numbers, but still had a good time. We asked the girls to dress in Sunday clothes and bring their journals.

The Provo temple is on a hill so we started at the bottom and as we walked the sidewalk up to the temple, we sang "I love to see the temple". I had printed off the lyrics for them to use and then to put in their journals:

I love to see the temple.
I’m going there someday
To feel the Holy Spirit,
To listen and to pray.
For the temple is a house of God,
A place of love and beauty.
I’ll prepare myself while I am young;
This is my sacred duty.

I love to see the temple.
I’ll go inside someday.
I’ll cov’nant with my Father;
I’ll promise to obey.
For the temple is a holy place
Where we are sealed together.
As a child of God, I’ve learned this truth:
A fam’ly is forever.

Words and music: Janice Kapp Perry, b. 1938
© 1980 by Janice Kapp Perry.

When we got up the hill, closer to the temple I had girls sit on the bench while I shared a message about temples. I actually couldn't find the exact message that I shared... but all you need to do is go to lds.org and find one that you think is right for your girls. Here is one that was on the lds.org homepage today by President Monson:

Turn toward the Temple

“Why are so many willing to give so much in order to receive the blessings of the temple?” President Thomas S. Monson said, and then he answered his own question: “Those who understand the eternal blessings which come from the temple know that no sacrifice is too great, no price too heavy, no struggle too difficult in order to receive those blessings.”
Citing examples of those throughout the history of the Church who have made great effort in order to attend the temple, he said, “There are never too many miles to travel, too many obstacles to overcome, or too much discomfort to endure. … The saving ordinances received in the temple that permit us to someday return to our Heavenly Father in an eternal family relationship and to be endowed with blessings and power from on high are worth every sacrifice and every effort.”

What Is Your Sacrifice?

“Today most of us do not have to suffer great hardships in order to attend the temple,” President Monson said. “Eighty-five percent of the membership of the Church now live within 200 miles (320 km) of a temple, and for a great many of us, that distance is much shorter.”
But, President Monson said during his address at the April 2011 general conference, personal sacrifices may still be necessary. “If you have been to the temple for yourselves and if you live within relatively close proximity to a temple, your sacrifice could be setting aside the time in your busy lives to visit the temple regularly,” he said.
“If you have not yet been to the temple or if you have been but currently do not qualify for a recommend, there is no more important goal for you to work toward than being worthy to go to the temple. Your sacrifice may be bringing your life into compliance with what is required to receive a recommend, perhaps by forsaking long-held habits which disqualify you. It may be having the faith and the discipline to pay your tithing. Whatever it is, qualify to enter the temple of God. Secure a temple recommend and regard it as a precious possession, for such it is.”

Renewed and Fortified

President Monson also made this promise to those who will face toward the house of the Lord: “The world can be a challenging and difficult place in which to live. We are often surrounded by that which would drag us down. As you and I go to the holy houses of God, as we remember the covenants we make within, we will be more able to bear every trial and to overcome each temptation. In this sacred sanctuary we will find peace; we will be renewed and fortified.”


After reading and chatting about the message, I gave the girls a few minutes to write in their journals how they felt and what they were planning on doing in their lives in order to be able to go into the temple one day. I also gave them a "future temple recommend" and showed them my temple recommend.

After they wrote in their journals, we got permission to bring the girls into the waiting room in the temple. That was nice because they got to see inside the temple enough to see that all the workers were wearing all white. They all seemed very interested and thought it was really cool just go get inside the doors just a little. 

I didn't have this ready for when we went... but this would have been a fun hand-out for them the take home. You can get it HERE right now, or you can e-mail me and I will send it to you when I can (I try to check my e-mail about once a month)