Are you hoping that your children will be ready
and excited to walk through Temple doors?
Here are 3 steps that will help.
P.S. Don’t miss the free coloring page at the end of the post!
To get kids excited about the Temple make your home a Temple focused environment
“Only the home can compare with the temple in sacredness”
Bible Dictionary
As you gradually make your home more like the Temple,
your kids will be more excited to enter the House of the Lord.
They will feel more at home there.
Close your eyes.
What do your remember about how it feels like to be in a Temple.
What stands out to you most?
The feeling of welcome?
The calm, clean, orderly environment?
Or is it the beautiful art on the walls that focus your heart and mind on the Savior?
If you are like me then all of these things are memorable and have strongly affected my time in the Temple
and the state of my heart.
There is a giant clue in all of this.
How do we get our children excited about going to the Temple?
We make our homes a little more welcoming, more calm and more Christ centered.
That may seem like a tall order.
Just choose one of the suggestions below as the Spirit directs and work on it as a family.
Good will come from your efforts.
Make your home as welcoming as the Temple
When you walk into the Temple the first thing you see is a smile.
The Temple workers are there to help you, to guide you,
and most importantly to make it clear that they and Heavenly Father are very glad that you are there.
What can you do to create a similar environment in your home?
Try these ideas:
When anyone comes home, stop what you are doing and greet them with a smile.
Tell them you are happy they are home and ask how they are doing.
When it is a family members birthday,
have the other family members tell things that they love about the birthday girl or boy.
Occasionally write a note to family members expressing your love and specific reasons that you appreciate them.
(Specific details have much more power than generalities like “you’re awesome.”)
Teaching healthy calmness will make your home more like the Temple
Raising children and the word calm don’t seem to go together.
Happy noise is not a bad thing.
Trying to make our homes as quiet as a Temple is probably not realistic or even healthy.
But we can calm our spirits, reduce lashing out with angry words and raised voices
and make time for moments of quiet, reflective thought.
Quietness, peace and calmness are important for the development of testimony
and for family members to have experiences with the Spirit.
Try this:
To reduce angry raised voices while still offering a way to work out differences of opinion,
ask family members to write or draw their feelings and thoughts.
Taking time to put thoughts, even arguments, on paper gives time for reflection
and gives the Spirit an opportunity to work on our hearts.
We can then get to the root of problems
without harming each other as much as we do
when we just yell whatever comes into our minds when we are angry.
A Christ-centered home is a happy home
If our homes compare to the temple, what is it about the home that makes it sacred?
One dictionary defines sacred as “belonging to or dedicated to God;
Worthy of reverence; set apart for or dedicated.
Three Tools to Build a Sacred Home
Ultimately, the Temple is focused on Christ.
That is what makes it special.
That is what makes it holy.
If your children grow up in a Christ-centered home they will feel at home in the Temple from their very first visit.
You can teach them that their true home is in Christ.
Their real shelter is in the powerful “New and Everlasting Covenant” that will be offered to them there.
Here are a few ideas that will help you create a more Christ centered home.
- Display pictures of Christ and of the Temple prominently in your home
- Do one thing each day to help your home be clean and uncluttered, full of light like the Temple and tell your family why you are making that effort.
- Add Temple grade music to your home playlist. Music can invite or chase away the Spirit faster than almost anything else.
- Lower your voice like you would in the Temple. Be an example of how to communicate with love, respect and calmness. Talk to your family about communicating in a Christlike way is important.
Line upon line progress
Take advantage of your home environment to turn your children’s hearts toward the Lord and His holy house.
Help them look forward to the time that they will walk up to the recommend desk,
return the welcoming smiles of the workers and walk in feeling right at home.
The more you have a Temple-focused home, the more excited your children will be about the Temple. .
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