Mormon Temples
During the ministry of Jesus Christ, He entered the temple and was upset by what He found. The temple was filled with money changers and sellers, turning a sacred place into a common market.
“12 And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves,
13 And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.” (Matthew 21, King James version of the Bible)
He cleared them from the temple and then went to work using it for spiritual purposes.
Mormons today build many temples, as did the Christians in Biblical times. Just as Jesus required the temples to be treated as sacred and holy, Mormons too consider their temples sacred houses of God.
When Mormon temples are first built, they’re open to the public for a short time. Once they’re dedicated (prayed over and given to the Lord) they are closed to those who do not have permission to enter. In order to receive a regular temple recommend, a person must be an adult who is a member of the church in good standing. He or she must have been a member of the church for at least one year, in order to have a solid understanding of the gospel and to have demonstrated a commitment to living God’s commandments. He will be interviewed to demonstrate he is living his religion to a high level.
Why do Mormons have these requirements for their temples? One purpose of temples is to teach us about God and Jesus Christ. While what is taught is not different from what is taught in regular classes, it is taught at a higher level and those attending the temple make covenants (promises) to God to live what is taught. God has higher expectations for those who attend the temple, and one must be ready to make that commitment and know he can keep it.
It’s similar to deciding to pursue an education in physics. When you begin your education, you don’t begin in the highest level of classes. You begin at the beginning, and as your knowledge and skills increase, you’re given access to harder classes and more responsibility. The same is true in the workplace. No one starts at the top of a corporation straight out of school. First you prove yourself and gain knowledge and experience, and then you’re given more responsibility. With those greater responsibilities also come greater penalties for refusing to obey the rules and do what is required. While a person new to the company in the lowest level might be given a gentle warning, a top executive faces stronger penalties for failure.
God, being entirely fair, wants to help us succeed. He doesn’t give us the greater responsibility until we are prepared and have shown we can keep lesser covenants. Then He grants us access to the greater covenants, with their greater rewards, but also with greater expectations. God requires us to make these covenants, but He will also hold us to a higher standard when our judgment day arrives after our death once we’ve made them.
Several important things happen within the temple. One special ordinance is temple marriage. Within the temple, a couple can be married not just for this life, but forever, remaining a family even after death if they keep their covenants and do what is necessary to return to God’s presence. God has made very clear His feelings on divorce, and so He would never force a loving couple to divorce simply because one of them died. In the same way, children can be joined with their families forever. Who really wants to live forever without their family? Most people, even those who claim not to believe it, do believe it in their hearts. We regularly hear people at funerals say, “I’m so glad Mom and Dad are together again in Heaven.” Often they express a feeling that a parent is watching over them from Heaven, demonstrating an instinctive knowledge that the loving family relationship continues even after death.
Another ordinance that occurs is proxy baptism. This is a frequently misunderstood ordinance. In this ordinance, a person age twelve or older is baptized for someone who died without the opportunity to be baptized a member of the church. However, the baptism can’t occur until the person has been dead at least one year. Mormons teach that the gospel will be taught to them in Heaven and they then choose whether or not to accept it. If they reject it, it is as if the baptism never happened. God will simply ignore the ordinance that was performed. At no time does God take away our right to choose which church to join.
Members who go to the temple also receive, as was said earlier, instruction in gospel principles. They make a personal commitment to live those principles to the very best of their ability.
Great effort is made to keep the temple a peaceful, spiritual place, respectful of its title as a house of God. Those who attend dress in white and speak only in the softest voices and only the kindest, most spiritual words. It’s a place of escape from the world for a brief time, an opportunity to strengthen our relationship with the Savior.
