“At the temple the dust of distraction seems to settle out, the fog and the haze seem to lift, and we can ‘see’ things that we were not able to see before and find a way through our troubles that we had not previously known. . . . The Lord will bless us as we attend to the sacred ordinance work of the temples. Blessings there will not be limited to our temple service. We will be blessed in all of our affairs,” (Boyd K. Packer, “The Holy Temple,” Ensign, Feb. 1995, 36).
“If we do our duty and trust fully in the Lord, we will fill His temples, not only doing our own ordinance work, but also having the privilege of doing work for others. . . . Worthy young men and young women as young as 12 years of age can be proxy for those who have died without the blessings of baptism. This would be our Heavenly Father’s desire for you and for me,” (Thomas S. Monson, “Blessings of the Temple,” Ensign, Oct., 2010, 16).
Aaron Mueller was being bullied at school. “It was awful, made me feel worthless, and made me feel as if I couldn’t be happy,” he recounted. Gratefully, when tough times came, Aaron already knew a place of deliverance from the torment: the house of the Lord. “I used to beg my parents to drive me to the temple, even if just to sit in the parking lot to feel the Spirit. . . . It was my escape. I felt close to the Lord and far from the world [when at the temple],” he explained.
Aaron’s parents, Pam and Eric Mueller, were inspired years earlier to start a family tradition that introduced Aaron, his two sisters, Rachel and Rebecca, and his brother Jakob to the blessings of temple attendance: a special trip to the temple for the 12th birthday of each of their children to perform vicarious baptisms for ancestors. It began when their first child, daughter Rachel, was curious about what happened at the temple. “We wanted to show her what to do,” explained Pam, “so that when she went with the youth, she could be comfortable and walk in knowing how to act and what to do.”
The Muellers began preparing for a special day of performing baptisms in the temple with their daughter for her 12th birthday. “We held family home evening lessons on the temple, reviewed the process of the baptismal ordinance and the covenants made and how to prepare ourselves to enter the temple,” noted Pam. “We reviewed the questions they would be asked by the bishop in order to receive a recommend.”
The Muellers often turned the day into an event, staying the night at a hotel for example. Rachel, now 25, happily remembered, “We got ice cream from the grocery store and piled on the bed and ate it right out of the carton with spoons! [We] got up early the next day to head to the temple.”
Pam and Eric learned that the time, effort, and extra expense was all worth it when their children felt the Spirit in the temple. “They might not remember what it took to get to the temple, but they will remember the feeling they felt. They will know where to turn for peace,” Pam said. This was true for their son Jakob, who recently returned from a full-time mission and recalls well his 12th-birthday trip to the temple: “I still remember feeling the peace and love in the temple and the wonderful experience it was. . . . I remember feeling a longing to return to the temple.”
Their daughter Rebecca, now 14, remembered being nervous for her first trip to the temple, “until I stepped inside of the temple. My mom was by my side. . . . She explained everything that was going to happen. She did some baptisms first, so I could watch.” The serene experience has stayed in her memory. “I remember a peaceful feeling coming over me,” she said. “I kept thinking how happy my ancestors must be that day.”
For the Muellers, the tradition encouraged their children to attend the temple often and brought the family closer. As Rachel recollected, “I remember the overwhelming spirit that I felt in the house of the Lord with my parents on either side of me. I felt the importance of what I was doing and knew that I always wanted to be worthy to enter those doors.” Her sister, Rebecca, echoed the thought. “The tradition has helped me see that we are a forever family. We are linked to each other and need to help each other make our way back to Heavenly Father,” Rebecca stated. Pam felt the quiet effects throughout her home. As her family prepared to attend the temple, she noted, “we were always happier, and our family had a different feeling; a more reverent attitude could be felt in our home.”
The siblings started attending the temple together whenever possible as well, with Rachel driving her younger brothers to the temple after their 12th-birthday trip. “I loved this. It was a special time with my older siblings,” Aaron happily recounted. “We were all in the Lord’s house, doing His work. It brought us closer together. . . . I have a firm testimony that regular temple attendance and temple work can bring you closer to those you love and help you see a new appreciation for the things they do.” For Jakob, that appreciation extended beyond the immediate family. Temple work “has helped me to feel love for my ancestors,” he remarked.
The family love and peace they’ve all felt through regular temple attendance was encouraged through their children’s first experience for their 12th birthday. It’s a tradition that should last through generations. “It showed me how important temple attendance is to my parents and how sacred it truly is. I look back on that experience with fondness and hope to continue this tradition in my own family,” Jakob stated. Rachel, who now has a young son and daughter herself, hopes to pass on the tradition as well. “I am anxiously looking forward to the day when they turn 12, and we can take them to a nearby temple of their choosing,” she exclaimed. “They will know our faith runs deep and feel the gratitude we have for eternal families.”
When the Muellers began the tradition, they couldn’t have predicted how the peace of the temple would bless all their lives, particularly as their son Aaron faced the difficult challenge of being bullied at school. “The temple had a way of washing that all away, making [problems] seem insignificant and unimportant. I was able to realize . . . that comfort can always be found in the Lord . . . and His love felt,” Aaron testified. The serenity found in the temple can be carried elsewhere to bless our lives on Earth.
Aaron said, “I would make a plea to anyone who hasn’t been to the temple yet or who doesn’t attend regularly to do so.”
“The temple provides purpose for our lives. It brings peace to our souls—not the peace provided by men but the peace promised by the Son of God when He said, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid (John 14:27)” (Thomas S. Monson, “Blessings of the Temple,” Ensign, Oct., 2010, 15).
