Women's Conference 2015: My Journey to the Temple, by Olivia Moore

by Olivia Moore
I hope you can understand me as I get emotional--I always do. I have been struggling these past couple of weeks to know what it is that I am supposed to say.

I want to let you know, first of all, that I know the importance of the temple, and I know that it is always important to go, and I am so grateful for the privilege we have to go, and for the many temples around us. But despite this knowledge, I often struggle to get myself to the temple, and I struggle with having a desire, or eagerness, to go. That’s why I was surprised when Sister Packer asked me to speak today. I had no idea what I would share.

Earlier this week I was praying to my Heavenly Father and just telling Him this, and expressing my concerns to Him, and just telling Him that I needed something to share. After my prayer, I got into bed and started reading a conference talk--it was actually from priesthood session, it was President Monson’s talk “Guide us Safely Home.” It wasn’t even focused on temples, but President Monson said, “Ours is the responsibility to be worthy of all the glorious blessings our Father in Heaven has in store for us.”

I thought to myself, “Am I living up to my potential? Am I living in a way that I am worthy to receive the promised blessings? What more can I do?” Thoughts came pouring into my head, and I wrote them down. As I wrote them down, more thoughts kept coming. When I was done writing, I looked down at what I had written. I had written, “Partake of the blessings of the temple often. It is a great privilege to go to the House of the Lord. You will notice the blessings that it will bring into your life. It may not be clear at first, but one day you will recognize the marvelous impact that going to the temple has had, not only on you, but also on your family.”

As I looked at what I had written, I was in awe at how Heavenly Father had answered my prayer so quickly, and He blessed me with that personal revelation. I knew that I had to share that going to the temple isn’t just a duty, it is a privilege, and we will be blessed greatly when we go. I told Sister Packer before I got up here how grateful I was for this opportunity to speak, because it wasn’t for you, it was more for me, because through my studying I was able to gain a stronger  knowledge of the love that Heavenly Father has for me and the importance of rejoicing in going to the temple. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.