What the Temple Was Really Preparing Me For (And Why It Didn’t Hit Me Until the Day After)

There’s this thing that happens to me after I go to the temple. Not always during the session. Not even in the celestial room, though I always love the stillness there.

It’s usually the next day.

In the wee hours of the morning, the house is quiet, as everyone is in a deep sleep, well, everyone except me. This is my favorite time of day. The sun hasn't even come up yet. Just me, my thoughts, and the spirits. This time is when the Lord speaks to me in a way I can hear.

This morning, it came as a gentle nudge. Almost like a question that had been waiting to be asked.

The Three Nephites.

When exactly did they ask to be translated? Where were they? And more importantly… who were they speaking to?

They were talking directly to Jesus.

And as I sat there, I had to settle in this line a bit...it hit me hard.

If God never changes…

If there’s only one gospel…

If His course truly is one eternal round…

Then what happened for them isn’t just a nice story, it’s the pattern. I love patterns... rhythms

That’s how it works.

And then I remembered John the Beloved. Same thing. He made his request to tarry personally to Christ.

All of them did.

And here’s where the thought really started to shift something in me:

If everyone in scripture who was ever translated made that request face to face with Jesus, then that’s still the way it happens.

And then I thought of the veil. The one we symbolically approach in the temple.

Why does the session end with that moment?

Why do we walk toward it?

Why are we taught what to say, how to stand, how to knock, how to enter His presence?

Because one day, we’re going to do it. For real.

And we’re going to speak to Him.

Not metaphorically. Not in imagination. Actually.

And we’re going to ask...probably with trembling... “May I enter Zion? Is there a place for me here?”

I sat there a long time with that thought.

The veil isn’t the end of the temple experience. It’s the beginning of something that the whole thing has been preparing me for.

And once I saw that clearly, I started tracing it backward in my mind.

If that is the moment the temple is preparing me for, then everything else inside starts to make more sense.

We start with obedience. That first, basic law. The one I sometimes overlook.

Then come the covenants.

The clothing.

The instruction.

The progression.

Not just to feel spiritual. But to become the kind of person who’s ready to meet Him.

I’ll be honest...I don’t feel ready for that conversation yet.

Not all the time.

But today, I feel a little more open to the process. A little more awake to what the temple is actually doing in my life.

It’s not just a peaceful place I visit.

It’s a pattern I’m being invited to live.

Because one day...some quiet, holy day...I’ll walk to the veil not in symbol, but in reality.

And I want to know Him when I get there.

I want to be familiar enough with the pattern that I’m not surprised by the moment.

And I hope that when I ask, “Can I be part of Zion?” I will feel peace in His answer.

But for now, I’m just grateful for the quiet way He teaches me.

Even if it’s not in the temple.

Even if it’s just the day after.

In my favorite spot where I search my heart, where I am taught.

On my morning run.

In the stillness.