Temple work brings great blessings to our lives.

Today was my last day working at the Provo Temple. Since May I have been working at the temple; getting up every Saturday morning at 5:40am. It has been a terrific experience to serve although I know I have complained about the early morning hours a few times.

Since I've worked there I wouldn't say that my life has all of a sudden worked out for me or has even fell into place. Sometimes when we think of sacrificing our time for the Lord we think that we will reap these huge blessings. We do reap blessings, just not in the way that we think.

In January I spoke to my Stake President about attending the temple (this was before I was a temple worker). I told him that when I attended more often than not I didn't feel like I was getting anything out of the session. I felt even empty at times. Prayers that I pleaded weren't being answered and no amazing revelation was being revealed to me. He told me to remember to focus on others while attending, not myself. If I went to the temple expecting revelation every time, then I was missing out on the opportunity to put my life on hold and serve someone else.


I have taken that counsel to heart as a temple worker. Because the shift is so early in the morning I am often tired. My thoughts do drift and my prayers are not always fervent. However, as I've sacrificed that time to the Lord, I have seen many blessings in my life. These are not big ones, but these are blessings that I have noticed in my life since May:

• I have a stronger testimony of the atonement of Jesus Christ.
• I understand the ordinances better and how they ultimately bring us closer to Christ.
• I have a renewed understanding of what it means to follow the prophet and to attend the temple often.
• I have been more fully protected by the adversary and the ways of the world.
• My eternal perspective is greater.
• I have more faith in the Lord's plan for me. I still fret but deep down I feel innate peace.
  
• I react better to change and I am more willing to change myself.
• I am more compassionate.
• I have a greater capacity to put off the "natural man."
• I think more often of the covenants in the temple. The words come to my mind during the week when I am struggling or when I am formulating gospel connections.
• I think more often of others. Every week I think about people in my life (family, friends, acquaintances) who are struggling in life and need an extra prayer.
• I have a greater desire to live the commandments.
• I have made friends and have strengthened friendships with those friends that I see as I work my shift.
• I have greater insights of the gospel and can relate the gospel to my temporal life.
• I want, more than anything, to live in the Celestial Kingdom with my spouse, children, parents, brothers and sisters, in-laws, and the list goes on to all of my other family members. I want to be worthy of the Lord's presence.

I am so grateful that I have been able to work at the temple. It has been a huge blessing for me to serve and to think of others. I know that temple work is the Lord's work. I will miss being a temple worker.