Come to the House of the Lord
by Steven Kapp Perry

When President Howard W. Hunter said, "Let us be a temple-attending and a temple-loving people," it touched a responsive chord in many Church members. Steven Kapp Perry and Brad Wilcox responded to the prophet's call by creating this inspiring presentation, which celebrates in a reverent way the joys of temple worship.

Ten original and beautiful songs reflect the love and reverence God's covenant people have for the house of the Lord; and the tender narrative explains whey the temples are so precious to the Latter-day Saints.

This presentation, which can be performed at either the ward or the stake level, is at once informative and inspiring--perfect for supplementing temple preparation seminars or for teaching young people the importance of temple marriage and temple service.

"Come to the House of the Lord" is a powerful production that will enable members and nonmembers alike to better appreciate the magnificence of the temples and understand the blessings they hold for us.

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1. Prologue (1:10)

2. Thy Temple Is No More (2:02)

(Numbers 7:89; 1 Kings 8:10-11; 9:2-3; Matthew 26:55; 3 Nephi 11:1)

 
Once in ancient Israel
the tabernacle stood,
and deep within its woven walls
Jehovah's voice was heard.
 
Oh Israel, oh Israel,
thy temple is no more.
The world is but a wilderness
without the presence of the Lord.

 

Then in old Jerusalem
a temple rose again,
where Jesus walked and healed and taught
and lived with mortal men.
 
Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
thy temple is no more.
The temple mount is barren now
without the presence of the Lord.
 
Once in ancient Bountiful
beside the temple gates
the resurrected Jesus blessed
his people face to face.
Oh Bountiful, oh Bountiful,
thy temple is no more.
Thy children are no longer blessed
without the presence of the Lord.

 

3. Come to the House of the Lord (5:28)

(Matthew 8:20; Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, pp. 249-50; D&C 88:119; 109; 110; 124:28-41)
 
Foxes have holes, birds have their nests,
where has the son of Man to rest?
Where is the place his peace can be found,
where is the place the Lord may call his house?
 
A house of prayer, a house of fasting,
a house of faith, a house of learning,
a house of glory, a house of order,
a house of God, a house of holiness.
Come and build up the house of the Lord,
come with shouts of rejoicing!
What was lost shall at last be restored,
come with shouts of rejoicing!
Come!
 

 

Now we rejoice the place can be found,
come let us stand on holy ground!
Covenant in power, pray in might,
worship within his holy house of light!
 
A house of prayer, a house of fasting,
a house of faith, a house of learning,
a house of glory, a house of order,
a house of God, a house of holiness.
Come and build up the house of the Lord,
come with shouts of rejoicing!
What was lost has at last been restored,
come with shouts of rejoicing!
 

 

Now there stand in latter days
the temples of our God.
Their light shall reach to every man
in every land abroad
 
Oh Israel, oh Israel,
thy temple is restored!
Come enter and be gathered in!
Receive the presence of the Lord!
Come, oh come, to the house of the Lord!
Come with shouts of rejoicing!
Come!

 

4. Peace (piano interlude) (:53)

"We are at a time in the history of the world and the growth of the Church when we must think more of holy things." (Howard W. Hunter, October conference, 2 Oct. 1994)
 

5. Where Is the Place? (4:37)

"Let us also go [to the temple] for the personal blessing of temple worship, for the sanctity and safety which is provided within those hallowed and consecrated walls. The temple is a place of beauty, it is a place of revelation, it is a place of peace. It is the house of the Lord. It is holy unto the Lord. It should be holy unto us." (Howard W. Hunter, Ensign, Oct. 1994, p. 5)
 
"Yea, and my presence shall be there, for I will come into it, and all the pure in heart that shall come into it shall see God." (D&C 97:16)
 
Soloist: Felicia Sorensen
 
We seek it in cathedrals, in the stars,
or on a lonely mountain face,
longing to knock upon the doors of heaven,
longing to find a holier place.
 
Could there really be such peace on earth,
somewhere beautiful and safe?
Someplace where answers for the heart are found--
where is the place my heart can call home?
Where is the place?
The place my heart longs for?
Where heaven and earth embrace?
Is it a dream?
The place that I long for?
Where is the door, where is the key?
Where could that holy place be?

 

 
(Women's Chorus)
 
Here is the place of peace
sheltered within the temple.
And here you'll find rest and revelation.
Here you can quiet your soul.
Here is the place,
here in the temple
where heaven and earth embrace!
Come and be taught.
All who are humble
learn grace by grace,
learn to see the Lord's face
here in his holiest place.
 

 

From our very first parents
the story's the same:
we're all outcasts of Eden,
finding our way home again!
 
(repeat chorus)

 

Here in his holy place.

6. Sacraments and Symbols (3:30)

(Mark 4:9-13; Luke 8:9-10; JST Matthew 13:8-16)
 
Lamb of God, Morning Star,
Cornerstone and Rock.
Brazen Serpent and True Vine,
Shepherd of the flock.
 
Sacraments and symbols open up my mind--
pointing to a world waiting behind them.
Simple bread and water represent the Christ.
Even daily bread serves to remind!
Symbols of his life, of his sacrifice
'till the symbols are not needed to see.

 

 

Wheat and tares, scattered seeds,
Bridegroom at the feast.
Buried in a watery grave
then from death released.
 
Sacrament and symbols open up my mind--
pointing to a world waiting behind them,
concealing and revealing truth in every line,
Gifts that those who seek surely may find
 
(repeat chorus)
 
Every world, every life,
testifies of Christ!
 
Lamb of God, Morning Star,
give me eyes to see.

7. A Break in the Clouds (interlude) (:39)

Long ago, sailors navigated by the stars, sometimes drifting until a break in the clouds let them get their bearings and safely chart their course.

8. Look Up! (2:32)

(D&C 128:23)
 
"As we attend the temple, we will learn more richly and deeply the purpose of life and the significance of the atoning sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us make the temple, with temple worship and temple covenants and temple marriage, our ultimate earthly goal and the supreme mortal experience." (Howard W. Hunter, October conference, 2 Oct. 1994)
 
Soloist: Tammy Simister Robinson
 
The stars fall down from heaven
and scatter upon the earth
as strangers from a strange land,
forgetting their heavenly birth.
 
Adrift and untethered they wander
through kingdoms of darkness and light.
Unschooled and unlearned they follow the tides
and many are lost in the night.
Look up! Look up!
The stars in the heavens cry out!
Look up! Look up!
Your course does not lie on the earth or the sea,
it lies in the heavens above;
look up! Look up!

 

 

The prince of darkness covets
these glimmering sparks of light
and seeks to blind and bind them
with treasures that have no life.
 
But blazing and bright is the Prince of the Light,
revealing the mystery--
endowing the stars with his power and might,
he shows them their destiny.
 
(repeat chorus)
 
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Rejoice in the Prince of the Light!
Rejoice! Rejoice!
For stars that were fading now shine like the Son,
reflecting the light of his love--
rejoice! Rejoice!
Look up!

9. The Hearts of the Fathers are Turning (4:18)

(Malachi 4:5-6; D&C 128:24; 138:47-60)
 
Soloists: Joel McCausland & Kevin Peay
 
Past:
I lived my life such a long time ago,
working the land with the plow and the hoe.
I planted a season, but now I must sleep,
leaving the harvest for others to reap.
 
Someone who's part of me--
who will that someone be?
For the hearts of the fathers are turning,
turning to children they've never seen.
And the hearts of the children are burning
with the promise of what will be.

 

 

Present:
I live in the present, yet feel for the past,
seeking connections and roots that outlast
the change of the seasons, the distance of time,
stories and people who I can call mine.
 
Someone who's part of me--
who will that someone be?
For the hearts of the children are turning,
turning to fathers they've never seen.
And the hearts of the fathers are burning
with the promise of what will be.

 

 

Past:
How I hoped for the hour;
how I prayed for this day!
 
Present:
You have given me more
than your name and your face!
 
Both:
In the house of the Lord,
heaven's doors open wide,
 
Present:
I will stand in your place!
 
Past:
I will stand by your side!
 
(repeat 1st chorus)

 

Present:
Every covenant spoken
 
Past:
'Till the chain is unbroken;
 
Both:
The circle will be complete!
 

10. Teach A Child/I Love to See the Temple (2:16)

"And let us teach [our children] more earnestly and more comfortably the things we can appropriately say about the purposes of the house of the Lord." (Howard W. Hunter, October conference, 2 Oct. 1994)
 
("I Love to See the Temple" copyright © 1980 Janice Kapp Perry, used by permission.)
 
Men:
Teach a child while in his youth.
Teach a child how to love the truth,
and the covenants and promises he makes
will be a shield and protection through all his days.
 
Children:
I love to see the temple.
I'm going there someday,
to feel the Holy Spirit,
to listen and to pray.
 
For the temple is a house of God,
a place of love and beauty.
I'll prepare myself while I am young;
this is my sacred duty.
 
Men repeat their verse in counterpoint as the Children sing:
I love to see the temple.
I'll go inside someday.
I'll covenant with my Father;
I'll promise to obey.
 
For the temple is a holy place
where we are sealed together.
As a child of God I've learned this truth:
a family is forever.

11. Intimations of Eternity (interlude) (:48)

(D&C 132:15-23)

12. Neither the Man without the Woman (3:22)

(1 Corinthians 11:11)
 
"Let us plan for and teach and plead with our children to marry in the house of the Lord. Let us reaffirm more vigorously than we ever have in the past that it does matter where you marry and by what authority you are pronounced man and wife." (Howard W. Hunter, October conference, 2 Oct. 1994)
 
"In the ordinances of the temple, the foundations of the eternal family are sealed in place. The Church has the responsibility--and the authority-- to preserve and protect the family as the foundation of society. The pattern for family life, instituted from before the foundation of the world, provides for children to be born to and nurtured by a father and mother who are husband and wife, lawfully married. Parenthood is a sacred obligation and privilege, with children welcomed as a 'heritage of the Lord.' (Psalm 127:3)" (Howard W. Hunter, October conference, 1 Oct. 1994)
 
Soloists: Steven Kapp Perry & Johanne Fréchette Perry
 
After all our life and love together,
years of being faithful, being true,
after all our struggles, our hoping and our dreaming,
what will be the meaning when it's through?
 
Now we take our journey up together,
stepping through a door to something new!
Now we will discover the meaning of forever,
knowing that the fullness is for two.
 
Neither the man without the woman,
neither the woman without the man,
we will go on -- finding at last
what all love songs reach for but never can grasp!
 
Life and love on earth are but a shadow
of heavenly things our eyes cannot yet yet see.
Still I know for certain beyond that final curtain
for heave to be heaven it must be --
 
(repeat chorus)

 

This is the life of our Father and Mother --
meant for their children too.
Their lives and their loves expanding forever,
a covenant made everlastingly new!
 
(repeat chorus)

 

13. Worthy to Enter (5:02)

(D&C 88:68; Revelation 3:12)
 
"Let us prepare every missionary to go to the temple worthily and to make that experience an even greater highlight than receiving the mission call...
 
"All our efforts in proclaiming the gospel, perfecting the Saints, and redeeming the dead lead to the holy temple. This is because the temple ordinances are absolutely crucial; we cannot return to God's presence without them. I encourage everyone to worthily attend the temple or to work toward the day when you can enter that holy house to receive your ordinances and covenants." (Howard W. Hunter, October conference, 2 Oct. 1994)
 
Soloist: Roger Hoffman
 
Let me kneel and let me pray,
let me cast my sins away.
Let me rise and let me wash,
let me cast the world off.
 
Let me dress to honor God,
let me purify my thoughts.
Let each day of faithfulness
stand as evidence of readiness.
 
Preparations made before
I may enter temple doors.
Worthy to enter,
worthy to stand
in holy places,
seeking God's presence again.

 

 

Who is worthy? One alone.
Only Jesus can atone.
Any sacrifice I give
is as nothing next to his.
 
Only he can intercede.
Only he can make me clean.
Gentle Jesus, who was torn,
by this stripes I am reborn!
 
Preparations made before
I may enter temple doors.
Worthy to enter,
worthy to stand
in holy places,
cleansed by the blood of the Lamb!

 

 

Thus we come to the Father
through the Savior's grace.
As we take his holy hand
may we hear him say:
 
Worthy to enter,
worthy to stand
in holy places,
enter my presence again.
 
Enter my glory,
enter, my friend.
Thy kingdom eternal,
worlds without end.
 
Worthy. Worthy.
 
 
14. Thy Temple Is Restored/
Come to the House of the Lord (reprise) (2:29)
(Revelation 21:1-6; 3 Nephi 20:22; Moses 7:58-65; D&C 130:9; JD vol. 14, pp. 318-19; History of the Church 4:540)
 
"May you let the meaning and beauty and peace of the temple come into your everyday life more directly in order that the millennial day may come, that promised time when 'they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more... [but shall] walk in the light of the Lord' (Isaiah 2:4-5)." (Howard W. Hunter, October conference, 2 Oct. 1994)
 
In days to come, Jerusalem,
thy grace shall be restored.
When Jesus reigns upon the earth
as rightful King and Lord.
 
In Old and New Jerusalem
his temples shall be reared.
To save the living and the dead
we'll labor through millennial years.
 
As saviors on Mount Zion then
we'll seal them one by one,
until Jehovah's voice is heard,
"My holy work is done."
 
The earth shall be our temple then --
our former home transformed --
and every living soul shall dwell
within the presence of the Lord!
Come, oh come to the house of the Lord!
(Glory to the Lord!)
Come with shouts of rejoicing!
(Holiness to the Lord!)
What was lost has at last been restored,
(Glory to the Lord!)
Come with shouts of rejoicing!
Come!

 

 
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