Why Should I Attend the Temple Regularly?

Even though we know temple attendance is a good thing, sometimes it can be hard to understand why attending regularly is fundamental.

So, why is it so important for us to regularly attend the temple? Here are three main reasons: 

1. To gain spiritual strength.
2. To remember our covenants.
3. To serve others.

To Gain Spiritual Strength 

The temple is a place of peace and revelation. By stepping away from the world and entering into the temple, we are taking one step closer to Heavenly Father. The temple is designed to lift up our spirits and provide a way for us to receive personal revelation and communicate directly with Heavenly Father in a sacred space. 

President Wilford Woodruff knew of the importance of temples and said, “There is no principle on earth that I rejoice more in than in the power that we hold as Latter-day Saints to build these temples, to go into them, and to redeem our dead.” 

In October 2024, President Russell M. Nelson said, “Regular worship in the temple will help us. In the house of the Lord, we focus on Jesus Christ. We learn of Him. We make covenants to follow Him. We come to know Him. As we keep our temple covenants, we gain greater access to the Lord’s strengthening power. In the temple, we receive protection from the buffetings of the world. We experience the pure love of Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father in great abundance! We feel peace and spiritual reassurance, in contrast to the turbulence of the world.”

As we make time to regularly attend the temple, we will find the spiritual strength we so desperately need in this tumultuous world. The temple protects us, strengthens us, and helps us to feel the love of our Savior, Jesus Christ. 

To Remember Our Covenants

Even though we are not performing our own work each time we attend the temple, being in the temple reminds us of the covenants and promises we have made. President Henry B. Eyring said, “Frequent participation in the ordinances of the temple can create a pattern of devotion to the Lord. When you keep your temple covenants and remember them, you invite the companionship of the Holy Ghost to both strengthen and purify you.”

In the temple, we participate in ordinances that remind us of our commitment to follow Jesus Christ and serve those around us. Attending the temple regularly provides frequent opportunities for us to remember our covenants and the promised blessings we will receive as we honor them. 

One of the ways we can remember our covenants outside of the temple is by wearing the temple garment. Sister J. Anette Dennis said, “Our temple garment reminds us that the Savior and the blessings of His Atonement cover us throughout our lives. As we put on the garment of the holy priesthood each day, that beautiful symbol becomes a part of us.”

Wearing the temple garment and attending the temple as regularly as our circumstances permit are both great ways we can be reminded of our sacred covenants. 

To Serve Others 

In Mosiah 2:17, King Benjamin reminds us of the importance of serving those around us. “And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.”

One way we can serve our fellow beings is to attend the temple and perform work for the dead. Those who have passed on have no way to complete the temple ordinances for themselves, so they rely on us to attend the temple and do so for them. There is great power in participating in these ordinances. 

Wilford Woodruff was a great example of serving others through temple attendance. On August 21, 1877, he was baptized in the St. George Utah Temple for over one hundred people, including the signers of the Declaration of Independence. He recorded in his journal, “I, Wilford Woodruff, went to the temple of the Lord this morning and was Baptized for 100 persons who were dead, including the signers of the Declaration of Independence. . . . It was a very interesting day. I felt thankful that we had the privilege and the power to administer for the worthy dead, especially for the signers of the Declaration of Independence, that inasmuch as they had laid the foundation of our Government that we could do as much for them as they had done for us.”

Even though we personally will not be baptized for signers of the Declaration of Independence, or even have the opportunity to perform one hundred baptisms for the dead at one time, we can find comfort in knowing that our attendance in the temple is actively helping those on the other side of the veil. 

“Let Us Truly Be a Temple-Attending and a Temple-Loving People.”

President Nelson has promised amazing blessings as we attend the temple. In the April 2024 general conference, he declared: “My dear brothers and sisters, here is my promise. Nothing will help you more to hold fast to the iron rod than worshiping in the temple as regularly as your circumstances permit. Nothing will protect you more as you encounter the world’s mists of darkness. Nothing will bolster your testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ and His Atonement or help you understand God’s magnificent plan more. Nothing will soothe your spirit more during times of pain. Nothing will open the heavens more. Nothing!”

As we regularly attend the temple, we will gain greater spiritual strength, remember the covenants and promises we have made, and provide service to those on the other side of the veil.