(8/17/97)
If you may have been somewhat confused, unclear, or concerned about your temple experience, I hope you will return again and again. When you return, come with an open, seeking, contrite heart, and allow the Spirit to teach you by revelation what the symbols can mean to you and the eternal realities which they represent. Elder Widtsoe thoughtfully provided some counsel about how you might do this. He spoke of the Prophet's first vision as a model of how revelation, in the temple and elsewhere, is received. "Revelation . . . is not imposed upon a person; it must be drawn to us by faith, seeking and working. . . . To the man or woman who goes through the temple, with open eyes, heeding the symbols and the covenants, and making a steady, continuous effort to understand the full meaning, God speaks his word, and revelations come. . . . The endowment which was given by revelation can best be understood by revelation; and to those who seek most vigorously, with pure hearts, will the revelation be greatest" ("Temple Worship," p. 63). Revelation comes in response to our desire and seeking; then we feast on the "holy joys that tell of heaven.—Elder David B. Haight, General Conference, April 1992

(8/18/97)
The essence of fundamental truth is not known to man, nor indeed can be. Things are known only so far as our senses permit. All knowledge is in reality known through symbols. Letters on a printed page are but symbols of mighty thoughts, easily transferred from mind to mind by these symbols. Clearly, the eternal truths encompassing all that man is or may be, cannot be expressed literally, nor does the temple ritual do this. On the contrary, the beautiful temple service is one of mighty symbolism. By the use of symbols of speech, action, color and form, the great truths connected with the story of man are made evident to the mind.—John A. Widtsoe, A Rational Theology, p.126

(8/19/97)
The symbolism of our belief and our declaration to the world is to be found everywhere. As I saw the pictures of the Swiss Temple, I read the words above the entrance and again recalled that on many of our other sacred structures are those significant words: "Holiness to the Lord." As you go out of this Tabernacle, look upon the west towers of the great Salt Lake Temple, and just underneath the battlements will you see the dipper pointing to the North Star — the symbolism, as explained by Truman O. Angell, the architect of the temple, in an article written in the Millennial Star for the British Saints, suggesting that through the priesthood of Almighty God the lost may find their way. As you go into the great Salt Lake Temple, you will see what the pioneers did to symbolize every move they were to make through that sacred building. Even on almost every doorknob there has been cast in the beauty of their artistry those same words, "Holiness to the Lord." By that symbol every door in the temples of our God, indeed every step we take in life, is opened to those who go forward in "Holiness to the Lord!"— Elder Harold B. Lee, General Conference, October 1955

(8/20/97)
The temple ceremony was given by a wise Heavenly Father to help us become more Christlike. The endowment was revealed by revelation and can be understood only by revelation. The instruction is given in symbolic language.—Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, p.250-251

Through a democracy of dress, temple attendance reminds us that God is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34). The symbolic purity of white likewise reminds us that God is to have a pure people (D&C 100:16).—Neal A. Maxwell, Not My Will, But Thine, p.135

(8/21/97)
The endowment is so richly symbolic that only a fool would attempt to describe it; it is so packed full of revelations to those who exercise their strength to seek and see, that no human words can explain or make dear the possibilities that reside in temple service. The endowment which was given by revelation can best be understood by revelation; and to those who seek most vigorously, with pure hearts, will the revelation be greatest.—John A. Widstoe, Symbolism in the Temples

(8/22/97)
"Some have gone through the temple looking at the outward form and not the inner meaning of things. The form of the endowment is of earthly nature, but it symbolizes great spiritual truths. All that we do on this earth is earthy, but all is symbolic of great spiritual truths. To build this temple, earth had to be dug; wood had to be cut; stone was quarried and brought down the canyon. It was dusty and dirty work, and made us sweat—it was of this earth—yet it was the necessary preparation for the mighty spiritual ordinances that are carried on daily in this magnificent temple. The endowment itself is symbolic; it is a series of symbols of vast realities, too vast for full understanding. Those who go through the temple and come out feeling that the service is unbeautiful have been so occupied with the outward form as to fail to understand the inner meaning. It is the meaning of things that counts in life." — John A. Widstoe, Symbolism in the Temples
 

(8/23/97)
"In the course of our visits to the temple, we are given insights into the meaning of the eternal journey of man. We see beautiful and impressive symbolisms of the most important events—past, present, and future—symbolizing man's mission in relationship to God. We are reminded of our obligations as we make solemn covenants pertaining to obedience, consecration, sacrifice, and dedicated service to our Heavenly Father." — Ezra Taft Benson, Temple Blessings and Covenants, Temple Presidents Seminar, Salt Lake City, Utah, 28 September 1982