Do you struggle with temple anxiety? As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we are promised powerful blessings such as increased strength, mercy, and protection when we attend the temple. And our dear prophet, President Nelson, recently counseled that “nothing will help you more to hold fast to the iron rod than worshipping in the temple as regularly as your circumstances permit. Nothing will protect you more as you encounter the world’s mists of darkness. Nothing will bolster your testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ and His Atonement or help you understand God’s magnificent plan more. Nothing will soothe your spirit more during times of pain. Nothing will open the heavens more. Nothing!”
But for many, struggling with temple anxiety makes it really difficult to worship in the temple. There are physical, mental, and emotional obstacles that can affect the ability to feel the Spirit and experience peace in the temple. When I mentioned this briefly on my Instagram account, I received dozens of message from people who could relate to people who had no idea what temple anxiety even was.
What is temple anxiety?
Temple anxiety can manifest itself in a variety of ways, but I found that the most common one was the fear of messing up or forgetting what to do. One message I received said, “I have had so much anxiety over the endowment part of the temple, and it kept me from going as often as I should. I wanted the promised blessing the prophet was speaking about, but I was so afraid of not knowing what to do or what to say.”
Another fear I noticed was often feeling trapped. Since the endowment is approximately 1.5 hours long, it can be difficult for some people to sit in one room that long. A few people expressed to me that they start to feel claustrophobic. Other physical issues like back pain, bladder control, or auto-immune diseases could limit your ability to sit through an endowment session.
Many people hate going to the temple alone. This can be difficult to go as often as desired if you are depending on someone else to go with you. As you can see, there are many reasons people struggle with temple anxiety. It’s real. But it doesn’t have to stop you. Here are seven tips if you struggle with temple anxiety.
Go to the temple more often. As someone who has learned a lot about anxiety in the last couple years, the most effective way to combat any kind of anxiety is to do the very thing you’re scared to do. And temple anxiety is no different. It doesn’t mean it’s easy. But guess what? You can do hard things.
One message I received said, “I had major anxiety going to the temple at first but the more I went the better it got! Now I love it!”
Another one said, “I woke up in the middle of the night with a prompting. ‘You need to go to temple more often.’ I went every day it was opened for a week. I can testify of the peace and love of our Heavenly Father. I no longer feel the crippling anxiety I used to feel.”
Expect Miracles. Two things I have noticed the prophet urging us to do lately is 1) go to the temple more often, and 2) seek and expect miracles. Does that sound familiar? If those two things are so important to a prophet of God, don’t you think we should expect miracles when desiring to go to the temple? After all, God basically says to “try me.”
Sit in the Celestial Room. Start out slow. If performing ordinances is too much, start with just sitting in the Celestial Room. Did you know you could do that? One woman wrote to me, “I say to just go and sit in the celestial room if you have anxiety about doing any ordinance work in the temple. And build off of that.”
Start with initiatories or sealings. And to build off of that, once you are ready to do an ordinance, start with initiatories or sealings. They are short and can help you get comfortable going to an endowment session. Plus, the blessings in those ordinances are so powerful and beautiful. Pay attention!
Let a temple worker know. I think these two messages from current temple workers say it best: “As an ordinance worker I would love to be able to reassure everyone that everybody messes, forgets or has a brain stall at some point. It’s more common than you think. Just keep attending as often as you can and try not to get lost in stressing yourself out. It’s all about serving, loving and keeping covenants!”
“If they are afraid of ‘messing up’ we as temple workers LOVE when we can help someone. Never too young or old to want or need help! I love helping people who need some extra confidence or help! It makes my day! Please don’t be afraid to ask. Most times we can tell if we should help!”
Become a ordinance worker. One surefire way to become more familiar with the temple is to become an ordinance worker. You are basically on the other side of things. You are helping others with ordinances (plus, you get the cheat sheets) and can become more familiar with everything. I think this is such a great way to face temple anxiety head on in a way that isn’t so scary. And with the rate that temples are popping up all over the world, the need for ordinance workers is needed more than ever!
Think Celestial. Focus on the big picture. What is the temple all about? Why do we make covenants? What does keeping your covenants mean to you? President Nelson taught, “As you think celestial, your heart will gradually change. You will want to pray more often and more sincerely… As you think celestial, you will view trials and opposition in a new light… As you think celestial, your faith will increase… Spending more time in the temple builds faith. And your service and worship in the temple will help you to think celestial.”
Whether you struggle with temple anxiety or not, worshipping in the temple takes sacrifice. The Lord loves effort. He loves you and wants to bless you. He sees your weaknesses and has the power to turn them into strengths. And when we show Him our faith and willingness, miracles will happen.
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