On January 10, 2017 I received a most precious letter in my life, a call to serve in the India Bangalore Mission. What an honor to be a servant in Lord’s vineyard. It was always my childhood desire to go on mission. When I was in young women a quote from Sister Elaine S. Dalton, former Young Women General President inspired me to prepare for the temple, “Prepare now for the temple, the mountain of the Lord. Never allow the goal of the temple to be out of your sight. Walk into His presence in purity and virtue, and receive His blessings—even ‘all that he hath’. Within His holy house you will be cleansed, taught, and endowed with power, and His ‘angels [will] have charge over [you]’”. 1
Soon after my graduation, I set aside my option for higher education and decided to go on mission. I am grateful for the Book of Mormon; it gave me a firm confirmation at times of confusion. The Book of Mormon gave me knowledge to choose Lord’s kingdom over worldly riches. 2 As I was born in a humble home, the responsibilities of being a daughter made me work for almost a year. That year was not easy for me but I am sure Lord helped me in every storm. He was a light in my dark days. I made it through all those tangled situations and finally arrived at MTC in Philippians.
I will never forget the moment I entered the Missionary Training Center. The Manila Temple is just opposite to it and I could see its pinnacle with the Angel Moroni through my window. I used to think how fortunate I was to see temple that close. After seeing the temple only in pictures, I now realized my long held dream of seeing it in person.
After four days of training, the most anticipated day finally arrived. On February15, 2017 I woke up early and got ready to enter the House of the Lord with eagerness. We [other missionaries] reached to temple through an underground tunnel. The temple grounds were so clean and the grass was beautifully dressed with dew drops. These scenes bore witness of Lord’s wondrous creation to me.
As we waited to enter in into the temple my heart raced. The temple workers asked us to come inside, my mind and heart couldn’t believe what was happening. My feet trembled at first and then I came to my senses. Entering the door of the temple made me feel it was the House of Lord. The people at reception were dressed in white and their hair was white too. The looked like angels and I could feel a sweet spirit from them. They were really angels of God, who helped me in every step during my endowment session.
I saw a mirror in a celestial room. I stood before it and saw myself. The feeling which I had after seeing myself in the mirror has changed my view about God. Those two hours in the temple taught me more about God and His love than all my years in life. My joy was inexpressible, I cried with happiness.
I thanked the Lord for the opportunity to enter into His House. I know there is so much to learn about God and I need to make great efforts to walk in His ways. We have to stand in holy places to be protected from the storms. The temple is the safest place on earth. We should stand in holy places and we should not move until the Lord comes and says “Well done.” We can stand in holy places throughout our lives by keeping the covenants we make with the Lord faithfully. The blessings of the temple are eternal life and peace. I know that temples are the houses of God, that we are all his children that we must return to his house one day and make covenants with him.
Note
1 Elaine S. Dalton, “Come Let Us Go Up to the Mountain of the Lord,” Liahona, May 2009.
2 Jacob 2:18