First and foremost, a temple is considered to be House of the Lord in a very literal sense. We believe these building to be the holiest places in the entire planet. Church houses do not enjoy this distinction.
Within these temples very sacred ordinances are performed. However, I wish to focus on one, and one only in this opportunity. The sealing ordinance.
In few instances, the Lord has trusted man with the power to bind in heaven as they have on Earth. One instance was Peter, the apostle.
"And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
This power has been God's most guarded power given to man, and is only given to those that have earned His highest trust.
This power was restored to man through the Prophet Joseph Smith on April 3rd 1836 by the prophet Elijah of the Old Testament. With this power, we are able to marry a man and a woman not only for this life, but for all time and eternity. With this power, the relationship of parent and child can continue forever past the grave. The family can literally be a forever family.
When a pastor marries someone, the last words of the ceremony are "until death do you part", there is a bill of divorce built into the deal. However, in the temple, we are married for this life, and if we are faithful to our covenants, for all eternity hereafter.
What greater blessing is there?
I believe in this sealing power and in temple work with all my heart, but this is sometimes a tough subject for me. Why?? Well, we are a part member family. My husband and I have been married for 25 years now and in fact, one of our daughters was married in the temple and my husband was not able to be there in the sealing room with us, although he was able to wait for us in the lobby and was treated very kindly while there. We lost a daughter and this is another reason I would really love to be sealed in the temple. I cannot deny many of my experiences in the temple or with the Lord in general. I cannot turn from what I know to be true through revelation, so I continue to wait. Those who are married in the temple do not necessarily have it easy either. It helps because now you have two people with the ability to be inspired and led by the Holy Ghost who are sealed for all time and eternity. I'm sure that Satan has a special arrow for those who have been sealed together forever and being an enemy to all righteousness I'm sure he works feverishly to try to get couples to break their covenants. He knows the power from on high of those with this gift and wants to interfere by causing us to forget those promises and look to other things or in other directions. We have to be "on guard" and aware always of our standing before God. Enduring to the end is the hardest part because that means taking the bitter and the sweet, avoiding temptations and being true to our promises to God and to the one we have committed our lives too not just now, but forever. It means proving ourselves faithful until the end. This is the beginning of exaltation.
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