Today there was a great post on Times & Seasons about President Beck’s talk at the last General Conference called “Mothers Who Know“, and specifically focusing on how to make our homes as a temple. Julie Smith makes some good points about how we can integrate temple teachings into our home environment.
But I also thought a comment from Anita made an interesting point about how the temple can be a model for raising and teaching our children:
…in their initial years they are given a name and learn about the importance of bodies, body parts, about clothing and modesty, the nature of this world, creation, and opposites. As they are baptized and accountable, they learn to recognize Satan and his half-truths, and as they become teenagers, we focus on morality and chastity, and preparation for marriage. The temple can be a map through mortality and guide us in raising our children if we look at it that way.
On a related note, in some cultures the initiation of adolescents into adulthood only takes place by the sacred rites and ceremonies (i.e. the Hopi).
