My friend and mentor in all things temple, Lolly Osguthorpe, recommended this book to me when I mentioned I wished I got more out of my temple worship, especially the endowment. She said it's now her "go to" book for members about to go to the temple for the first time and that her granddaughters really valued it. That was good enough for me! I ordered it right away. Lolly was right--it's simple and straightforward and very helpful.
What I found most helpful was the metaphor in Part 2, called "The Commoner and the King." It helped me understand, right away, more about the ceremony and clothing used in the endowment. It gave me "softer eyes" to view all aspects of that experience, which I needed!
In Part 3, the author recommends applying what prophets have taught when learning about God: use our mind (know), our heart (feel), and our actions (do). He recommends asking myself:
What does the Lord want me to KNOW from this experience?
What does the Lord want me to FEEL from this experience?
What does the Lord want me to DO because of this experience?
The author suggests other questions as well, and I like them. His overriding advice is to be meek and humble when asking for help in understanding. He reminds us that the endowment is teaching people of different cultures all over the world, and thus the teaching must be symbolic to cross cultures. It takes mental effort to understand symbolic teaching. It is helping me be more patient...This is a short little book but has rich references too. Worth multiple reads and study.
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