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The
Healing Blessings of the Temple
by
G.G.
Vandagriff
Editor’s
Note: Our beloved writer, G.G. Vandagriff, has not been with Meridian
for about a year as she has been afflicted with a severe illness.
We are excited and grateful that she has recovered enough to again
be on the pages of Meridian.
From the time I first took out my endowments in 1969 until this
last year, I had always viewed the temple as, first: a place where
the sealing ordinances for me and my family were performed, and
second: a place where the tremendous vicarious work for the dead
was accomplished. I had wonderful experiences with both these temple
blessings. My husband, a convert, and I were sealed a year after
our church wedding, and I felt the goal of a lifetime had been reached.
I knew that from that time forth we could proceed to build a potentially
forever family. I knew that no matter when either of us might die,
we could still be united eternally. These things were of overmastering
importance to me, and a great comfort to my very battered soul.
When I was in my thirties and forties, I became consumed with genealogical
research and sent thousands of names to the Dallas temple for their
work to be done. We had to make a seven-hour drive to the temple
and spend the night there in order to perform even a few of these
ordinances. My husband and I and many friends who participated had
experiences that were stunning and precious to us as we learned
how important this work was to our ancestors. At times the veil
was so thin we were even allowed moments where we communed with
those for whom we were doing the work. This was an exhilarating
time.
However, since moving to Provo and being within seven minutes of
the temple, I have learned of another great purpose that it serves
in my life. A year and a half ago, I experienced a devastating nervous
breakdown. My recovery has been slow and cautious as I have moved
forward through medical and psychological means to a more stable
place. A critical part of my recovery has also been spiritual. It
has taken place in the temple. I believe that I could never have
achieved the peace of mind I have today without those intimate spiritual
blessings. And so for me, the temple has become a place of healing.
Part of my illness involves feelings of extraordinary panic and
anxiety. It is a fact that as soon as I walk through the temple
doors, every vestige of those emotions departs. An immediate peace
claims me as I enter the temple. My soul is settled and calmed.
I become a different person. My strengths assert themselves and
I am able to see who I really am beyond my illness.
As I sit in an endowment session, my confidence grows steadily.
The peace wraps around me in an almost tangible manner. My illness
is left far behind and I am able to see myself through the Lord’s
eyes. I feel blessed and cared for. In a sense, it is as though
I am being re-parented, taught from the Lord’s perspective
as His child.
By the time I enter the Celestial Room, my heart is overflowing.
I am able to look at the picture of the Savior with his hands outstretched
and know that He is reaching for me, that He is there, wishing to
love me, to heal me from my afflictions. An open channel seems to
exist between the two of us, and through the Spirit, I can literally
feel Him pouring his love into my wounded heart. It is a physical
sensation. Oh, what prayers I can offer there! Prayers of thanksgiving,
of wonderment for this great blessing. I can also receive powerful
revelations there about the course of my life. As I consider those
weaknesses that might prohibit me from accomplishing what the Lord
asks, I am promised that Christ knows my limitations and through
the grace of the atonement He will make up my lack.
When I depart the temple, I feel empowered and strengthened, not
only spiritually, but physically and emotionally. I know that I
am loved, that I am known as an individual by my Heavenly Father,
and that He is directly involved in my healing process.
It is my testimony that the temple is a sanctuary for the wounded
of heart or body. It is a place where one can find extraordinary
healing powers for ailments of mortality. It is a place where we
can find who we really are in the eyes of our loving Heavenly Father.
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© 2002Meridian
Magazine. All Rights Reserved.
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