As Nephi and his family camped in the land of Bountiful, he discovered a place where he could be close to God. Perhaps he remembered Isaiah’s prophecy that, “in the last days…the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains” (2 Nephi 12:2, Isaiah 2:2). Perhaps he remembered his own vision, in which he was “caught away in the Spirit of the Lord, yea, into an exceedingly high mountain” (1 Nephi 11:1). For both of those reasons, it must have made sense to him when the Lord said, “Arise, and get thee into the mountain” (1 Nephi 17:7). Thereafter, he made it a habit of visiting that place frequently:
I, Nephi, did go into the mount oft, and I did pray oft unto the Lord; wherefore the Lord showed unto me great things.
1 Nephi 18:3
There was no point in trying to build a permanent structure while they traveled, and after they arrived in the promised land, family conflict made it difficult to put down roots, but as soon as Nephi achieved a bit of stability, he began working with his people to build a house of worship.
I, Nephi, did build a temple; and I did construct it after the manner of the temple of Solomon save it were not built of so many precious things; for they were not to be found upon the land, wherefore, it could not be built like unto Solomon’s temple. But the manner of the construction was like unto the temple of Solomon; and the workmanship thereof was exceedingly fine.
2 Nephi 5:16
I imagine Nephi being inspired by some of David’s psalms, in which he expresses his deep desire to build a house of the Lord. For example:
- “One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple” (Psalm 27:4).
- “How amiable are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts! My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the Lord…. Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee” (Psalm 84:1-2, 4).
Elder David A. Bednar explained:
Temples are the most holy of all places of worship. A temple literally is the house of the Lord, a sacred space specifically set apart for worshipping God….
A principal purpose of the temple is to elevate our vision from the things of the world to the blessings of eternity. Removed for a short time from the worldly settings with which we are familiar, we can “look to God and live” by receiving and remembering the great and precious promises whereby we become partakers of the divine nature.
“Exceedingly Great and Precious Promises,” General Conference, October 2017, emphasis in original
Today, I will be grateful for the closeness with God that I feel as I visit His holy house. I will look forward to my next visit to the temple and be grateful for sacred spaces where heaven and earth converge.