Holy places offer sanctuary from world
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Church members are "bombarded on all sides" by a vast number of harmful messages. To find peace, they must rise above such evil, said President James E. Faust, second counselor in the First Presidency.
"We must follow the counsel of the Lord who said, 'It is my will, that all they who call on my name, and worship me according to mine everlasting gospel, should gather together, and stand in holy places.' "
Much of the world is vulgar, profane and destructive — so it is essential to stand more often in "holy places."
"Our most holy places are our sacred temples," President Faust said Sunday morning. "Within them is a feeling of sacred comfort. We should seek to be worthy to take our families to the temple to be sealed for eternity. We should also search for the records of our kindred dead so that they, too, can be sealed to us in one of our temples."
Holiness is the strength of the soul, he added. "It comes by faith and through obedience to God's laws and ordinances. God then purifies the heart by faith, and the heart becomes purged from that which is profane and unworthy. When holiness is achieved by conforming to God's will, one knows intuitively that which is wrong and that which is right before the Lord.
"Holiness is also a standard of righteousness."
President Faust enlisted Brigham Young's remarks given in the Salt Lake Tabernacle in 1862 regarding "Holiness to the Lord."
Said President Young: "Thirty years' experience has taught me that every moment of my life must be holiness to the Lord, resulting from equity, justice, mercy, and uprightness in all my actions, which is the only course by which I can preserve the Spirit of the Almighty to myself."
President Faust spoke of a trip one of his grandsons took with his wife to New York City to attend the recently dedicated Manhattan temple.
"The hustle and bustle and noise of the thousands of people outside was deafening," President Faust said. "As the taxi pulled up in front of the temple, Katherine, my grandson's wife, began to cry. Even on the outside of the temple she felt its sacredness. They entered, left the noisome world, and worshiped in the House of the Lord. It was a sacred and unforgettable experience for them."
President Gordon B. Hinckley has taught that faithful members must also leave the noise and tumult of the world and find the holiness offered inside the temple, President Faust added.
President Faust said he is grateful that the Church's temples bear the words "The House of the Lord, Holiness to the Lord." Lives will be blessed as faithful people frequent the temples and learn of their "transcending spiritual relations" with God.
"We need to try harder to be found standing in holy places," President Faust repeated. "Temple ceremonial covenants and observances are means to help secure holiness of character. In our desire to create in our people more commitment to the holy work of the temples, we must urge them to look deeper to the profound spiritual meaning to be found there."
President Faust then quoted the words of President Hinckley, saying, "If every man in this Church who has been ordained to the Melchizedek Priesthood were to qualify himself to hold a temple recommend, and then were to go to the house of the Lord and renew his covenants in solemnity before God and witnesses, we would be a better people. There would be little or no infidelity among us. Divorce would almost entirely disappear. So much of the heartache and heartbreak would be avoided. There would be a greater measure of peace and love and happiness in our homes. There would be fewer weeping wives and weeping children. There would be a greater measure of appreciation and of mutual respect among us. And I am confident the Lord would smile with greater favor upon us."
Members of the Church should also undertake family research and attend the temple because they are moved by the Holy Spirit to do so, President Faust said. "We should go to the temple, among other reasons, to safeguard our personal holiness and that of our families."
Besides temples, a holy place on earth should be the home, he added. "The feelings of holiness in my home prepared me for feelings of holiness in the temple."
President Faust praised his mother, and his wife, Sister Ruth Faust, for creating a home where holiness was and is found.
"When I was overwhelmed as a young father with the responsibility of providing temporally for my family, taking care of my Church callings, and many other civic duties, Ruth would lovingly and gently bring me back to my paternal responsibility in our home."
Sometimes Sister Faust would remind her husband when it was time for family home evening, and suggest a study topic. She continues to keep President Faust apprised of important family events such as birthdays and family activities that demand his time and support.
"She still does that important and appreciated service," President Faust said. "If we really want our homes to be places of holiness, we will try harder to do those things that are conducive to the Spirit of the Lord."
Church meetinghouses are also dedicated to the Lord as "holy places."
"We are told we should go to the house of prayer and offer up sacraments upon His holy day," President Faust said. "Partaking of the sacrament is a solemn and sacred privilege. In our chapels we are instructed in principles of the gospel, children are blessed, members are confirmed and given the gift of the Holy Ghost, and testimonies of the truthfulness of the gospel are borne."
Members of the Church must try harder to be holy people in this, the fulness of times.
"So much has been restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith," President Faust said. "This places us in a special relationship to the Lord. We are the beneficiaries, guardians and caretakers of these responsibilities under the delegation, authority and direction of President Gordon B. Hinckley, who holds all the keys.
"As children of the Lord, we should strive every day to rise to a higher level of personal righteousness in our actions. We need to guard constantly against all of Satan's influences."
Find holiness to the Lord by standing in holy places, President Faust repeated.
"That is where we will find the spiritual protection we need for ourselves and our families," he said. "That is the source of help to carry forth the word of the Lord in our time. Standing in holy places will help us rise above the evil influences of our time and draw closer to our Savior."
