FHE Idea of the Week

Lesson 3: My Body Is a Temple

Opening Song: “The Lord Gave Me a Temple” (CS 153)

Opening Prayer

Family Business:

Scripture or Testimony: 1 Corinthians 3:16

Lesson:  Vicki F. Matsumori, “Sharing Time: Ye Are the Temple of God,” Friend, May 2002, 44

Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? … For the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are (1 Cor. 3:16–17).Close your eyes and picture a temple. What color is it? How big is it? Does it have any windows? Are there spires? How many?  The temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are unique. The Salt Lake Temple in Utah has gray granite walls and six spires. It looks different from the Cardston, Alberta Temple in Canada, which has natural stone walls and no spires. Even though each temple looks different, all are beautiful and are built for the same purpose. They are places where special ordinances take place that are needed for us to return to Heavenly Father. Temples are also places where Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father can come.

You are like the temple. You are different from everyone else, but you, too, are a house for the Spirit of God (the Holy Ghost). The Apostle Paul said: “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? … For the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.” (1 Cor. 3:16–17.) Your body is a temple.  Just as you treat temples with respect, you should treat your own body with respect. You can do this by obeying the Word of Wisdom (see D&C 89), by dressing modestly, and by following the counsel of President Gordon B. Hinckley to “be clean” (see Friend, February 2001, page 25). One way to be clean is to not have tattoos. President Hinckley said, “A tattoo is graffiti on the temple of the body” (Ensign, November 2000, page 52). You should also keep your heart and mind clean by reading, listening to, and watching only “things that are pleasing to Heavenly Father” (see My Gospel Standards).  If you are clean in mind and body, you can receive great blessings because “the Lord hath said he dwelleth not in unholy temples, but in the hearts of the righteous doth he dwell” (Alma 34:36).

Activity: Find your way through the maze. When you get to a picture, follow the path that represents your choice. Choose the Yes path if the picture shows something that helps you keep your body “a temple of God.” Choose the No path if it is something that would not be good for your mind or body.

Draw small pictures of five other things that are good for you, and five things you should avoid. Place your pictures over corresponding good-and bad-choice pictures in the maze.

Closing Prayer & Treat