Temple Bound
God's children are searching in greater numbers for answers and hoping for miracles as they look to Jesus Christ for relief. On 'Temple Bound,' hosted by Will Humphreys, explore how temples offer not just solace but also powerful tools for navigating these turbulent times through faith in Jesus Christ.
Tune in every Monday to hear Will Humphreys engage with guests who bring inspiring stories, profound teachings, and insights into accessing divine guidance through temple service.
Each episode promises to enrich your understanding and strengthen your connection to the Savior in unique and transformative ways.
Whether you're seeking answers, yearning for peace, or in need of a miracle, 'Temple Bound' is your weekly spiritual refuge, helping you anchor your soul to the Savior. Join us on this sacred journey to deepen your faith and discover the blessings of temple worship.
Temple Bound
How the Temple Transforms Missionaries with Elder Bell
How does temple preparation shape a missionary’s journey? In this episode of Temple Bound, Elder Payton Bell shares his transformative experience serving in Sweden—navigating cultural diversity, overcoming challenges, and witnessing the power of the temple in missionary work.
From learning new languages to gaining a deeper spiritual connection, Elder Bell’s testimony reveals how temple covenants provide strength, guidance, and purpose.
Tune in for inspiring insights on faith, family, and the lifelong impact of temple worship.
Hello and welcome to Temple Bound. Today's guest is Elder Peyton Bell, my nephew and I have to apologize right out of the gate. I call him Peyton. I think I refer to him as dude a couple of times. This is a young man that I was around since he was born and he is, in all intents and purposes, a son of mine. He's a very special missionary who is going to share his experience in how the temple prepared him for his mission. He served as an ordinance worker and in this discussion we have a very heartfelt discussion about how temple and family history has everything to do with temple work. He draws a lot of powerful connections.
Speaker 1:We're going to hear a lot from President Nelson and how he has inspired Elder Bell in his journey in helping the people of Sweden, and I do want to give a very special thanks and shout out to President and Sister Lake of the Stockholm Sweden Mission for allowing Elder Bell to be on this show today. It was a very special memory that I know will not only inspire any of you who are listening who are of my age, but my hope is that this program and show starts to really reach more of this next generation. So, yes, thank you so much, president and Sister Lake, for having the insight to let this happen. Guys, enjoy the show. Peyton, thank you so much for being on Temple Bound man. I can't believe, through technology, we have this capability of being able, the insight to let this happen. Guys enjoy the show. Peyton, thank you so much for being on Temple Bound man. I can't believe, through technology, we have this capability of being able to have our discussion across the oceans. You're all the way in Sweden on your mission. Yes, yes.
Speaker 1:How long have you been out? Like yeah, you're in Stockholm, sweden mission. Like how long you've been out? Give the audience a little frame of like where you're at and what you're up to.
Speaker 2:So I started my mission about six months ago and then I had six months in the MTC, six weeks yeah, it feels like six months sometimes, I'm sure, did it go fast yeah. And then I've been in Sweden for about four and a half months and I've served in two different areas and it's just been an amazing experience so far.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's amazing and I think we were talking before we started recording how we thought Sweden was going to be, this very maybe difficult to teach area where most people speak one language and people are doing pretty well, but that hasn't been your experience.
Speaker 2:No, not as much as I thought it would be no.
Speaker 1:So what's it been like?
Speaker 2:It has been really, really interesting. I've been able to meet a lot of different people from a lot of different backgrounds and it has just been really special to be able to learn, I guess, more about other religions, about how, I guess, people in general interact. So it's been really special, it's been awesome.
Speaker 1:Yeah, cause you don't. I mean there's a lot of tell me about that. Cause you were. I think your dad was telling me there you have like a wall of book. How many languages in the book of Mormon are on your, your wall?
Speaker 2:Ooh, that's, I would say, on average, about 30 to 40 languages.
Speaker 1:Like you, have book of Romans and 30 to 40 languages and you're in Sweden.
Speaker 2:Yes, yeah, it is. It has been amazing. I've been really blessed, um, especially with the gift of tongues, as I've been surrounded by all these different languages.
Speaker 1:I've been able to pick up on a lot of, um, different phrases and words from other languages, to be able to connect with all sorts of people, because, um, it's been awesome because, like, when people hear their own language, their own tongue, they just like open up and it just like really changes the dynamic yeah, isn't it funny how all human beings have this one thing in common, which is that they just want to feel like they belong somewhere, and in language is such a foundational like element of that connection, because you know, if you can't understand what's going on through communication, it immediately makes us feel different in a way that doesn't help us feel included. I don't know how you teach the gospel in that many different languages, because Swedish is already a pretty difficult language to learn and now you've got these other languages to pick up on that. How have you navigated that with the Spirit?
Speaker 2:Ooh, that is a great question, I would have to say. People that already speak that language is a huge key to that. Having members that are already in the church that you know, that are able to help translate and teach these people, um. But then I've had experiences where god really just takes over and fills your mouth with words that you maybe don't even know that you're saying. So I think that as long as we as missionaries here and people in general, are relying on the spirit, uh, god's not going to lead you astray.
Speaker 1:Now it's so fun, as you hear I hear you say that as your uncle, just because you know, I remember when you were born. I remember like all this, and now you're out in the field and you're learning these different languages and you're learning to trust the Lord and it's, isn't it kind of interesting, peyton, as you're talking, how I think in today's world, you know, like in your mission, people are leaning on the spirit to be able to like have their mouth filled so that they can communicate and connect. And I just feel like right now it feels like the younger generation, the one that you're in, has had probably the biggest attack of from the adversary to disconnect people so that they don't have that connection. And it's maybe it's all in English, you know, for example, in the United States, but it's it's still like disconnection is still disconnection and the adversary is trying to distance them from that. So I think it's really interesting that your mouth is being filled and being inspired to help connect people to the gospel while the younger generations are under heavy attack.
Speaker 1:Did you experience that, peyton? You know, I know you moved, for example, when you were, I think, in high school, to a new high school. Did you go through times in high school where you felt out of place or alienated.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, A lot Really. I think a lot of people go through that in general, and for me it just really hit because I moved during COVID and so there was just no social interaction.
Speaker 1:You moved from Idaho to Utah. You moved from a totally different state, and what grade were you?
Speaker 2:I was going into my freshman year of high school, so ninth grade.
Speaker 1:Wow.
Speaker 2:And it was. It was pretty hard. And then, right as I kind of got to know people at my high school, um, I switched again my very last year um in high school and it was just really, um, I'd say just really hard to really just be bouncing around between all of these different people. But I just really found that, like more than anything, that my constant, like best friends, would be my family and that's something that, like, I really hold dear is like as you, as my uncle and then as like your son, alex, um I, I love him every time we get together and I'm just able to spend time with him. It's just uh, it's always just a highlight of my year um, and then even just with my family, um, being able, under that covid time, to spend time with my mom no-transcript.
Speaker 1:Like I, you know for me, I can't feel socially comfortable unless I feel safe, and so when we're getting to no new groups, you never know, at first, at least for me, I you know.
Speaker 1:I'm so glad to hear you talk about that, peyton, because you are one of the most like, instantly likable and like outgoing men I've ever met, even as a, as a teenager, you were like that. So I just I think it's interesting because on the outside, looking in, I don't think people would have ever thought you felt those feelings. You know cause you're so capable in that way, but it's I think I'm really hoping, as the audience listens and I'm hoping we have a younger audience checking in on this episode that they recognize it is a very common problem. I was actually just talking in church a few hours ago about how the suicide rate the church Deseret News just did a story that showed that suicide rates are up by 40% in young adults and it's the third leading cause of death for young men and young women and depression, anxiety are all time high and all these elements and so yeah, I mean you've definitely have gone through that and I'm guessing you saw that with your friends as well as you got to know them.
Speaker 2:Yeah, a hundred percent.
Speaker 1:Have you seen it in the mission?
Speaker 2:Ooh yeah, I I have really seen that the mission is just like a very time of stress and back at home I feel like a lot of people can rely on certain things, like for me, I used to rely a lot on going out and playing tennis, so whenever I was feeling stressed I would be able to go and play tennis, go and play tennis. But I don't really have that stress relief, I guess, and so it's much easier to, I guess, fall into a mindset of depression or just feeling down because you don't have those normal releases and um yeah, so that is definitely very present in the mission, but also on the mission I have felt my happiest, happier than I've ever been on my mission, so it's just been really incredible.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's two things can be true at the same time, right, like the idea that missions can be challenging. And I think when people go on a mission, maybe we, they don't understand that piece of it, so the surprise of it might get to people, but you can also have the highest highs ever as a result of that sacrifice, and that's really powerful to me. And I think it was really special, peyton, how you talked about your family as a connection. Your family, obviously, is one of my favorites, but I think they would have I think the Bell family would have been one of my favorites, even without us being related. There's a real special energy in your home and connection and friendship, and I think that that's an important piece.
Speaker 1:As we now bridge into the temple discussion. I think that oftentimes we forget that, like, at the core of all temple service is this thing is just family. You know it's just all. It's about Jesus Christ and family. If there's two, two things we could say, what's the temple about? It's like Jesus Christ coming to Jesus Christ and families. And you, as you prepared for your mission, you did something I actually had never seen before. I think it's getting more common these days. You did something I actually had never seen before. I think it's getting more common these days, but could you talk a little bit about how you use temple worship as a way of helping you prepare for your mission?
Speaker 2:Oh yeah. So before my mission, I kind of made myself a deal. I was like, okay, I love going to church, I love going to the temple already, I love reading the scriptures, I love praying, and I did all of slacking on was going to the temple. I was going, I had the very blessed opportunity of living so close to many different temples and so I decided I'm going to try and go at least once a week. And with that goal I decided to become a temple worker and start working in the temple, which was something that, like, I never really thought about before.
Speaker 2:But I was really able to connect me on a deeper level to my family because I was able to know, like, really what the temple was about.
Speaker 2:You, um, you have to know like what you're talking about, um, and really lead people and help them along their temple journey.
Speaker 2:I can say, and, um, it was just awesome because with that transition, and it was just awesome because with that transition, I've got three younger sisters that all have temple recommends, and so we all went together very often and we would just all drive to the temples and do baptisms for the dead with each other, and that was just such a every time in the temple was such a spiritual moment and I think the deepest kind of bond that you can have with somebody is just that spiritual connection and putting yourself in those situations where you're all feeling the spirit together in a deep sense of connecting with God. It connects you as people and especially as families. I would say that in our religion, you know, god is the most important Jesus Christ and then pretty much second is families. Families is high up there on the list and, like you said, it's what the temple is all about is bringing us closer to God and about families really getting us connected.
Speaker 1:I didn't know that part about you taking your sisters with you. That's a really a special thought for me to think about you driving to the temple with your three sisters and doing baptisms and you being an ordinance worker Um, what did that look like? How many days a week were you doing that? Four or five times Um, so not a ton, but in total it was four or five times before your call. Between how much time was between your call and your? You left for your mission you left for your mission.
Speaker 2:So I got my call in January of 2024. And then I graduated at the end of May and then did the endowment session right after, so I would have about two months.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:So that's amazing.
Speaker 1:So you had that two month period where you went a handful of times as an ordinance worker and did you work every part of the temple. Like, were you able to participate as an ordinance worker in all those different parts?
Speaker 2:Yes, Um, so I was able to work in um the bapt, baptistry, the endowments and the initiatories, and that was something that was just super special.
Speaker 1:That's awesome. Um, did any one of those stand out to you Like I'm sure maybe they're all the same, but like did any of those stand out to you as you were, you know, facilitating and helping in those areas?
Speaker 2:The endowment really stood out to me. As an endowment temple worker, you're able to lead people into the celestial room. That is just such a sacred experience, because the celestial room is really where God dwells, just right there and you're, you're leading people to maybe one of the most experienced, like spiritually heavy experiences of their life, and so being able to kind of guide that path and, um, bring them to God was really special for me.
Speaker 1:You know I don't want to put words in your mouth, but I'm so amazed by what you just said because I can imagine what it must do for a young person's self-identity that you know you're in high school, you figured out your social world, and then it ends you graduate and you've got to move on. You figured out your social world and then it ends you graduate and you've got to move on. And I believe one of the questions I hate to ask people, peyton, I do not love I ask everyone who's listening to stop asking this question of youth which is so what are you doing after graduation? It's kind of like when you're dating someone's like so you guys going to get married, and it's, if you're married, it's like so you guys going to have kids. Like there's just this organic pressure that already exists as to what people are doing next and there's already enough in terms of, you know, expectation, especially in our faith, around what, what could be doing, what people could be doing. So, like when we talk about this period of confusion where people are trying to like figure out who they are and they have a sense. It's not like they're lost, but some might be, some might actually feel that way.
Speaker 1:I can only imagine how that must have felt for you to be in that role of someone escorting someone from the veil into the celestial room. I love that you said that was one of the most impactful parts for it, because I think that's truly who we are Like spiritually, that's who we are born to be, and the adversary is like no, no, you're not that. The adversary is constantly on social media saying no, you've got to be the fastest, the quickest, the best looking, the funniest, whatever it is, or you're nothing and you'll never be as good as these other people, whereas when we're just a tool in the hands of the Lord man, you get to introduce them into the presence of God. What a cruel, what an incredible like opportunity for you to be able to see that before you leave.
Speaker 2:It was. It was truly incredible and I love that point that you brought up about the adversary really working to diminish. That is because, as people, we are children of God and God is a loving Heavenly Father that wants us to come to Him and bring other people to Him. Also and that's something that I've really learned while being out on my mission is that, with the adversary tempting us and really saying to us, if you're not the smartest, you're just nothing. We're each children of God, we're each meant to be where we are, but we can become something more, and I think that that's where Satan doesn't want our heads to go. He wants us to think because you're already not this, then you're nothing and you can't become anything, and God's view, I think, is more of you're this right now. Let me help you become this.
Speaker 1:Hmm, it's so touching. I, especially as a father man, you just really want your kids, and this is what's hard. Is that this? There isn't a generational gap that exists, that, um, that's why I always, always wanted this show to be more about the youth, so that they can understand what you just said right there. Because, again, we've never had this. The statistics don't lie 40% increase in suicide. Every hundred minutes another young person takes their life.
Speaker 1:This is a literal war with literal casualties, and I think it's powerful to note that when we are in an endowment session, how we get to actually see how that war started. To a degree we get a little prelude to what happened back before we got here, but there's an actual like representation of the entity between satan and man and how they have. But something that's really powerful as you were talking, peyton, that kind of struck me was this idea that, like in the temple, we learn that satan will use the, the power that he has to to to bruise our heel Right, but thanks to God, we have the power to crush his head, and I think that's the talk about a difference having. I'd much rather have a bruised heel than a crushed head.
Speaker 2:You know me as well.
Speaker 1:Like there's a there's a distinct power, differential that we are given to be able to override that. But, man, as a parent on the sidelines, peyton, sometimes when I was watching you and your siblings and my kids grow up, it's just like it doesn't feel as small as a bruised heel, like the attack feels really intense and there's literal casualties as a result of that, and so I'm really grateful that you, in many ways, have won those battles in high school because of where you are right now. Not that you're done facing them, I know you're going to have challenges, but you know, one thing that you were and I were talking about before we recorded is that you took some notes on how the temple really helped you prepare for your mission. Would you mind sharing those?
Speaker 2:Yeah, you kind of asked me to study and pray during this week about how the temple affected me while preparing for my mission, and I came across three points that I really thought of, that I really thought of, and it was first, my temple covenants and temple covenants in general. Second was learning by the Spirit and really learning of the Spirit, how we feel the Spirit, listen to the Spirit. And then third is keeping my life centered on Jesus Christ and, um, I, I kind of just loved these, these three points, um, cause I have a couple of quotes here If you, if you don't mind me sharing.
Speaker 1:Please do.
Speaker 2:In this talk by President Nelson in April 2001 General Conference titled Personal Preparation for Temple Blessings, he says each temple is a house of learning. There we are taught in the master's way. His way differs from modes of others. His way is ancient and rich with symbolism. We can learn much about pondering the reality for which each symbol stands. Teachings of the temple are beautifully simple and simply beautiful. They are understood by the humble yet the, yet they can excite the intellect of the brightest minds.
Speaker 2:I I love that quote. It's good to put it to me straight and kind of tell me this is, this is what's happening. But with all of these times of me going to the temple and spending time in the temple during these, these shifts where I was spending time in the temple for four or five hours at a time, I got to see all of the little symbolisms maybe not all of them, but I would say a good chunk of all these little symbolisms and and try to get to know, understand and then pray and consult God about them. And that's where kind of this point of learning by the Spirit comes in is as we go to the temple on the outside it says Holiness to the Lord, the house of the Lord, and it really is the house of the Lord. It's a house of learning, and we learn by the Spirit. We learn by prayer and by scriptures, and the Spirit testifies of truth.
Speaker 2:So lots of times I was able to sit in the celestial room and read the scriptures and really ponder and pray, and I really wanted to read the whole Book of Mormon, for instance, right before my mission. And so I said, okay, during all this time I spend at the temple, I want to read like a good chunk of the Book of Mormon, if not all of it. And I was able to finish all of it, wow, in the temple and while sitting in the celestial room praying about Moroni's promise, at the very end of the Book of Mormon, where Moroni encourages us to pray about these things, to know if the Book of Mormon is true, and if it is, then the Holy Ghost will reveal it unto you, the truth of it. And I received a very powerful spiritual confirmation through that and through the temple, and I think that the temple is the only place that I would have been able to receive that spiritual confirmation, just because of how truly powerful it was.
Speaker 1:Wow, thank you for sharing that. I felt the spirit very strongly as you were talking and I'm just so amazed. I love how you talked about the temple being a place where you could learn and that quote is so great, right how these things are simply beautiful, beautifully simple and simply beautiful. And, yeah, that whole place of learning the symbolism. It's amazing to me still Peyton painting as I go through how I'll find something that I've never noticed before. And when I pray and I'm actively, my temple experience has gone up dramatically by doing this show.
Speaker 1:Really, this show has been about me this whole time, very selfish, like learning how I can get more out of the temple, and I'll tell you, going in with a question in my heart has multiplied my experience by a huge factor, because I go in there like really seeking truth and I think we forget that Holy Father is like on the other side of that door, that famous picture of the Savior knocking on the door, right, like he's just there and he wants. He's like oh, I know the. He's like I want you, I want you to know these things. He's not. He's not like trying to create a puzzle for you to figure out, right, he just wants us to humbly go, and I think that's what you've done so well. Your whole life is be humble and go. You know, and I have no doubt that was why you were given that powerful manifestation, manifestation and yeah, man, I just love that example for anyone who's like seeking wisdom.
Speaker 1:Going back to James five, that whole idea of you know, not asking the next generation so what are you doing next? And more like, hey, are you working on anything exciting right now, giving them that freedom so that they can go ask the Lord to find out what they're supposed to do next? Yeah, man, I love that. So you said a number of things. There's a quote that I wanted to share that you that kind of just inspired, that it came from Elder Holland. He reminds us that let us truly be a temple attending and temple loving people. Let us make the temple, with temple worship and temple covenants and temple marriage, our ultimate earthly goal and supreme mortal experience, our ultimate earthly goal and supreme mortal experience. And so, yeah, um, what's been your experience, as you've had had some, has some experiences where you've been able to take some, some people that you've met and and help them get baptized. What has that experience been like for?
Speaker 2:you, helping people be able to make, um, these covenants has really deepened my appreciation of the temple. When I was 16, my brother, caleb, had just turned eight, so I was able to baptize him, and I think that is what really started my love for the temple is because seeing the joy that my baptism, and then his, has brought us, yeah, and deepened our connection as family, has really been beautiful, simply, and um, then being able to say, wait these people, that I'm doing baptisms for the dead, for they're my family too, and you previously had my grandmother, gail, on the show and you guys talked a lot about doing family history work, and that is something that she is very good at.
Speaker 2:And so she has been able to find a lot of names of ancestors that I've been able to go and perform ordinances for and being able to really think, wow, this is somebody that needs this ordinance done, has been really powerful. And then, especially, coming out on a mission and then seeing people that I have never met before and then helping them to receive these ordinances, receive baptism and receive Jesus Christ, has been really eye-opening to everybody that goes to the temple is doing these things for other people, for people that they love and that they care about, and my love for others as deepened, as I have seen them really changed their lives around for this gospel for the Savior, for this gospel for the Savior. And wow, it is just, it is such a powerful, powerful thing to go to the temple.
Speaker 1:I love it. I know I know Gail well enough to know she's crying because right now she's listening to this, so shout out to Gail. I, you know. I know your grandmother, my mother-in-law. I don't like to use the in-law with her because she's family in every way. It matters and anyway, I'm so grateful that you shared that. Peyton, as we're wrapping things up, I would love to hear your thoughts on what would you say to a young man or young woman who's decided to go on a mission and they're trying to find a good way to prepare. What would you advise them from your experience?
Speaker 2:I would say for anybody that's preparing to go on a mission, or just anybody in general. There's a quote that I would actually like to use here that says it way better than I do, and it's from President Nelson. Again, from October 2021, dermal Conference, and he says if you don't yet love to attend the temple, go more often, not less. Let the Lord, through his spirit, teach and inspire you there. I promise you that over time the temple will become a place of safety, solace and revelation, and I've been somebody that's time. The temple will become a place of safety, solace and revelation, and I've been somebody that's always loved the temple.
Speaker 2:But what I would say for anybody out there that is maybe not going as often as times permit, because I know it's different for everybody but to try and make time and just to go to really seek to understand. And as you seek to understand, that takes humility and with that humility comes answers. And then for especially people that are preparing to go on missions, and then for especially people that are preparing to go on missions, really first seek to know of a surety that the Book of Mormon is true and to know that the temple is a house of God, that you can that that's the final goal for the people that we teach. The goal for the people that we teach here in Sweden is not just baptism, but for them to continue and to go to the temple to receive their endowments, their initiatories, and get sealed in the temple and create this eternal family that is founded on joy and in Jesus Christ.
Speaker 1:That was so powerful. I'm getting emotional. I sure love you. Last question One of the things I love about the show is that it's meant for your kids. You know what? Would you say? Any any parting thoughts, that or message you'd want to leave your, your siblings, Cause they're going to listen to this, and then your future kids? What would you want them to know? No pressure, big, heavy question at the very end.
Speaker 2:Yes, ooh, um for them.
Speaker 2:I just want them to know that, um, I love them and, second um, jesus Christ and their father in heaven loves them, and that is something that will never stop, and, as much as I might get mad at somebody because I lose my patience, I will always love them and I think that that's something that I can always work on.
Speaker 2:But for them to really understand and know that Jesus Christ has suffered everything for them, has really felt all of their and took upon himself all of their sins, but even more than that, all of everything that they've gone through, everything that they've gone through, all of the social, mental, physical pain, spiritual pain that they have gone through, jesus Christ has felt that, and Jesus Christ is the only person that can relate to us on that level and of absolutely everything that we've gone through. And I would want them to know that. I know that the Book of Mormon is true and that as you read the Book of Mormon, it testifies of Jesus Christ and His love for you. And you will be able to feel it as you read the Book of Mormon and then proceed to go to the temple and spend time in the temple, the house of the Lord.
Speaker 1:It has been a pleasure. I sure love and appreciate you and the work that you're doing, and I'm so grateful for your decision to go out to Sweden to take on all of these different languages to be a way for your family in the world that you've known and to just love and serve. I am confident that there's going to be many young men, young women who are going to listen to this, who are going to be inspired by your words, in addition to the many people of Sweden whose lives you're going to affect through the Holy Ghost and our Savior, jesus Christ. Thank you so much, elder Bell, for taking a minute to be with us.
Speaker 2:Thank you, Thank you.
Speaker 1:Uncle Will. Thanks again for listening to today's episode of Temple Bound. If you enjoyed today's show, make sure to join us over on Instagram at Temple Bound Podcast to receive additional information as well as previews of our upcoming episodes. See you over there.
