By Kelly Brown, Stake High Council
There have been a few times in my career where I’ve had the opportunity to work on
temples that were already dedicated and in operation. Usually, it’s just a small group of
contractors like me, maybe some volunteers, and the temple engineer. We would all
meet before starting the day to have a quick thought and prayer before heading off to
do our different assignments.
I remember standing there one morning thinking how different this felt from a normal
construction site. In construction, you hear and see just about everything throughout
the day. Rough language, frustration, pressure, negativity. After a while, that kind of
environment almost becomes normal.
But here we were, starting the workday with prayer.
I remember thinking to myself, “Man, this is pretty awesome.” Before anybody picked
up tools or got to work, we first took a minute to invite the Spirit.
The difference really stood out to me. There seemed to be more purpose in the day.
More patience with each other. More clarity in what we were doing. Even the feeling
throughout the day felt calmer and more peaceful.
It made me think about how much the environment around us matters spiritually. The
way we start our day matters. The things we watch and listen to matter. The spirit we
invite into our lives matters.
One thought kept coming back to me: why should that feeling only exist at the temple?
Obviously, the temple is different and sacred, and we should attend as often as we can.
But it reminded me that we should try to take a little of that spirit with us wherever we
go, such as our homes, workplaces, and everyday lives.
D&C 84:46 teaches that “the Spirit enlighteneth every man through the world.” When
we truly invite the Savior and His Spirit into our lives, it changes us and people around
us notice. I love that the temple can teach us things in ways we don’t always expect.