And, as my mom said, if we ever get a bit selfish with our time and impatient about our temple experience because our schedules just seem too busy, we should remember that some of our brothers and sisters have been waiting dozens to hundreds of years for someone to spend two hours doing their work for them. In those two hours, eternity is made possible for every one of us. It would be a shame for us to not recognize the gift that is.
When we remember that it is a new experience for someone else, we can recognize the beauty and power of the temple, the remarkable gift of covenants, and that temple attendance is much more about becoming than it is about doing.
After my lackluster trip to the temple, I was talking with my mom about how long it felt, how repetitive it was, and how awful I felt for thinking that. What she told me really humbled me. She said, “Remember that the person you are there doing work for has not experienced temple ordinances before, and they’ve been waiting an even longer time to have them.” It’s both a true and remarkable thought.