Next month's dedication of the Church's 50th temple in St. Louis, Mo., is a reminder that the Latter-day Saints are a temple-building and temple-attending people. It is also a reminder to each of us to be temple-worthy, so we might enjoy the blessings of those holy houses.

Holding a temple recommend is the height of activity for members of the Church. To be worthy to enter the house of the Lord does not mean we have to be perfect, but it does mean we have put off ungodly instincts, and are avoiding earthly temptations and striving to live the celestial law of the Lord. Put in scriptural terms, we are to make sure we are not one of the foolish virgins who, when the time for the marriage supper arrived, had let the oil in their lamps go out.Moroni counseled us: "Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you . . . And again, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, then are ye sanctified in Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the blood of Christ . . . that ye become holy, without spot. (Moro. 10:32-33.)

At the dedication of the Los Angeles Temple in 1956, President David O. McKay said, "Therefore, may all who seek this holy temple come with clean hands and pure hearts that thy holy spirit may ever be present to comfort, to inspire and to bless." (Improvement Era, April 1956.)

Temples are being built because of the commitment, dedication and faithfulness of the members in the areas. More is expected of temple attenders. We should go to the temple because we wish to serve, not because we feel we must fill an "assignment." We should go to the temple as often as our circumstances allow. One of the blessings of the increasing number of temples worldwide is that more and more members - both old and young - can participate in temple ordinances.

The temple is a place for us to get our bearings. We are not just visitors; we serve others by our attendance. The temples are centers of the spiritual strength of the Church. They are sanctuaries from the distractions of the world. The work performed therein is a saving work. We perform ordinances for ourselves and our dead. The work in the temple is symbolic as it is instructional. Our quest is to uncover the mysteries of God, to put on the mind of Christ and seek to understand our destiny.

"The house of the Lord is functional," said President Spencer W. Kimball at the dedication of the remodeled Arizona Temple, April 15, 1975. "Every element in the design, decoration, atmosphere and program of the temple contributes to its function, which is to teach. The temple teaches of Christ. It teaches of His ordinances. It is filled with His Spirit. There is an aura of Deity."

When we do work for the dead, we need to remind ourselves that the name for which we are proxy is a real individual - a child of our Father in Heaven. As we perform the saving ordinances of the gospel, we should contemplate the lives of those whom we represent. By performing this work, we not only strengthen ourselves but we also strengthen them.

We can soak in the beauty of our surroundings in those special rooms. We can feel of the divine spirit that envelopes us. Temple workers are there to assist us and to make our own attendance meaningful.

As we arrive in the celestial room, we have symbolically reached the closest place on earth to the celestial kingdom. There we can contemplate our own existence, receive personal revelation on a problem or other matters and we can commune individually with Deity. We can do the same outside the temple, but in that room, in that setting, we are much closer to the source of inspiration and can enjoy the blessings of divinity.

Now they, after being sanctified by the Holy Ghost, having their garments made white, being pure and spotless before God, could not look upon sin save it were with abhorrence; and there were many, exceedingly great many, who were made pure and entered into the rest of the Lord their God. - (Alma 13:12.)

President Kimball reminded us in January 1977: "This is the work of the Lord and He has given it to us. It is our responsibility, our pleasure, and our privilege to carry this work forward. We should so organize ourselves and the work that it will go forward in leaps and bounds. In the book of Revelation, John saw that sometime in the future (and it is still in the future to us), those who were faithful and have cleansed their lives will work night and day in the holy temples." (Ensign, January 1977.)

We should be ready to help fulfill that prophecy.