The Mormon Temple Part 1

When sharing your faith with the basing. It helps to know what their church is taught in several basic topics. For this reason foreman is a research ministry has provided its crash course Mormonism crash course, Mormonism includes concise articles highlighting what LDS leaders and church manuals have taught on issues that will probably come up in a typical conversation. You can find these informative articles and crash course Mormonism.com that's crash course Mormonism.com .1 Mormonism program that examines the teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints from a biblical perspective view .1 Mormonism is sponsored by Mormonism research ministry since 1979 Mormonism research ministry has been dedicated to equipping the body of Christ with answers regarding the Christian faith in a manner that expresses gentleness and respect. And now, your host for today's viewpoint on Mormonism. Why are Latter Day Saints anxious to build temples welcome to this edition of viewpoint on Mormonism on your host, Bill McKeever, founder and director Mormonism research ministry and with me today is Eric Johnson. My colleague at MRM will if you've ever driven through the state of Utah going down the I 15 core door north to south or even south to north, you'll probably notice a lot of ordinate buildings. These are temples that are built by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. They are not where Morgan's go on Sunday to worship, that would be done in a chapel, but temples have a particular reason for being built and this is what we want to talk about this week. George q. Cannon on December 3, 1871 and this is recorded in the Journal of discourses, volume 14, page 320. He said, why is it that we are so anxious to build temple, hence the question that I asked at the beginning of the show.

He goes on to say it is that we may attend to ordinances necessary for the salvation of the living and the dead, that we may be baptized for our ancestors who died without having the privilege of hearing and obeying the gospel that you've heard us many times on this show criticize the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints for its insistence that what they believe and what they do is patterned after the first century church. They use the word restored. They have what they call eight restored gospel. In other words, they argue that the gospel as we outside of the LDS church believe is not really the true gospel it was necessary for God to call Joseph Smith to restore what was there. Originally, as they believe in the first century church, the temple would also be what they call a restoration you're going to hear us say probably several times throughout the series that what Latter Day Saints do in their temples is not even close to what Christians did in the temple. Why, because many Jewish believers came to faith in Christ. They realize that it was not with the blood of goats and calves, but with Christ's own blood he entered the most holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption for them. You do not see anywhere in the New Testament the Christians making it a point or being anxious to build temples, they just did not do that. It was not something that Christians concern themselves with. So if in fact temple worship is a restoration as Latter Day Saints are led to believe.

Why is it so conspicuously missing from not only history but from the New Testament when George Cannon says this in 1871. Why is it that we are so anxious to build temples. I remember when we started to do open house outreaches. When a temples about ready to be open now open this up for the public that can go through the temple and without really knowing much of what's going on in there because they don't tell you, but you can see how beautiful the building is but our first Temple outreach.

We did was in 1993 that was a while back. It was number 45, the San Diego Temple was number 45. Well, by the year 2026. They will have more than 250 temples so that is amazing in it and about a 40 year span to have built so many so there still anxious to build temples and for many Latter Day Saints. It's the reason why they are Latter Day Saints because it's supposedly at the temple where they can be sealed not only to their spouse but to their children forever, and that they have the opportunity to be able to help their ancestors have a second chance of salvation. But Eric, don't you find it conspicuous that you have George q. Cannon, who was a member of the first presidency saying that it's that we may attend to ordinances necessary for the salvation of the living that would be living Latter Day Saints as well as for the dead and of course in that context, it would be the relatives of that particular member. This is what Latter Day Saints do in their temples.

Most of what is done in any temple owned by the LDS church throughout the world are ordinances for the dead, giving the opportunity for dead ancestors to hear the restored gospel as it's understood in spirit prison where they are residing. We'll see any of this. In the New Testament, and this is why I think it's important to keep stressing this folks, this is not a restoration at all.

This is entirely unique to the LDS church. You do not see anywhere in history. Or, as I said anywhere mentioned in the New Testament where Christians were as George q. Cannon says anxious to build temples. In fact, I meant to suggest that 100% of the work that was being done in the Jerusalem Temple was done on behalf of the living but in Latter Day Saints temples is been estimated that more than 95% of all the work that's being done is done on behalf of the debt. This is why Latter Day Saints spends so much time with genealogy. They're very good at this, but they are responsible to find out the names of people who have lived in their family so they can go and do this work that will allow the spirit missionaries to visit them in spirit prison. This is a doctrine of the church so 95% of the work being done for the debt on and off a lot of people realize that Bill Moorman might argue will bill they didn't need to be anxious about building temples because at that time the Christian church was very small and very centrally located in Jerusalem, and so they had a temple there will still stink through that argument should a Latter Day Saints be thinking that way you really suppose for a moment that if the Christians living in Jerusalem felt that they had to go to the temple in Jerusalem to perform these supposed ordinances that the Jewish religious leaders would allow this band of heretics to come into their building to do something that they don't even recognize it's ridiculous to even assume such a story. There is no way for instance, a group of Christians in the first century. After going to the local church and having a night where we all go to the temple and they do this in the context of Mormonism and let's say they want to go to the temple to be baptized for the dead could they go to the Jerusalem Temple and say that we have a group of about 30 or 40 people here from our local church is it okay if we use your facilities to baptize for our data do you think that if such a scenario was even remotely possible that the religious leaders. The protectors of that temple would allow something like that that happen. Not very likely that you have this statement made by an LDS apostle by the name of Mark E.

Peterson in a publication titled why Mormons build temples on page 3. This is what Peterson says in biblical times. Sacred ordinances were administered in holy edifices for the spiritual salvation of ancient Israel.

The buildings thus used were not synagogues nor any other ordinary places of worship. They were specially constructed for this particular purpose. Following the pattern of biblical days the Lord again in our day has provided these ordinances for all who will believe and directs that temples be built in which to perform those sacred rights. First of all, let's go back to what Peterson said at the beginning of that citation in biblical times.

Sacred ordinances were administered in holy edifices really there were holy edifices like temples in biblical times. I don't think so. It's not that archaeologist have failed to find what they say are temples built in other areas outside of Jerusalem.

Take for instance the temple that was discovered at a rod which is down in the Negev desert but were those legitimate buildings. Archaeologist don't go that far.

They would say no. Certainly there are buildings that have been found that seem to be patterned after the temple in Jerusalem, but they were not recognized by the God of the Bible, the God of the Bible had a very specific location where that temple was going to be and we find that this is mentioned in first Kings 1136 and another reference is made in first Kings 1421. What do those passages say Eric first Kings 1136 has yet to his son I will give one tribe that David my servant may always have a lamp before me in Jerusalem, the city where I have chosen to put my name and then first Kings 1421 says now ramble on, the son of Solomon reigned and Judah ran bomb was 41 years old when he began to rain and he reigned 17 years in Jerusalem, the city that the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel to put his name there. The city that God shows no there was also a temple built by Jeroboam in Bethel that was not recognized by the God of the Bible but yet even though someone may build these buildings does not automatically mean that those buildings were sanctioned by the God of the Bible that maybe these people were well-meaning. Maybe they were just corrupt their motive is really irrelevant when you have scriptural support for the fact that there would be one temple, and that would be in Jerusalem know another passage that are to be considered is in John chapter 4 when Jesus has a conversation with the Samaritan woman. The Samaritans were very big on worshiping there in Samaria.

This is what the woman said to Jesus in verse 19 of chapter 4 of John Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship Jesus said to her, woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. We worship the father you worship what you do not know. We worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews and of course she's referring to Mount Garrison name, which is in that location. You can still go visit Mount kerosene to this day.

You can drive up to the top of it and look down and actually see the portion which was known as ancient Shechem. But Jesus is correcting this woman who felt that what she was doing was accepted.

She was no doubt well-meaning as we could assume perhaps that a lot of these other buildings that were scattered around Israel were done by well-meaning people. Maybe they were corrupted again. It doesn't matter. The fact is, those buildings were not recognized as the proper place. So why would we assume that the buildings that the Latter Day Saints are building all over the world would be accepted as the proper place, and again that's not even touching the subject of what they are doing in those buildings which we want to continue looking at in tomorrow show. Thank you for listening you would like more information is research ministry. We encourage you to visit our website www.mrm.org you can request a free newsletter Mormonism research. We hope you will join us again as we look at another viewpoint is answering Mormons questions by Bill McKeever Gary Johnson deals with 36 commonly asked questions by your LDS friends and neighbors. It's a great resource for Christians want to share their faith with friends and loved ones. Be sure to pick up your copy today at your favorite Christian bookstore