Transcription
Hey guys, this is an older video that I filmed months ago, but just haven't been able to post until now. But it's one I'm really excited to share with you. First, take a second to make sure you're subscribed if you're not yet, and stick around to the end for a special announcement.
Okay, in this video, I want to show you one thing that will change the way you experience the temple. Let's go.
[Music]
Did you know watching Lion King might be the best temple prep you'll do? For a lot of people, the Temple Endowment feels weird, at least the first time they go. I know it did for me. I didn't get very good prep before going, so I was taken aback by the ritual nature of it. I knew there was an instructional film and I'd been told that the temple was like a checkpoint on a journey through the desert where you receive some important information and you give it at the checkpoint and then continue on your journey. I know that was going on 20 years ago and nothing against whoever told me that, but I think we can do better preparing our youth and ourselves to go to the house of the Lord.
Even in the 1950s and 60s, President David O. McKay was concerned that the younger generations that were coming to the temple for their first time weren't grasping the meaning very well. So, this problem isn't new. For years, I saw the temple simply as a place that was set apart from the world where I could seek revelation and feel the spirit. And it serves that purpose really well. Uh, I probably did hundreds of endowment sessions as a college student at BYU and I felt the Lord's presence there when I went. But there's a lot more to it than that. And in a way, that's one thing I love about the temple is that it's layered. No matter what level you experience it on, there's something there for you. For me, once I started to see and understand the royal aspect of the ordinances, especially the initiatory and endowment, the experience came to life for me.
God's organization is a kingdom. In Western culture, we aren't really used to that. I think a lot of us don't even really know what that means. In the US specifically, we're maybe especially anti-royalty and kings to a fault. Personally, in the past, whenever I saw news about the royal family and all its fanfare, it always seemed like a lot of extra nonsense for no reason. So, when you and I exit our modern world for an hour and participate in something heavenly and royal in the temple, it can be jarring, especially for youth who haven't given anything like that a second thought yet.
Maybe if we gave Lion King a rewatch, we'd be a little more prepared for what we do in the temple. Because aside from the fact that Lion King is peak Disney, it also does a good job of showing one character's royal journey from infant to king. As a baby, Simba is anointed to become king. One day later in life when he feels the weight of the world, Rafiki teaches him who he really is, who his father is, and reminds him that he's a royal son, and that he was anointed to become a king in his father's kingdom. After learning this from Rafiki, Simba speaks with his father who has gone beyond the veil and his father gives him a message.
[Music]
Simba, you have forgotten who you are and so forgotten me. Look inside yourself, Simma. You are more than what you have become. You must take your place in the circle of life. Remember who you are. You are my son and the one true king. Remember who you are.
This message gives Simba the strength and power to become the king he was anointed to become. Endowed with this new knowledge and power, he defeats evil and then he ascends to take his place as king.
[Music]
Heat. Heat. Lion King does an excellent job of encapsulating the overall royal journey that the initiatory and endowment represent in our temples. This is the journey you are on once you get baptized. Your baptism is a new birth. And as a new creature, a spiritual baby, you are invited to be anointed as a future king or queen and receive knowledge and power from your father in heaven that will help you ascend eventually to your place as a king or queen in his kingdom.
Royalty comes with ritual and procession, too. The presentation of the endowment in the temple is designed to bring you through that royal procession. You can see examples of this in movies like Frozen or real life examples like the coronation ceremony of Queen Elizabeth. I want to be careful around things that are sacred. So I'll simply list out what I've observed in these two coronation ceremonies and you can draw whatever connections come to your mind. And it's one thing to know that there are parallels between our temple experience and royal processions. And it's another thing entirely to actually see those parallels. So if you're listening to this on the podcast, you should find this episode on YouTube and watch it because the YouTube version includes clips of these examples.
Frozen. In Frozen, Elsa receives certain emblems that represent her commitment to the people as a queen. The clip is short, but you can see her picking up a scepter and an orb and holding them in her hands as she is crowned and makes her oath for how she will rule as queen. It's very simple, but just seeing the actions she does in this coronation ceremony might illuminate some of what we do in the temple.
Queen Elizabeth's coronation. This one blew my mind when I first saw it because of how many similarities there are here. Elizabeth is asked by the archbishop who is officiating the ceremony if she will accept by oath a series of promises for how she will act and govern as queen. She accepts and makes the promises and then she goes to the altar to confirm these promises before God. She's then anointed which happens behind a drape that shields her from the rest of the room and the audience. She's dressed in a robe and a sash. She sits in her throne and holds her hands out to receive various emblems in connection with the promises she's made. A sword that represents justice and bracelets that represent sincerity and wisdom. She's clothed in the robe of righteousness and the garments of salvation. Then she receives more emblems. An orb that represents the world under Christ's dominion. A scepter that represents kingly power and justice. and a rod that represents equity and mercy.
Seeing the royal aspect of the temple ordinances makes me even more humbled and grateful at the plan of salvation and everything that's been restored to us in this day. The initiatory and endowment in the house of the Lord help you know and remember who you are and prepare you for God's kingdom. You are part of the royal family, a son or daughter of a king who loves you so much that he has not only provided a way for you to be clean from your sin so that you can be with him again, but he has provided a way that by the power of Jesus Christ, you can ascend and become a joint heir with Christ of all of the father's glory in his eternal kingdom. I hope this point of view helps enhance your experience in the temple. it really has for me.
I also want to let you all in on something I'm trying out with the channel. My only purpose in doing these videos is to share the gospel and the marvelous truths restored in our day with curious Christians, questioning saints, and anyone who's interested in discovering or rediscovering the power of what's been given to us in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. While I'm doing this from the comfort of my own home, there are thousands of young missionaries sharing this message all over the world away from their families for maybe the first time in their lives. Many families make a significant sacrifice to send their children out on missions. And since YouTube will make money off of my videos, whether I turn on monetization or not, I want to redirect some of that money to these families.
So, starting now, I've enabled monetization on my videos, and 100% of ad revenues that my channel collects will be donated directly to real missionaries serving around the world. I don't expect these videos to make life-changing amounts of ad revenue, but we might as well take advantage of the system that's there and funnel the revenue somewhere useful. So, like, comment, and subscribe if you haven't yet. Every bit of your engagement will not only help my videos reach more people on YouTube, but will also help make a difference in hastening the work around the world.