Sacrament meeting, Charlotte 3rd Ward
Date unknown, but likely 1995 or so

Good afternoon, brothers and sisters. My talk today is on preparing and being worthy to enter the temple. Heavenly Father has set high standards for entrance into his holy temple. You must prove your worthiness to enter the house of the Lord during an interview with the bishop and the stake president. The interview is conducted privately between the Church member and the bishop. The bishop has the responsibility of making inquiries into our personal worthiness. Worthiness is determined solely on the basis of personal righteousness. We read in Doctrine and Covenants 50:34, “He that receiveth of God, let him account it of God; and let him rejoice that he is accounted of God worthy to receive.” To enter the temple, a person must be morally clean, obeying the Word of Wisdom, paying a full tithing, and living in harmony with the teachings of the Church. If a person is not keeping the commandments or there is something in their lives not in order it will be necessary for him to repent to gain his worthiness. Once a person has proven his worthiness to enter the temple, he is issued a certificate called a recommend. The recommend is signed by both the bishop and the stake president. After you have received your recommend, you must keep the commandments and maintain your worthiness to be able to enter the temple.

This article appeared on page 23 of Issue 13 | January 2014.