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Home |  | Temples | | Purpose of Temples | | Why These Temples |
Why These Temples? By President Gordon B. Hinckley
Has he or she not asked, "Where did I come from?
Why am I here? Where am I going? What is my relationship to my Maker?
Will death rob me of the treasured associations of life? What of my family?
Will there be another existence after this, and, if so, will we know one
another there?" The answers to these questions are not found in the
wisdom of the world. They are found only in the revealed word of God.
Temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are sacred
structures in which these and other eternal questions are answered. Each
is dedicated as a house of the Lord, a place of holiness and peace shut
apart from the world. There truths are taught and ordinances are performed
that bring knowledge of things eternal and motivate the participants to
live with an understanding of our divine inheritance as children of God
and an awareness of our potential as eternal beings. These buildings, different from the thousands of
regular Church houses of worship scattered over the earth, are unique
in purpose and function from all other religious edifices. It is not the
size of these buildings or their architectural beauty that makes them
so. It is the work that goes on within their walls. The designation of certain buildings for special
ordinances, as distinguished from regular places of worship, is not new.
This was the practice in ancient Israel, where the people worshiped regularly
in the synagogues. Their more sacred place was, first, the tabernacle
in the wilderness with its Holy of Holies, and then a succession of temples,
where special ordinances were performed and where only those who met the
required qualifications could participate in these ordinances. So it is today. Prior to the dedication of a temple,
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints invites the public to
go through the building and inspect its various facilities. But when it
is dedicated it becomes the house of the Lord, vested with a character
so sacred that only members of the Church in good standing are permitted
to enter. It is not a matter of secrecy. It is a matter of sanctity. The work that goes on in these buildings sets forth
God's eternal purposes with reference to man—God's child and creation.
For the most part, temple work is concerned with the family, with each
of us as members of God's eternal family and with each of us as members
of earthly families. It is concerned with the sanctity and eternal nature
of the marriage covenant and family relationships. It affirms that each man and woman born into the
world is a child of God, endowed with something of His divine nature.
The repetition of these basic and fundamental teachings has a salutary
effect upon those who receive them, for as the doctrine is enunciated
in language both beautiful and impressive, the participant comes to realize
that since every man and woman is a child of Heavenly Father, then each
is a member of a divine family; hence, every person is his brother or
sister. When asked by the scribe, "Which is the first
commandment of all?" the Savior replied, "Thou shalt love the
Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy
mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. "And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt
love thy neighbour as thyself" (Mark
12:28, 30–31). The teachings set forth in modern temples give powerful
emphasis to this most fundamental concept of our duty to our Maker and
to our neighbors. Sacred ordinances amplify this ennobling philosophy
of the family of God. They teach that the spirit within each of us is
eternal, in contrast with the body, which is mortal. They not only give
understanding of these great truths but also motivate the participant
to love of God and encourage him to demonstrate a greater neighborliness
toward others of our Father's children. Accepting the premise that each is a child of God
helps us see that there is divine purpose in mortal life. Here again,
revealed truth is taught in the house of the Lord. Earth life is part
of an eternal journey. We lived as spirit children before we came here.
The scriptures bear testimony of this. Witness the word of the Lord to
Jeremiah: "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before
thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee
a prophet unto the nations" (Jeremiah
1:5).
Much of the work that goes on within temples is concerned
with the family. Basic to an understanding of its meaning is recognition
of the fact that even as we existed as children of God before we were
born into this world, so also shall we continue to live after death, and
the treasured and satisfying relationships of mortality, the most beautiful
and meaningful of which are found in the family, may continue in the world
to come. Marriage partners who come to the house of the Lord
and partake of its blessings are joined not only for the period of their
mortal lives but for all eternity. They are bound together under authority
not only of the law of the land that joins them until death but also through
the eternal priesthood of God, which binds in heaven that which is bound
on earth. The couple so married has the assurance of divine revelation
that their relationship and that of their children will not end with death
but will continue in eternity, provided they live worthy of that blessing. Was there ever a man who truly loved a woman, or
a woman who truly loved a man, who did not pray that their relationship
might continue beyond the grave? Has a child ever been buried by parents
who did not long for the assurance that their loved one would again be
theirs in a world to come? Can anyone believing in eternal life doubt
that the God of heaven would grant His sons and daughters that most precious
attribute of life, the love that finds its most meaningful expression
in family relationships? No, reason demands that the family relationship
shall continue after death. The human heart longs for it, and the God
of heaven has revealed a way whereby it may be secured. The sacred ordinances
of the house of the Lord provide for it. But all of this would appear to be unfair indeed
if the blessings of these ordinances were available only to those who
are now members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The
fact is that the opportunity to come into the temple and partake of its
blessings is open to all who will accept the gospel and be baptized into
the Church. For this reason, the Church carries forward an extensive missionary
program in much of the world and will continue to expand this program
as widely as possible, for it has the responsibility, under divine revelation,
to teach the gospel to "every nation, kindred, tongue, and people." But there are uncounted millions who have walked
the earth and who have never had the opportunity to hear the gospel. Shall
they be denied such blessings as are offered in the temples of the Lord? Through living proxies who stand in behalf of the
dead, the same ordinances are available to those who have passed from
mortality. In the spirit world these same individuals are then free to
accept or reject those earthly ordinances performed for them, including
baptism, marriage, and the sealing of family relationships. There's no
compulsion in the work of the Lord, but there must be opportunity. This vicarious work constitutes an unprecedented
labor of love on the part of the living in behalf of the dead. It makes
necessary a vast undertaking of family history research to find and identify
those who have gone before. To assist in this research, the Church coordinates
a family history program and maintains research facilities unmatched in
all the world. Its archives are open to the public and have been used
by many who are not members of the Church in tracing their forebears.
This program has been praised by genealogists throughout the world and
has been utilized by various nations as a safeguard of their own records.
But its primary purpose is to afford members of the Church the resources
needed to identify their ancestors that they might extend to them the
blessings that they themselves enjoy. They in effect say to themselves,
"If I love my wife and children so dearly that I want them for all
eternity, then should not my deceased grandfather and great-grandfather
and other forebears have opportunity to receive the same eternal blessings?" And so these sacred buildings are scenes of tremendous
activity, quietly and reverently carried forward. They call to mind a
part of the vision of John the Revelator wherein are recorded this question
and this answer: "What are these which are arrayed in white robes?
and whence came they? . . . "These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. "Therefore are they before the throne of God,
and serve him day and night in his temple" (Revelation
7:13–15). Those who come to these holy houses are arrayed in
white as they participate therein. They come only on recommendation of
their local ecclesiastical authorities, having been certified as to their
worthiness. They are expected to come clean in thought, clean in body,
and clean in dress to enter the temple of God. As they enter they are
expected to leave the world behind them and concentrate on things divine.
Surely these temples are unique among all buildings.
They are houses of instruction. They are places of covenants and promises.
At their altars we kneel before God our Creator and are given promise
of His everlasting blessings. In the sanctity of their appointments we
commune with Him and reflect on His Son, our Savior and Redeemer, the
Lord Jesus Christ, who served as proxy for each of us in a vicarious sacrifice
in our behalf. Here we set aside our own selfishness and serve for those
who cannot serve themselves. Here, under the true priesthood power of
God, we are bound together in the most sacred of all human relationships—as
husbands and wives, as children and parents, as families under a sealing
that time cannot destroy and death cannot disrupt. These sacred buildings were constructed even during
those dark years when the Latter-day Saints were relentlessly driven and
persecuted. They have been built and maintained in times of poverty and
prosperity. They come from the vital faith of an ever-growing number who
bear witness of a living God, of the resurrected Lord, of prophets and
divine revelation, and of the peace and assurance of eternal blessings
to be found only in the house of the Lord. |
Was there ever a man or
woman who, in a time of quiet introspection, has not pondered the solemn
mysteries of life?
We come into this life as children of mortal parents
and as members of families. Parents are partners with God in bringing
to pass His eternal purposes with reference to His children. The family,
therefore, is a divine institution, the most important both in mortality
and in eternity.
This very exercise, if such it may be called, carries
with it a reward of its own, for who in these times of stress would not
welcome an opportunity to shut out the world and enter into the Lord's
house, there to ponder quietly the eternal things of God? These sacred
precincts offer the opportunity, available nowhere else, to learn of and
reflect on the truly meaningful things of life—our relationship to
Deity and our eternal journey from a premortal state into this life and
on to a future estate where we shall know and associate one with another,
including our own loved ones and our forebears who have preceded us and
from whom has come our inheritance of things of the body, mind, and spirit.