Characteristics of a Heavenly Home

Our homes are temples--the Bible Dictionary under "Temple" says, "Only the home can compare with the temple in sacredness."

Kristine Manwaring's article My Home as a Temple speaks of this--our homes already are temples because of what they contain and because of what we do in them. They don't need to look perfect or be completely quiet. We are raising our children in them, and noise and mess are all part of the process. However, it is possible for our homes to feel like temples.

This morning as I studied "Preach My Gospel," I read a statement by President Spencer W. Kimball (p.4). He was talking about how missionaries are set apart, and how that is a literal separation from the world. I like to apply this same idea to my home. "The setting apart may be taken literally; it is a setting apart from sin, apart from the carnal, apart from everything which is crude, low, vicious, cheap, or vulgar; set apart from the world to a higher plane of thought and activity."

It is hard to do this sometimes--keeping out media that doesn't fit this standard, making sure we are speaking kindly, providing uplifting activities for our families, etc. However, I find that the more I try to think about the Savior, the more I feel our home becoming like this ideal.

Sometimes I get this idea that I need to "perfect" my house. Right now, with all the Christmas decor and "stuff" everywhere, I am feeling a little frustrated with the clutter, dust, and flurry of activity that is in every room. I almost got rid of the tree a couple of days ago because it is shedding like crazy. But then I thought about what was really going on in the house. My children are playing happily, they are SO excited for Christmas, our whole family snuggles up in front of the fireplace and falls asleep together at night, and we are making great memories. My house looks nowhere near ready to be featured in Better Homes and Gardens, but it is a house of love--separated from all that is low, vulgar, cude, etc. And that's something.