Two-way Impact of Temples

    There is great spiritual benefit, even personal transformation, for individual saints in participating regularly in the house of the Lord, as Joseph Smith prayed to the Father at the Kirtland Temple dedication, that “all people... may feel thy power, ...may grow up in thee, ...may receive a fulness of the Holy Ghost, ...and be prepared to receive every needful thing” (D&C 109:13-15).  In the temple ceremonies, we are taught, make covenants, and given reminders of the very principles and laws that define the pathway to celestial life.
     The temple can also contribute mightily to a sense of Zion-like community cohesion, as taught by President Nelson, that in the temple, “age, nationality, language—even position in the Church—are of secondary significance… All sit side by side and are considered equal in the eyes of the Lord. Through a democracy of dress, temple attendance reminds us that ‘God is no respecter of persons” ("Prepare for the Blessings of the Temple", October 2010 General Conference).  Temple-going Latter-day Saints have forged bonds of community connection through group temple trips, both for adults and youths, by attending temple sessions together in our wards and stakes, through service alongside other members of the community as temple workers, and through assisting with each other’s family research and ordinance work for ancestors. In fact, the Lord stated a communal purpose for the building of temples “for the gathering together of my saints, that they might worship me” (D&C 115:8).
    See also: "The Audacity of Temples" by Dan Ellsworth, Public Square Magazine (publicsquaremag.org, February 19, 2024)