Deanna Draper Buck - My First Book of Temples

Text 2012 Deanna Draper Buck

Illustrations 2012 Casey Nelson

First printing in hardbound 2012

First printing in paperbound 2014

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

CIP data on file

ISBN 978-1-60907-158-5 (hardbound)

ISBN 978-1-60907-911-6 (paperbound)

Printed in Mexico

R. R. Donnelley, Reynosa, Mexico

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

TEMPLES

We are all children of our Heavenly Father. We lived with Him before we came to live with our families on earth. Heavenly Father loves each one of us and He wants us to return to live with Him and with our families. He has given us commandments so that we will know how to choose the right.

Because Heavenly Father loves us, He has given us temples so we can learn more about Him. In the temple we make promises to obey Heavenly Father.

Obeying Heavenly Father and keeping His commandments will help us be happy.

SACRED PLACES

Heavenly Father has always wanted His children to know about Him and learn of His commandments. The first people on earth were Adam and Eve. They lived in the Garden of Eden, which was a beautiful and sacred place. Heavenly Father and Jesus walked and talked with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and gave them commandments.

Other prophets were also able to receive instruction from God in peaceful, sacred places such as the tops of high mountains or the Sacred Grove.

A temple is a quiet, holy place where God can communicate with his prophets today.

THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL HAD A TEMPLE

After the prophet Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, God commanded him to build a tabernacle in the wilderness. The tabernacle was a sacred place where God could instruct His prophets. Because the tabernacle was a tent, the Israelites could take it with them as they traveled.

When the Israelites finally entered the Promised Land, they built a beautiful temple in Jerusalem.

THE NEPHITES HAD TEMPLES

When the people of Jerusalem became wicked, God told Lehi to take his family and others away from Jerusalem and travel to the promised land of America. God wanted the Nephites to have the blessings of the temple in their new land, so Nephi built a temple similar to the one they had left in Jerusalem.

When Jesus appeared to the Nephites after His resurrection, He came to the temple in the land of Bountiful.

MODERN TEMPLES

God taught the Prophet Joseph Smith about temples and instructed the Latter-day Saints to build temples. The first temple was built in Kirtland, Ohio. When the Saints moved to Nauvoo, Illinois, they built a temple there. One of the first things that Brigham Young did after he led the Saints to Utah was to choose a place to build a temple.

Today, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints builds temples all around the world so that as many Saints as possible can participate in the blessings of the temple.

THE HOUSE OF THE LORD

All temples are the House of the Lord. Because we love the Lord, we want to make His house as beautiful as we can. Temples are built with the finest materials, and the builders do their very best work.

Temples are the most beautiful buildings in the Church. They are all different, and they are built and decorated to reflect the beauty of the land or country around them.

TEMPLE OPEN HOUSES

Before a temple is dedicated, everyone in the community is invited to come inside the temple. People of all religions may come and see what it is like inside a temple and how beautiful it is. Even more important, they can feel the Spirit and learn about Heavenly Fathers plan for His children.

After a temple is dedicated to the Lord, only people who are worthy members of the Church and have a recommend from their bishop and stake president can enter the temple.

BAPTISMS FOR THE DEAD

Sacred ordinances are performed in the temples. When you are twelve years old you can get a recommend from your bishop and do baptisms for the dead. If you have family members who died before they could learn about Jesus and His church, you can be baptized for them.