SERMON: Stand In Holy Places

A sermon by Matthew P. Gill

“Behold it is my will, that all they who call on my name, and worship me according to mine everlasting gospel, should gather together and stand in holy places.”

(D&C 97:5 - 101:22/Utah)

The Lord has said that his house is to be one of prayer, fasting, faith, learning, and glory. But our homes, whether they consist of a husband and wife, mother and child, or single sister, can also be a house of the Lord, and as Latter Day Mormons, we can strive for our homes to be holy places. The Kingdom of God is anchored firmly in the divinely ordained family unit, tightly bound with  the principles of righteousness, purity, and centred around our love and understanding of God, which we know through the Gospel.

Latter Day Mormon homes can and should be safe places of righteousness and spirituality where individuals are influenced by the living gospel principles. In such a home is made the strong place which children can come to the safe harbour they need in such a time of trouble and strife and temptation. The Latter Day home should be a place where children and young adults feel the love and nurture of Christ and where they may be at peace from the world.

Latter Day Mormon homes can and should be places to raise families of righteous sons and daughters where they can feel safe and loved and feel of the overwhelming love and nature of the presence of their heavenly father. If our homes are holy places, our children will work toward becoming strong and faithful members of the kingdom and work toward eternal salvation and eventually work towards that goal with their wives and their own children.

As Latter Day Mormons, it is important for us to remember that our homes should be homes of prayer, church attendance, and church service, all these things invite the Lords spirit in to our homes and in to our families. However some times some family members may be reluctant to attend church and take part in church activities, and so it is up to us to bring the church to them to make church not just a building, a place for them to attend but a living breathing entity that lives with them all the day long.  We need to make them feel at church while they are at home; to bring some of the things of heaven in to the home is to insure that family members will move closer to church participation.

As we strive in our homes to make them holy temples of God, places where we can stand in his name we can experience all that the Lord has promised us. The Holy Spirit will be present to comfort, to inspire, and to bless us and our families. Let homes with gloomy foreboding and heavenly clouds of despair have their burdens lightened and their faith in God increased so they may feel the love of the Lord in their families, for themselves and their children.