“Wherefore, stand ye in holy places, and be not moved, until the day of the Lord come; for behold, it cometh quickly, saith the Lord. Amen.” (D&C 87:8). If we search the scriptures, we find many examples of deserts, or wildernesses, that the righteous traveled to or sojourned in because they were holy. Moses pleaded with Pharaoh, “Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness.” (Exodus 5:1). Elijah also communed with the Lord in the desert, as did Lehi and Nephi. Another example of holy places would be mountains. Abraham climbed Mount Moriah to offer sacrifices. Moses encountered the burning bush on Mount Horeb and received the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai. A third holy place is, of course, the temple. When Jesus was fasting for forty days, He visited all three of these locations. He was in the desert, He was on a high mountain, and He was at the temple. Sometimes we hope that when we are in a Holy Place, Satan will not be able to get to us, but that was not what Jesus experienced when He stood in these holy places. Satan tempted Him in the desert, he tempted Him on the Mountain, and he tempted Him at the Temple. It is not that holy places automatically shut out the adversary or his influence, but they can give us the strength to stand and be not moved. We can't always be in a holy place every second of every day. Therefore, it doesn't make sense for God to completely block out worldly influences even in Holy Places. Better to learn to face and be able to reject Satan and his temptations while we have the strength and resources available to us in Holy Places than to be completely sheltered in the Holy Places but then utterly unprepared to face them when we have to sally forth from their protection. None of this is to say that we can or should bring worldly influences with us into Holy Places, but neither should we be alarmed or surprised if Satan tries to get to us even when we are in Holy Places. The veil is thinner in Holy Places and the powers of Heaven are closer to hand. We can tell Satan to get thee hence and be not moved from our Holy Place. I hope that we continue to seek Holy Places in which we can make our stand and face everything that the adversary can throw at us and rely on the power and virtue available to us in those Holy Places so that we can see again and again that Satan and his minions can be beaten.
