“Prepare now for the temple, the mountain of the Lord. Never allow the goal of the temple to be out of your sight. Walk into His presence in purity and virtue, and receive His blessings—even ‘all that he hath’ (Luke 12:44). Within His holy house you will be cleansed, taught, and endowed with power, and His ‘angels [will] have charge over [you]’ (D&C 109:22)” (Elaine S. Dalton, “Come Let Us Go Up to the Mountain of the Lord,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2009, 122–23).
“If you have not yet been to the temple or if you have been but currently do not qualify for a recommend, there is no more important goal for you to work toward than being worthy to go to the temple. Your sacrifice may be bringing your life into compliance with what is required to receive a recommend, perhaps by forsaking long-held habits which disqualify you. It may be having the faith and the discipline to pay your tithing. Whatever it is, qualify to enter the temple of God. Secure a temple recommend and regard it as a precious possession, for such it is.
“Until you have entered the house of the Lord and have received all the blessings which await you there, you have not obtained everything the Church has to offer. The all-important and crowning blessings of membership in the Church are those blessings which we receive in the temples of God.
“Now, my young friends who are in your teenage years, always have the temple in your sights. Do nothing which will keep you from entering its doors and partaking of the sacred and eternal blessings there. I commend those of you who already go to the temple regularly to perform baptisms for the dead” (Thomas S. Monson, “The Holy Temple—a Beacon to the World,” Ensign or Liahona,May 2011, 93).