In John 13, during the last supper, the Savior began to wash the feet of his apostles. When he came to Peter, he pulled away saying, “Thou shalt never wash my feet.” In return Jesus said, “If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.” What a statement! Never before in scripture is there any indication of the necessity of allowing your feet to be washed. I have to wonder what Peter was thinking. “Wait a minute. I have been with you from the beginning. I have been faithful. You taught us of faith, of repentance, of baptism, and many other qualities we should strive for. I have done these things. You never said this was necessary to, “have part with you.” This is new, and frankly a little weird. I just don’t get it.” Wisely, Peter quickly put his faith into practice and allowed this ritualistic ordinance, which was highly symbolic and meant to teach the apostles a great lesson. It was a blessing beyond what they knew and understood at the time.
One thing we learn here is when further blessings are offered from on high, we either accept these blessings or our progress stops there. This lesson is everywhere in life. For example, we are offered to learn how to drive a car. It may be strange and new, and for some very hard, but if we put ourselves out there and learn, the blessings are enormous.
Another thing this can be related to is Temple blessings. There are some who resent what they perceive as the strictness of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints. The covenants we make in the temple only adds to their antagonism. Some may complain that the necessity of Temples is not in the scriptures, so they are in fact not necessary for salvation. Given the esoteric nature of temples, I would expect that we not find references to the temple in scripture, but in fact we do, though not always obvious. But, as D&C 124: 41 tells us, some acts in the Temple are to be revealed in this, the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times, which have never been done in the Temple since, "the foundation of the world." At least a change is to be expected, since the Law of Moses, which included animal sacrifice in the Temple, was no longer needed.
In the temple there are symbols, ritual and covenants that can seem strange, new and hard to understand at first. It can be a bigger challenge for some, but the higher blessings can be literally endless.
Temples are known to have existed in every known ancient society. A number of early Jewish and Christian documents deal with elements found in modern LDS temples. As such, they are confirmation of the antiquity of the temple rites. Religious truth was taught in these temples. We learn the way they taught was often through story, sacred ceremony and ritual. When one examines the oldest ancient religious writings, symbols, sacred architecture and rituals around the world, we can easily see this.1 Which begs the question, what was and is so important about temples which caused them to be such a huge part of every ancient society?
We can expect, and in fact we see, that with imperfect man, the meaning and delivery of the rituals and symbols in these temples were changed and distorted through time. However, we can examine the most ancient of writings to uncover clues as to what the purpose of these temples were in their least disturbed form, with some tantalizing answers, but this can be challenging and can leave us with an incomplete or dissatisfactory answer, especially given the esoteric nature of temples, not to mention the death and resurrection of Christ necessarily changed much of it as well.
I feel lucky I found a podcast put on by a professor of the antiquities called The Ancient Tradition. In this lengthy podcast, it brings to light the common religious traditions of the most ancient people. I have found many instances that related directly to the LDS temple. Just as an example, I had listened to several in a row that dealt with the Sacred Circle or Sacred Center, symbolizing the dwelling place of God. Again and again the Sacred Circle was referenced, even showing how it is still used up to this day in certain ceremonies around the world. I was just not getting it and it just seemed weird, until finally a light turned on, and I realized it related to the prayer circle that is performed during the endowment session. I have been fortunate to have served as a temple worker and several times I have officiated the endowment session, which includes being mouthpiece for the prayer circle. Since I made this connection, it has meant much more to me.
References to the prayer circle can be found throughout ancient Israel and into early Christianity.2 It was a common practice until in the Second Council of Nicaea in 787 AD, where it was voted out. Thus leaving at the roadside another plain and precious truth.
Dallen H. Oaks has said, "Study and reason can find the truth, but only revelation can confirm it." A true living prophet of God could help us to know the ultimate answer to this question of why we have temples. Today we are blessed with exactly that. Besides the obvious reasons--that of learning eternal truths, receiving ordinances, of making covenants, and offering these blessings to those who have departed, President Russell M. Nelson gave us further insight on this subject.
“As we strive to live the higher laws of Jesus Christ, our hearts and our very natures begin to change. The Savior lifts us above the pull of this fallen world by blessing us with great charity, humility, generosity, kindness, self-discipline, peace, and rest.”
“We can expect to receive answers to prayer, personal revelation, greater faith, strength, comfort, increased knowledge, and increased power.”
“Those who live the higher laws of Jesus Christ have access to His higher power. Thus, covenant keepers are entitled to a special kind of rest that comes to them through their covenantal relationship with God.”
“Time in the temple will help you to think celestial and to catch a vision of who you really are, who you can become, and the kind of life you can have forever, Regular temple worship will enhance the way you see yourself and how you fit into God’s magnificent plan. I promise you that.”
“Here is my promise. Nothing will help you more to hold fast to the iron rod than worshipping in the temple as regularly as your circumstances permit. Nothing will protect you more as you encounter the world’s mists of darkness. Nothing will bolster your testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ and His Atonement or help you understand God’s magnificent plan more. Nothing will soothe your spirit more during times of pain. Nothing will open the heavens more. Nothing!
The temple is the gateway to the greatest blessings God has in store for each of us, for the temple is the only place on earth where we may receive all of the blessings promised to Abraham.”
“Entering into a covenant relationship with God binds us to Him in a way that makes everything about life easier. Please do not misunderstand me: I did not say that making covenants makes life easy. In fact, expect opposition, because the adversary does not want you to discover the power of Jesus Christ. But yoking yourself with the Savior means you have access to His strength and redeeming power.”
"He is accelerating the pace at which we are building temples. He is increasing our ability to help gather Israel."3
Laws, rules, commandments, and covenants to keep them, are not meant to be a bad thing. They are not meant to take away agency. In fact, agency will never be taken away. Besides promoting order, commandments lift us up as people--as children of God. D&C 130:20, 21 tells us, "There is a law irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated. And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated." Also in D&C 88:34, "That which is governed by law is also preserved by law and protected and sanctified by the same."
The Law of Moses was only given to the children of Israel because they would not accept the higher law. It became a stepping stone to Christ. In Galatians 3:24, Paul tells us, The law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ." As we come unto Christ, it seems obvious that we would continue line upon line in our progression, which may include higher laws and covenants.
Our father in heaven is and will continue to lead us in a heavenly direction. He knows it can and will be difficult at times, but we are not alone--as we seek his help, he will be there to guide us. But as the offer to receive more is given to us, we would be wise to put our faith into practice as Peter did, and follow. We have our agency to walk away, but if we do, I hear Jesus saying, if you do not, "thou hast no part with me."
1-As given in the podcasts, TheAncientTradition.com
2-For ancient Christian prayer circles, see Hugh Nibley, “The Early Christian Prayer Circle”, BYU Studies 19/1 (Fall 1978): 41-47, reprinted as chapter 3 in Hugh Nibley, Mormonism and Early Christianity (Salt Lake City: FARMS and Deseret Book Company, 1987), 45-99, and Hugh Nibley, Old Testament and Related Studies (Salt Lake City: FARMS and Deseret Book Company, 1986), 158-63, 182-3. For LDS prayer circles, see D. Michael Quinn, “Latter-day Saint Prayer Circle,” BYU Studies 19/1 (Fall 1978): 79-105, and the entries for “Altar” and “Prayer Circle” in Daniel H. Ludlow, ed., Encyclopedia of Mormonism (New York: Macmillan, 1992).
3-Liahona, “Overcome the World and Find Rest” Oct 2022, and, “Rejoice in the Gift of Priesthood Keys” April 2024
An excellent video on The Blessings of higher covenants: here
