Stand Ye In Holy Places

In Doctrine and Covenants section 87:8 it reads “Wherefore, stand ye in holy places, and be not moved, until the day of the Lord come; for behold, it cometh quickly, saith the Lord.” Today I would like to discuss what it means to stand in holy places and be not moved.

As Latter-day saints we have been blessed with latter day revelation which helps us to understand what the Lord means by “holy places”. For example, we know that here at church is one important “holy place” and we are blessed to visit this place once a week. But what are some other holy places that we can visit during the other 6 ½ days of the week so that we can follow the admonition of the Lord?

Sister Sharon Larsen, former counselor in the General Young Women’s Presidency related an experience that helps us to know what the Lord meant by “holy places”. In General Conference 2002 she related the following:
“It was Thursday night, Mom and Dad’s regular night to work at the Cardston temple. I was in my teens…My grandmother, who was living with us, was away, so I would be home alone. As they left, Dad hugged me and said, ‘Now, Sharon, be in good company.’ I thought, ‘What is he thinking? Doesn’t he know I’ll be here by myself?’ And then I realized – that is exactly what he was thinking. Standing in holy places is all about being in good company, whether you are alone or with others. It’s about being where the Holy Ghost is our companion – alone or in a crowd.” (“Standing in Holy Places”, Ensign, May 2002, p. 91)

If standing in “holy places” can be anywhere that we have the companionship of the Holy Ghost, then we have many places that could be considered “holy places” that we visit every week. The first and most obvious place should be our homes. Our homes should be places in which the Holy Ghost should be free to visit and is a welcomed guest. Every morning we have the opportunity to kneel in personal and family prayer where we can invite the Holy Ghost to visit us throughout the day, in all that we do and all that we say.

Our homes should be places in which the scriptures should be read daily in personal and family study, teaching us the principles of the gospel. As we read the scriptures we should have a renewed dedication and desire to live the principles that we read and apply them better in our lives.

Our homes should be places in which we gather as families for meal times each day. During our meals we have time to talk with each other, to find out the good and bad things that are happening in each other’s lives. We have the opportunity to fulfill basic baptismal covenants starting with our own families by supporting those that mourn, comforting those that stand in need of comfort and being there to strengthen each other in times of trial and heart ache. Mealtimes provide a convenient time to build those important family bonds that we will carry into eternity.

Our homes should be places in which we gather each Monday night in Family Home Evening. This precious time each week provides a number of valuable tasks in making our home a “holy place”. It provides our families a specific time to be instructed in basic gospel principles through short lessons. It gives us an opportunity to practice the hymns and songs of the gospel and to sing our testimonies. Family Home Evening is a safe place in which to practice the bearing of testimonies. In the bearing of testimonies we will strengthen our own testimony and strengthen the testimonies of our family members. Family home evening also gives us the opportunity to place the family as our #1 priority. We all have so many demands placed on our time and there never seems to be enough time in the day. But once a week we have a special opportunity to declare to ourselves and our families that the family is one of the most significant priorities in our lives. We sacrifice doing many of the other good things in our lives to make time to meet together as a family, even if that time is very short. These things surely make the home a “holy place” in the eyes of the Lord.

Another “holy place” in our daily lives could be the homes of our neighbors, our brothers and sisters of our great big heavenly family. This ward is filled with many wonderful people who are striving to live the gospel and in doing so are making their homes “holy places”. Do we take advantage of the close proximity of our neighbors? I’ve had the opportunity to live outside of Utah on several occasions and I have many more friends who are currently living in other areas around the world. I can tell you that living just a few houses away from another church member and within walking distance of everyone in the ward is truly a rare blessing in this world. Obviously we have that here in Utah but Utah is not a very big place compared to this great global community. Do we take advantage of this incredible blessing and visit our neighbor’s homes? I would suggest that visiting neighbors in person may be a blessing that many of us are losing out on because of our busy schedules and the many on-line social network substitutes. I do not believe that text messages, status updates and emails have the same power of communicating the Spirit and our love compared to what a live visit can do. On-line options have their place but brothers and sisters, I would encourage you to visit at least one more neighbor each week, even if it is a short 5-minute visit. I can promise you that it will make a difference in your life as well as in the lives of the people you visit, especially if those people are people who don’t get many visitors any more.

In thinking about neighbors, what about those people who are not of our faith. Would their homes be considered “holy places” that we can visit? I believe that if a holy place is anywhere that we can be in companionship with the Holy Ghost then these homes can qualify as “holy places.” Are we trying to be active in sharing the gospel with our neighbors? Are we at least being good examples of gospel living? Can our neighbors see our good examples if we’re not interacting with them? I’m sure that some of our good examples and exemplary lives can be seen on occasion by our nearest neighbors but if we’re not interacting with them on some kind of regular basis are they really going to be influenced by our examples? Maybe we need to be more proactive in visiting and interacting with those neighbors who are not yet members of our church.

One more “holy place” in our immediate neighborhood has to include the homes of the families that we home and visit teach. As home and visiting teachers we are on the Lord’s errand every time we visit these special homes. The Lord put each of us under covenant to look after our neighbors. Mosiah 18:8-11 :
“8 And it came to pass that he said unto them: Behold, here are the waters of Mormon (for thus were they called) and now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light;
9 Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life—
10 Now I say unto you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have entered into a covenant with him, that ye will serve him and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you?
11 And now when the people had heard these words, they clapped their hands for joy, and exclaimed: This is the desire of our hearts.”

Brothers and sisters, I would submit to you that when you were baptized, as a condition of admittance into the kingdom of God, you made a covenant to be home and visiting teachers. In what other place and in what other calling do you have the specific stewardship that fulfills your baptismal covenants? Each week you come here to church and partake of the sacrament to renew your baptismal covenant. Brothers and sisters, let us stand in “holy places” by renewing our personal dedication to do our home and visiting teaching each month. Home and visiting teaching isn’t about statistics and numbers. Home and visiting teaching is about fulfilling our covenants with our Heavenly Father. It’s about standing in “holy places” and it’s about helping our neighbors, our brothers and sisters to make their homes “holy places”. As we do this we begin to fulfill the admonition of the Lord to “stand in holy places, and be not moved, until the day of the Lord come[s].” (D&C 87:8)

In discussing “holy places” we absolutely must include the temple. The temples are the most holy places on earth. The temple is literally the house of God and we know that He visits His homes regularly. Because these places are holy we can immediately feel the presence of the Spirit even before we enter the building. I love the temple and the peaceful feelings I have each and every time I visit one of these sacred buildings.

What is it about the temple that makes it such a “holy place”. Is the temple a holy place because of the immaculate landscaping, the perfectly cut grass, the beautiful flowers and clean walkways? Does it have to do with the beautiful furniture, the dusted desks and tables and the vacuumed carpets? What about the clean, white walls, the orderly and folded clothes and the bright lighting, especially including the amazing chandelier(s) in the celestial rooms? Of course we know that all of these things help to contribute to the special spirit of the temple but we also know that these things are not what make the temple a “holy place”. And the same would be true for our own homes.

President Boyd K Packer, president of the Quorum of the 12 apostles, shared a parable in the April 2000 conference which will help to illustrate what makes the temple a “holy place”.
“A merchant man seeking precious jewels found at last the perfect pearl. He had the finest craftsman carve a superb jewel box and line it with blue velvet. He put his pearl of great price on display so others could share his treasure. He watched as people came to see it. Soon he turned away in sorrow. It was the box they admired, not the pearl.” (Boyd K. Packer, “The Cloven Tongues of Fire”, Ensign, May 2000)

The temple is a “holy place” because of what happens in the temple. In the temple we make sacred covenants with our Heavenly Father. In the temple we see the power of the priesthood manifested through all of the essential ordinances of the gospel. It is the power of the priesthood being exercised every day that makes the temple a “holy place”. It is all of the brothers and sisters doing the work that our Savior would do if He were here, each and every day, that make the temple a “holy place”. It is helping our deceased brothers and sisters gain access to the blessings of the gospel that make the temple a “holy place”.

The exercising of the priesthood, the power of the Spirit and the proxy work performed in the temple are the “pearls” that are so important. The temple itself is just the box. Just like in home and visiting teaching, sometimes we forget about the pearl and pay too much attention to the box.

When we visit our neighbors to do our home and visiting teaching what is the pearl? The pearl is the exercising of the priesthood and fulfilling our stewardships. The pearl is the power and influence of the Spirit that we bring into the homes of our brothers and sisters. The pearl is the work performed to help our brothers and sister be stronger in the gospel and take advantage of the many blessing that the Lord has in store for us. The reporting, the numbers are only the box. 100% home and visiting teaching would make a beautiful box but the true work of looking out for our brothers and sisters, that is the pearl. That is where the value really is and we cannot afford to overlook it.

The terms “going to the temple” or “visiting the temple” are the box. We need to remember that it is what is inside of the box that is so very important, so essential to our salvation. We need to remember the pearl. We need to understand that going to the temple is a chance to participate in the power of the priesthood and to work directly with the spirit in the salvation of souls. And while it is true that the proxy work done for the dead is important, the first soul that we help to save is our own. Each time we visit the temple we have an opportunity to renew our dedication to live the covenants we’ve already made. Each time we visit the temple we have an opportunity to strengthen our testimonies and understanding of the power of the priesthood. Each time we visit the temple we have the opportunity to more fully align ourselves with the will of our Heavenly Father.

Is it any wonder that all of our church leaders continue to try and point our lives in the direction of the temple. Is it any wonder that our church spends so much time, effort and energy in building new temples all around the world, to make the blessings of the temple more accessible?

Brothers and sisters, we have a need to attend the temple on a more regular basis. I know there are some who are already faithfully attending the temple. The rest of us need to do better. Living this close to a temple we need to make sure that we are going regularly. There are many opportunities to serve in the temple. The service may be brief, maybe only 30 minutes. All of us have 30 minutes that we can spare if the temple is truly a priority in our lives.

The Lord said, “Wherefore, stand ye in holy places, and be not moved, until the day of the Lord come, for behold, it cometh quickly.” (D&C 87:8) It is my prayer that we can make our homes one of those “holy places”. Let us help make the homes of the families that we home and visit teach “holy places.” And let each of us recommit ourselves to taking advantage of the many temples in our midst for they are the premier example of “holy places”. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.