“There are so many ways in which we each can find mercy in the house of the Lord. This has been true since the Lord first commanded Israel to build a tabernacle and to place at its center the ‘mercy seat.’ In the temple, we find mercy in the covenants we make. Those covenants, in addition to the baptismal covenant, bind us to the Father and the Son and give us increased access to what President Nelson has taught is ‘a special kind of love and mercy … called hesed⁠’ in Hebrew.

We find mercy in the opportunity to be sealed to our families for eternity. In the temple, we also come to understand with greater clarity that the Creation, the Fall, the Savior’s atoning sacrifice, and our ability to enter again into our Heavenly Father’s presence —indeed, every part of the plan of salvation —are manifestations of mercy. It might be said that the plan of salvation is a plan of happiness precisely because it is a ‘plan of mercy.’” –James R. Rasband