Temple Endowment Understood by Revelation

“The temple endowment which was given by revelation can best be understood by revelation.” Elder David B. Haight, a member of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints reiterated this truth in the April 1992 General Conference. He taught:

Perhaps [some] do not understand how the Lord teaches us in His house. Elder John A. Widtsoe said:

“We live in a world of symbols. No man or woman can come out of the temple endowed as he should be, unless he has seen, beyond the symbol, the mighty realities for which the symbols stand.” (“Temple Worship,” Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine. April 1921: 62.)

If you may have been somewhat confused, unclear, or concerned about your temple experience, I hope you will return again and again. When you return, come with an open, seeking, contrite heart, and allow the Spirit to teach you by revelation what the symbols can mean to you and the eternal realities which they represent. Elder Widtsoe thoughtfully provided some counsel about how you might do this. He spoke of the Prophet’s first vision as a model of how revelation, in the temple and elsewhere, is received.

“How do men receive revelations?” he asked. “How did the Prophet Joseph Smith obtain his first revelation, his first vision? He desired something. In [a grove of trees], away from human confusion, he summoned all the strength of his nature; there he fought the demon of evil, and, at length, because of the strength of his desire and the great effort that he made, the Father and the Son descended out of the heavens and spoke eternal truth to him.” (Ibid., p. 63.)

Elder Widtsoe observed that it was the strength of Joseph’s desire and the great effort which enabled him to receive his vision of the Father and the Son. Desire and effort are likewise required if we would receive revelation to understand the ordinances of the endowment. He wrote: “Revelation … is not imposed upon a person; it must be drawn to us by faith, seeking and working. … To the man or woman who goes through the temple, with open eyes, heeding the symbols and the covenants, and making a steady, continuous effort to understand the full meaning, God speaks his word, and revelations come. … The endowment which was given by revelation can best be understood by revelation; and to those who seek most vigorously, with pure hearts, will the revelation be greatest.” (Ibid.)¹

Sources:

1. Haight, David B. “Come to the House of the Lord.” May 1992. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 6 September 2008.↩