Posted on 04/24/2012 1:28:27 PM PDT by Jeff Head
As I stood in front of the new Mormon Temple in Liberty, Mo., it struck me as ironic that close to 175 years ago, Mormons were forced out of this same state.
Whereas the Missouri public once urged their governor to force Joseph Smith and his followers out of the area surrounding Kansas City, Mormons began to return to the region in the 1900s, eventually gathering in such large numbers that the Church organization decided the region needed a temple.
Which is why I came to visit.
Latter Day Saints restrict temple access to members of their denomination who have proven themselves to be faithful and dedicated adherents. Because Mormons believe temples are the most sacred places on earth, one needs to be prepared to enter them by being an active member of the Church. (In contrast, chapels, where Mormons hold Sunday worship, are open to everyone. Temples are used only for certain rituals and are not open on Sunday so that Mormons can be at their chapel services.)
When a new temple is built, anyone may enter prior to its dedication. So, always curious to learn about the faith of others, I didn't want to miss an opportunity to see a site normally closed off to an Episcopal priest like myself.
My visit seemed all the more timely because Mormons have been in the news a lot lately, and so have their temples. Elizabeth Smart recently married her husband in a temple in Hawaii during a ceremony called a sealing, in which the couple and close Mormon friends and family gather together to witness God joining the couple together for time and all eternity. In less complimentary news, Elie Wiesel took Mitt Romney to task for his faith's practice of baptisms of the dead, which also take places within temple walls.
These headlines, in addition to my own curiosity, motivated my visit to the new temple in Kansas City, and with my curiosity came some questions:
What does a Mormon temple look like, and what happens inside it?
Would I feel God's presence in this space, even though it's not a space that's sacred for me?
Before I go any further -- and because I know it's the question at the front of your mind, dear reader -- no one tried to convert me. In fact, everyone was very welcoming. Members volunteered en masse, clad in pressed suits and dresses. They offered guided tours, bent down to put protective boots onto my feet so my shoes wouldn't dirty the carpeting, and offered me a chewy snickerdoodle at the end of the tour. They showed me every space from changing rooms to sealing rooms where marriages take place and answered every question I asked, no matter how challenging or controversial.
And in the end, yes, I did have a God moment.
But I'm getting ahead of myself.
Mormons go to temples to be close to God. Much like the ancient Jewish people believed God lived at the heart of the temple in Jerusalem, Mormons believe that followers can meet God most intimately in the temple. The reasons they visit temples vary: In addition to having their marriages sealed in the temple, Mormons also have sealing ceremonies that unite parents and children for time and all eternity. Others come to participate in baptisms of the dead, which are intended to be used only for deceased family members of active Mormons, though the Church acknowledged in the wake of Elie Wiesel's comments that others -- such as Anne Frank -- have had baptisms performed on their behalf. These baptisms are not intended to convert the deceased but rather to give them a choice in the afterlife to embrace the revelation of Mormonism: Assuming an afterlife exists, the baptized deceased are free to say yes or no as they please. Finally, Mormons come to the temple to receive their endowment, a ritual ceremony where followers make promises to God and receive knowledge about God.
Unlike a cathedral, which is primarily composed of one large worship space, a Mormon temple has a variety of smaller rooms that serve different purposes. There are sealing rooms and rooms for men and women to change into white clothes (every male or female Mormon who enters a dedicated temple wears the same white clothing) and instruction rooms where individuals learn about God in preparation for receiving their endowments.
It was in these rooms, and the final Celestial Room, where I caught a glimpse of God.
You see, as part of our final stop on the tour, our guide took us to a room with a mural of the Missouri countryside painted by a local artist. The room had earthy colors, browns and greens and rows of cushioned seats. This was the first instruction room. From there, we took a step up -- as if ascending closer to heaven -- and entered a second room, similar to the first in shape and size but all white. This was the second instruction room. When we left that room, we took another step up and entered the Celestial Room, a space designed to give those who sit in it a foretaste of heaven.
It was a simple room yet ornate at the same time, all white with sparkling crystal chandeliers, large mirrors, and plump sofas and chairs reminiscent of those that must have existed in Joseph Smith's day. Our guide asked us to be silent and said we were welcome to sit wherever we liked and take a moment to pray. So I sat down on a sofa that seemed to envelop me, folded my hands on my lap and closed my eyes.
Like Dante, who saw God face to face but had no words to describe the encounter, I have few words to describe what I felt in that moment. But I can say this: While it did not convert me, nor did it make me want to be a Mormon, the silence and peace I felt reminded me of the many other times I've felt close to God, whether in an Episcopal cathedral, in a clear, warm ocean or in my ratty old car. And because of that, I came to understand why temples exist and why they are so important to Mormons across the world.
And along the lines of Mormons being across the world: As I wrote earlier, Mormons were ironically driven out of Liberty, Missouri and the surrounding region nearly 175 years ago. It cannot be lost on those who visit the new temple that almost two centuries later, Mormons are often still held in suspicion by society, but they are far from being as vulnerable as they were in their early years. They are building stronger foundations every day, and striving, as they do so, to catch a glimpse of heaven.
Say something MORMON!
So true; but still incorrect.
There is a very simple way to know which has been placed: the god you believe in and serve was, according to the cult to which you’ve plighted your troth, once only a cr4eated man and had to earn the attributes of godhood. THAT contradicts what The God of the Bible said of Himself. So we can concluded that you are an apostate or just an antichrist shill for whom we have been praying earnestly to no avail, for you have chosen to spit in God’s face by running with this cult which claims to have made you a high priest in the order to which there will NEVER be another because The Great High Priest arose from the grave and is in the Heavenly Holy of Holies while you pretend to be a melchizedek high priest. May God have mercy upon you hereafter.
Ignore was NOT on the list of options; only repudiate or affirm.
Welcome to the world of MORMONism; where one can hold a multitude of conflicting ideas in your head!
Welcome to MORMONism 101
While we are waiting to start; enjoy the artwork on our walls.
If some of it seems shifty to you, just look at it real closely
and it will stop moving, but another location will then start to crawl on you.
Do NOT think our DOCTRINE is this way!
IF what we have spent so many hours studying and posting for people like you regarding MormonISM is coorect and you are indeed ina religion which mocks God and denegrates Jesus, what does that say about the poor souls you have been responsible for leading into Mormonism and away from God?
Do you think God is double minded, that He will grant to you salvation regardless of how many you lead astray from Christ by promoting this religion which mocks he God of the Bible?
Jeff, there is a very remote possibility that the contradictions to the Bible, to what God has said of Himself and His plan of Salvation, that these Mormonic contradictions are somehow integratable into the greater truth, but you are literally betting your eternal destiny on that extremely remote possibility, and if you are honest, yo have seen the contradictory things pointed out to you so many times. Literally, your damnation may be in your own hands as you reject Truth in order to serve the great lie that is Mormonism from a peepstone conman sexual predator of married women. Joseph Smith is in Hell. Don't go there ...
I know to whom the LDS I know give the Glory too which is GOD and our Savior Jesus Christ. Yet for some {self appointed judges of them} that simply is not enough? What would be the difference in saying Joseph Smith said go by this or that or The Pope saying go by this or that? Both are/were human beings. Yet say I think the Pope is wrong on this or that issue and watch out the same with questioning some Protestants leaders as well. It's human nature.
The god of MormonISM, the god of whom the Mormon founders teach still through their Jornal of Discourses and several 'extr-biblical' sources was once a man like you or me. Is that the god to whom you refer for these poor souls worshipping after Joseph Smith's fabricated religion?
Here's something borrowed from Freeper William Clark, illustrating how one can have faith in 'a' Christ but not The True Savior Christ:
"I always like to use the analogy of Jim Caviezel [In Mel Gibson's 'The Passion of The Christ']. Like the Mormon Jesus, he dressed the part, spoke the same words (in the original language, no less), and was referred to as Jesus Christ within a specific context, but it makes all the difference in the world whether one worships and depends upon him for their salvation or the genuine article."
Just to avoid contention, are Christians ordered to be just fine with the following LDS blasphemies and heretical teaching from Mormonism which are antithetical to Christianity?
I appreciate your concern...but I also know in whom I trust and in whom I teach others to trust. That will all be a part of Christ’s judgement, in the which, as I have said, I am comfortable.
Anyone, who’s heart is sincere, and who loves and gives themselves to Jesus Christ and His salvation, and seeks to share it with others, will ultimately be led by Him to the full truth.
I of course believe and am convicted that that truth is His restored church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You and others here are clearly not so convicted.
As I have said, that is fine.
If we are all sincere in our heartfelt love for and acceptance of Jesus Christ, He will straighten it all out while bringing all of us to Him...the God and Savior I worship is MIGHTY TO SAVE...and He has the power to do so justly, lovingly, and compassionately for all of those who call Him Lord and Savior and have adopted Him as such in their hearts and souls.
Gotta run.
God bless you good brother. May he multiply the blessings you confer back to you ten fold and more.
Semper Fidelis, Semper Paratus!
In the beginning, the head of the Gods called a council of the Gods; and they came together and concocted a plan to create the world and people it. (Joseph Smith, Journal of Discourses, Vol. 6, p. 5, 1844)
“I will go back to the beginning, before the world was, to show what kind of a being God is. What sort of a being was God in the beginning? Open your ears and hear, all ye ends of the earth; for I am going to prove it to you by the Bible, and to tell you the designs of God in relation to the human race, and why he interferes with the affairs of man. God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted Man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens. That is the great secret. (Joseph Smith, Journal of Discourses, Vol. 6, p. 3, 1844)
"We may talk of men being redeemed by the efficacy of his [Christ's] blood; but the truth is that that blood has no efficacy to wash away our sins. That must depend upon our own action." [ LDS Apostle Amasa M. Lyman, Journal of Discourses, Vol. 7, p. 299, 1859]"Again, they will try to tell how the divinity of Jesus is joined to his humanity, and exhaust all their mental faculties, and wind up with this profound language, as describing the soul of man, "it is an immaterial substance!" What a learned idea! Jesus, our elder brother, was begotten in the flesh by the same character that was in the garden of Eden, and who is our Father in Heaven. Now, let all who may hear these doctrines, pause before they make light of them, or treat them with indifference, for they will prove their salvation or damnation. I have given you a few leading items upon this subject, but a great deal more remains to be told. Now, remember from this time forth, and for ever, that Jesus Christ was not begotten by the Holy Ghost." [ LDS Prophet Bingham Young, JoD 1:50-51 April 9, 1852]
Given this mormonic teaching that is the very essence of Antichrist, it is still amazing how much LDS inc apologists want folks to believe LDS inc is Christianity restored! MormonISM is the very essence of slick anti-Christ inveigling, and the promoters of this anti-Christian religion will continue to be exposed and opposed so long as Christians are not squelched by the political correctness approach inherent in the lie that exposing mormonISM is hate or hatred of the people trapped in this demonic cult.
The Bible says “fruits” refers to false prophets.
Joseph Smith the founder of mormonism said: created god, created jesus, jesus brother of satan, jesus was not sufficient for salvation (lds have to work for it), that he was greater than jesus, that all Christians where an abomination and whores of Babylon, that he would sit with jesus and decide who gets to heaven......
Dismiss if you wish what the Bible and Joseph Smith say.
lds use the same words as Christians, those words have very different meanings.
Please, don't spin the two questions to avoid answering, for it is your mortal soul which is in the balance hanging by a tenuous thread.
When Abraham told the accompanying servants that they should wait at the foot of the mountain while he and his son Isaac ascended to make the offering, Abraham said WE will return to you after it is finished. Abraham had no reservations about God's Promises to him, no 'we will see if God will keep His promises based upon how I perform this oh so difficult sacrifice.' Abraham believed God, and it was counted for him righteousness.
If you do not believe you are NOW saved because of your trust in Christ, you are not believing God. Teaching that unbelief system as is the foundation of MormonISM, that 'you better live up to the gift' mormonic teaching is an insult to the Great High Priest, the ONLY MELCHIZEDEK High Priest since He arose from the Grave.
When you lure souls into the belief that one must earn their salvation, you are contradicting what God says about His promises. Snaring souls in such a satanic lie does not serve The Lord Christ. I think you know whom it serves ...
Please provide Biblical proof that there was a need for a "restoration" of God's church. That's another of the statements that is pure mormon propaganda and has no Biblical basis, on a par with this lie..."This greater priesthood was given to Adam and has been on the earth whenever the Lord has revealed His gospel. It was taken from the earth during the Great Apostasy, but it was restored in 1829, when the Apostles Peter, James, and John conferred it upon Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery."
There is no objective proof that ANY of these declarations of mormon doctrine are anything but fiction on a grand scale.
The Salvation Army and Samitaritan's Purse both provide much more to the needy that does the mormon corporation.
: )
. . . . I have repented (as He commanded us to)
Really - you no longer sin and sinning is no longer part of your life. YOUR mormon doctrine says otherwise Jeff -
DOCTRINE AND COVENANTS 58:43: “By this ye may know if a man repenteth of his sins—behold, he will confess them and forsake them.”
You tell us you still sin Jeff - then according to mormon doctrine listed above you haven't repented. Were you aware of this from you 42 years of mormonism? Further -
DOCTRINE AND COVENANTS 25:15: “Keep my commandments continually, and a crown of righteousness thou shalt receive. And except thou do this, where I am you cannot come.”
In that you say you are sinful, you apparently do not keep the commandments continually.
What you are stating is in opposition to mormon doctrine Jeff. Some could even say you are being deceptive by covering up these doctrines.
I do as He commanded and take the sacrement in rememberance of Him each week
Are you 'repenting' every week too - further evidence you haven't repented according to the mormon doctrines. Since you have to renew you covenants on at least a weekly basis - doesn't that make you a covenant breaker?
Joseph Smith said: “Repentance is a thing that cannot be trifled with every day. Daily transgression and daily repentance is not that which is pleasing in the sight of God.” —Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 148
“Discontinuance of the sin must be permanent....the former transgressor must have reached a ‘point of no return’ to sin wherein there is not merely a renunciation but also a deep abhorrence of the sin — where the sin becomes most distasteful to him and where the desire or urge to sin is cleared out of his life.” — The Miracle of Forgiveness, pp. 176, 354-355
I can say right now I would be in the presence of heavenly father when I die - if you honestly and truthfully follow mormon doctrine you can't.
Oh??
It appears that a lot of BIG SHOTs in the MORMON religion want to SHARE that glory:
"He (Joseph Smith) is the man through whom God has spoken... yet I would not like to call him a savior, though in a certain capacity he was a god to us, and is to the nations of the earth, and will continue to be."- Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses 8:321"You call us fools; but the day will be, gentlemen and ladies, whether you belong to this Church or not, when you will prize brother Joseph Smith as the Prophet of the Living God, and look upon him as a god..."- Herber C. Kimball, Journal of Discourses 5:88"If we get our salvation, we shall have to pass by him [Joseph Smith]; if we enter our glory, it will be through the authority he has received. We cannot get around him [Joseph Smith]"- (as quoted in 1988 Melchizedek Priesthood Study Guide, p. 142)There is "no salvation without accepting Joseph Smith. If Joseph Smith was verily a prophet, and if he told the truth...no man can reject that testimony without incurring the most dreadful consequences, for he cannot enter the kingdom of God"- Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, vol. 1, p.190"I tell you, Joseph holds the keys, and none of us can get into the celestial kingdom without passing by him. We have not got rid of him, but he stands there as the sentinel, holding the keys of the kingdom of God; and there are many of them beside him. I tell you, if we get past those who have mingled with us, and know us best, and have a right to know us best, probably we can pass all other sentinels as far as it is necessary, or as far as we may desire. But I tell you, the pinch will be with those that have mingled with us, stood next to us, weighed our spirits, tried us, and proven us: there will be a pinch, in my view, to get past them. The others, perhaps, will say, If brother Joseph is satisfied with you, you may pass. If it is all right with him, it is all right with me. Then if Joseph shall say to a man, or if brother Brigham say to a man, I forgive you your sins, "Whosoever sins ye remit they are remitted unto them;" if you who have suffered and felt the weight of transgression—if you have generosity enough to forgive the sinner, I will forgive him: you cannot have more generosity than I have. I have given you power to forgive sins, and when the Lord gives a gift, he does not take it back again."- Orson Hyde, Journal of Discourses, Vol. 6, p.154-155"It is because the Lord called Joseph Smith that salvation is again available to mortal men.... If it had not been for Joseph Smith and the restoration, there would be no salvation,"- Bruce McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, p. 396, 670
They succeeded in killing Joseph, but he had finished his work.He was a servant of God, and gave us the Book of Mormon.He said the Bible was right in the main, but, through the translators and others, many precious portions were suppressed, and several other portions were wrongly translated; and now his testimony is in force, for he has sealed it with his blood.As I have frequently told them, no man in this dispensation will enter the courts of heaven, without the approbation of the Prophet Joseph Smith, Jun.Who has made this so?Have I?Have this people?Have the world?No; but the Lord Jehovah has decreed it.If I ever pass into the heavenly courts, it will be by the consent of the Prophet Joseph.If you ever pass through the gates into the Holy City, you will do so upon his certificate that you are worthy to pass.Can you pass without his inspection?No; neither can any person in this dispensation, which is the dispensation of the fulness of times.In this generation, and in all the generations that are to come, everyone will have to undergo the scrutiny of this Prophet.They say that they killed Joseph, and they will yet come with their hats under their arms and bend to him; but what good will it do them, unless they repent?They can come in a certain way and find favor, but will they?Brigham Young,--JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES, vol. 8, p. 224
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Office of First President & Living Prophet November 1st, 2011 The message for this month is -
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