How do you get a new template to show up?
 

Am I missing something here? I created a new template test123 that says "Test 1 2 3" in it, and in my FORUMHOME template I wrote $test123 and when I look at forum home, there is no "Test 1 2 3" anywhere. Did I need to add it somewhere else or call it differently?

Thanks for the help.

Have a look at this article How To Include A Custom Template Via Plugins. It explains what you need to do to include a custom template.

Very useful tutorial which I will bookmark.