Preparing to Go to the Temple
Liahona October 2010 “Your Path to the Temple” What happens inside the temple, the temple recommend, preparing now to enter the temple.
Friend December 2023 “Preparing for More Covenants”
Liahona October 2021 “Teaching Your Children to Love the Temple” Below are some simple ideas to help our children learn to love the temple as they prepare to make and keep covenants there.
For 3–7-year-olds:
- Display a picture of the temple in your home.
- Talk together about the temple.
- Where possible, visit the temple grounds, touch the temple, or view temple photos online.
- Draw or build a model of your temple with readily available materials such as stones and mud, clay, play dough, or blocks. Later, do it again for a different temple.
- Engage in family activities provided on FamilySearch.org/discovery.
- Act out meaningful family stories or make traditional family recipes. Explain the importance of knowing about our ancestors.
For 8–11-year-olds:
- As a family, regularly read and discuss together the temple recommend interview questions. Encourage your children to be worthy of a recommend regardless of when they will be able to attend.
- Teach about the power, protection, and importance of keeping covenants and promises.4
- Review together information and videos at temples.ChurchofJesusChrist.org, like the virtual tour of the Rome Italy Temple.
- Share personal temple experiences or stories from family members, including extended family.
- As your child turns 10 or 11, create a simple calendar to count down the days, weeks, or months until they can enter the temple.
- Discuss together the scripture story of the Savior in the temple at age 12 (see Luke 2:42–51).
- Create a plan to prepare for your child’s first visit to the temple. Where possible, make it a family event. To help your child feel more comfortable, include talking about the practical aspects of temple baptisms and confirmations, such as what to wear to and in the temple, where they will enter the baptistry, who will help them, how baptisms and confirmations are performed, and the order of what will happen inside.
- Learn to do family history work and prepare family names to take to the temple.
Friend July 2022 “How Can I Get Ready for the Temple?”
Friend May 2023 “How Can I Get Ready for the Temple?” By Elder Quentin L. Cook
Come, Follow Me—For Primary: New Testament 2023 “Matthew 21–23; Mark 11; Luke 19–20; John 12”
- Invite one or more youth to come to class and talk about how they have prepared to enter the temple. If they have been to the temple, ask them to talk about how they felt when they were there.
- Cut a picture of a temple into puzzle pieces, and give each child one piece. Ask the children to write on the back of their puzzle piece one thing they can do to prepare to enter the temple. As each child shares an idea, add his or her piece to the puzzle.
Friend October 2021 “Build a Temple” Cut along the dotted lines to make a puzzle of what the Bangkok Thailand Temple will look like.
- On the board, write the following: can help me prepare to serve in the temple. Invite the children to suggest ways to complete this sentence. Some ideas might include “Keeping my baptismal covenants” or “The Holy Ghost.”
- “The Temple—I’m going There Someday” (August 2009 Liahona and Friend)
Draw word strips and move game pieces until everyone reaches the temple.
Friend October 2021 “Bright Idea” Look forward to the temple! Many blessings are waiting for you there.
As we take time to share our experiences with our children, talk about the power and protection that come from keeping covenants, teach them the importance of the temple, testify of how we feel inside its walls, and share stories of our ancestors, we can foster in them a love for the temple in their earliest years. As you teach your children to love and prepare for the temple, you will be giving them one of the greatest gifts you can—a knowledge that families are forever and a desire to make and keep covenants that will unite their family for eternity.
Friend October 2021 “Loving the Temple” When he was a boy, President Ezra Taft Benson knew the temple was important. You too can learn to love the temple now. You too can learn to love the temple now. Some of you have pictures of temples in your homes. Many of you can visit temple grounds. Some may even be able to attend open houses when temples are built. (See more about family work in temples at article.)
Invite a member of the bishopric or a youth in your ward to share some things the children can do to prepare to enter the temple. Ask the children to add their ideas. Invite them to make a goal to go to the temple someday. (Come, Follow Me—For Primary: New Testament 2023 “1 Corinthians 14–16” )
March 2002 Friend “A House of God” Cut out the temple, fold the sides up on the dotted lines, and glue the tabs to the insides of the walls to form a box. Cut out the scripture reference bricks. They mention some things you can do now to build your life so that you will be worthy to enter the temple. Place the bricks in the temple box. Have a child choose a brick from the box, read it out loud, and tell how they could live that principle. Have the child glue the brick to the outside of the temple. When you have read and attached all the bricks, the temple will be complete and you will have a reminder of what you can do to be prepared to enter the temple. (Could make a copy for each child and the children could glue their matching brick to their temple as it is discussed.)
Friend October 2002 “Signs for Temple Preparation” If you can follow the signs that tell you how to prepare to go to the temple, they will lead you through the maze to the temple. Signs that tell you to break the commandments will not lead you to the temple.
Friend March 2019 Put a picture of the temple in your room. Find someone in your family tree who hasn’t been baptized yet. Talk about the temple with someone who has been inside.
Friend July 2021 “For Older Kids” If you can’t go inside the temple yet, you can visit the temple grounds to sit, think, or read scriptures. If you don’t live near a temple, draw a picture of one and hang it up!
Friend November 2023 “Akoni Prepares for the Temple”
To help those preparing to enter the temple, you could review the videos, photos, and instruction found at temples.ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
Temple Recommend
Friend March 2024 “What Is a Temple Recommend?” The year you turn 12, you can meet with your bishop or branch president for a temple interview. If you both feel you are ready and worthy, he will give you a temple recommend. This piece of paper shows that you are worthy to go inside the temple.
Friend December 2023 “Together Always”
Friend October 2021 “A Holy Place” The words are on every temple. “Holiness to the Lord” reminds us that we need to be worthy to go inside. Ways to prepare to go to the temple.
To enter the temple, we need “clean hands, and a pure heart.”
PSALM 24 David testifies, The earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof, he who has clean hands and a pure heart will ascend unto the hill of the Lord, and the Lord of Hosts is the King of Glory.
Come, Follow Me—For Primary: Old Testament 2022 “Psalms 1–2; 8; 19–33; 40; 46” As the children look forward to entering the temple someday, help them understand that they can prepare by becoming spiritually clean through the Savior’s Atonement.
- Show the children a picture of a temple. Invite them to read Psalm 24:3 and find words that remind them of the temple. Then read together verse 4 to learn who can enter the temple (define any unfamiliar words). How do our hands get physically dirty? How do our hands and hearts get spiritually dirty? How do we clean our hands physically? How does the Savior help us clean our hands and hearts spiritually? (If it is helpful, explain that “hands” in this verse can represent our actions and “heart” can represent our desires.)
For the Strength of Youth “Ascend into the Hill of the Lord”
Friend November 2022 “I Can Do What’s Right”
Recommend Interview
- Review with the children the requirements to receive a temple recommend (see Russell M. Nelson, “Closing Remarks,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2019, 120–22; or invite a member of the bishopric to discuss these requirements with the class). Invite the children to choose one thing they feel inspired to do to prepare to be worthy to enter the temple.
Friend September 2019 “What’s on Your Mind? The questions the Bishop or Branch President will ask during the temple recommend interview.
Friend October 2021 “Getting a Temple Recommend” s
Friend October 2021 “Ready for the Temple” Ajan will be turning twelve soon, but he lives far from a temple. Their ministering brother explained that he doesn’t get to go to the temple very often either, but his recommend reminds him to always be ready to go inside. Ajan wants to get a recommend and be ready too.
Friend September 2021 “For Older Kids” Temple Prep Tip: Even if you live far away from the temple, you can still get a temple recommend in January of the year you turn 12! Talk to a parent or leader about the temple recommend questions. What can you do now to prepare to get your recommend?
Friend September 2021 “For Older Kids”
Temple Prep Tip Even if you live far away from the temple, you can still get a temple recommend in January of the year you turn 12! Talk to a parent or leader about the temple recommend questions. What can you do now to prepare to get your recommend?
Friend October 2021 “Temple Countdown” You can receive your temple recommend in January of the year you turn 12! Follow these steps to find out how many years, months, and days you have until you can get yours.
Friend September 2021 “For Older Kids”
Temple Prep Tip: Even if you live far away from the temple, you can still get a temple recommend in January of the year you turn 12! Talk to a parent or leader about the temple recommend questions. What can you do now to prepare to get your recommend?
Practice Feeling the Holy Ghost
Friend July 2022 “For Older Kids”
First time to the Temple
Friend November 2024 “Tips for Your First Temple Trip”
Friend May 2023 “Answers about the Temple”
Friend October 2017 “Temple Trip Tips” List the things you would do under each of the below signs.
5 Tips for Your First Temple Visit
• Talk to a parent or teachers about what to expect.
• Look at pictures of the rooms inside the temple.
• Make an appointment with your bishop to get your recommend. He’ll talk with you about your testimony and about keeping the commandments.
• Find out about your own ancestors. If possible, find an ancestor you could be baptized for! Visit FamilySearch.org to learn more.
• Pray for the Holy Ghost to be with you. Then enjoy your first visit to the temple.
Friend October 2021 “My First Temple Trip” Elena’s step by step first visit to the temple to do baptisms for the dead.
Friend May 2023 “Temple Baptisms”
Friend November 2020 “Going Inside God’s House” Rachel was nervous about going to the temple for the first time to do baptisms. She said a prayer to feel more calm, and all the things she had worried about ended up being fine.
Friend May 2023 “Jimena’s Temple Miracle” Jimena and her parents were going to do baptisms in the temple for their ancestors, but Jimena was nervous because she wore an insulin pump to stay healthy. She took it off before going in the font and was blessed not to get sick while doing the baptisms.
Friend September 2019 “Peace in the Temple” Jose is a little nervous about his first time going to the temple. His grandmother assures him that there would be people there to help him the whole time. When he gets to the temple all his worries seemed to melt away. Everything was quiet and calm. He felt peace.
[unitegallery Sept2019]
Friend October 2017 “Finding Lydia” Lydia isn’t excited to be graduating from Primary and going to Young Women’s, but she becomes more excited when her mother finds some family names for her to do baptisms for in the temple, and one is named Lydia.
Friend July 2016 “Abraham Abraham” A boy does baptisms at the temple for the first time and learns its importance.
For additional lesson ideas see Temple, Resources for Teaching Children: Temples, & Resources for Teaching Children: Nauvoo, Illinois
Friend January 2017 “For Older Kids” See yourself in the temple
- Invite one child to read Doctrine and Covenants 88:68 aloud and another to read verse 74. Ask the children to listen for a phrase that is in both of these verses. How do we “sanctify” ourselves? (If needed, help the children look up “Sanctification” in the Guide to the Scriptures.) Draw a picture of a heart, a hand, and a foot on the board. Help the children think of what it might mean to “purify” and “cleanse” our hearts, hands, and feet. How does the Savior help us do this? How can we use our hearts, hands, and feet to become more like Jesus?
- Explain that the Lord wanted His people to be sanctified before they could go into the temple. Consider inviting a young man or young woman who has a temple recommend to visit the class. Invite him or her to show the children what a recommend looks like, discuss what they do to live worthy of it, and share why it’s important to have a temple recommend even if we don’t live close to a temple.
- Write on the board Do and Don’t. Invite the children to read Doctrine and Covenants 88:119–26 and list things the Lord wanted the Saints to do or not do to prepare to learn in the temple. They could look up unfamiliar words in a dictionary. Invite the children to choose something that they will start doing or something they will stop doing.
Friend November 2022 “Get Ready for the Temple!” Kids tell how they are preparing to go to the temple and what they expect. (See images at link.)
Friend September 2022 “For Older Kids” Practice keeping things clean
Friend October 2021 “Ready for the Temple” Ajan will be turning twelve soon, but he lives far from a temple. Their ministering brother explained that he doesn’t get to go to the temple very often either, but his recommend reminds him to always be ready to go inside. Ajan wants to get a recommend and be ready too.
Friend April 2017 “Prepare for the Temple Every Day” Sister Joy Jones prepared all her life to go to the temple.
Friend July 2022 “The Sweetest Goal” David can’t wait to go to the Dubai Temple when it is built. He was preparing by praying, reading the scriptures, and trying to follow Jesus. He tells his Aunt Ana about the temple and wants to invite her and his friends to come see it when it’s done.
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