There has been a lot of buzz going around our neck of the woods lately. We live in an area very populated by Mormons and with the opening of their new temple in Gilbert, it's been a must see for many people. Normally the only people allowed in the temple are those who are part of the Mormon church and have what's called a temple recommend. But because the temple has not been dedicated yet, they opened the temple for public tours to anybody who wanted to see it. We were invited to go on a tour with our friends so out of curiosity we accepted their request. We also knew it would be good for our kids to have a view inside the Mormon temple and use this as a teaching moment as well since many of their peers are Mormon. So a few weeks ago we walked through the elaborate and beautifully decorated temple. It lived up to its reputation of beauty for sure, the detail was amazing, and it was neat to see inside of something that we normally would never get to be inside of. I walked away with a mind full of thoughts and spent the next few weeks processing what I saw and learned from that experience.
Much like the temple you read about in the Bible and the importance of it to God's people; the Mormons view their temple very much the same way. It's a sacred place for them, a place where they feel closest to God, a place where they feel God dwells. From a Biblical perspective I understand the importance of a temple, like the one Solomon built and then the 2nd temple built after the destruction of the first one. The temple you read about in 1 Kings was the place where God dwelled, in essence it housed God. It's other purpose was to make sacrifices to the Lord. The temple had great historical significance but this changed when God sent His one and only Son to Earth and died on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins. It was at this moment that the significance of the temple changed. It went from significant to totally insignificant. It lost it's meaning because God no longer needed a temple to dwell in because He now lived in us (those who believe in Him). As Jesus was breathing out His last breath on the cross it says; "Upon Jesus death on the cross and when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom (Matthew 27:50-51)." The curtain tearing from top to bottom was so symbolic because it showed we now had direct access to God through Jesus. We no longer had to send a priest into the Holy of Holies to get atonement for our sins, but we (Jews and Gentiles) now had direct access to God. At this moment, God moved out of the temple never to move into it again. Acts 17:24 “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands." And in addition to this our bodies became the temple of the Holy Spirit, 1 Cor. 6:19 "Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own..."
So what does all this have to do with my tour of the Mormon temple? I guess you can say that it really put things in perspective for me. I think we have come accustomed to associate God with a place instead of God with a person. There is no temple that can be made to house God. When we try to contain God to a place, we then put ourselves in a position where we gain control over God. God is simply too big and too glorious to be contained to any place and we of course can never control God. This doesn't mean that God doesn't dwell in our churches, but it's not the church building where he dwells, it's with the church body. "For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them (Matthew 18:20)." God can dwell in a living room, a park, a stadium, a car, wherever people are gathered in His name. We are not tied down to a specific location to be in the presence of God. I don't have to go to a temple or even my own church building to feel closeness to God. Often times the closeness I feel with God happens in the early morning hours as I sit at my kitchen table soaking in God's word and talking to Him.
When we were on our tour of the temple we entered into what's called an ordinance room, this room is a place where a person can pray and reflect on God's promises and feel closest to God. While we were in that room I asked my friend if the temple is the only place where they can feel this closeness to God and she answered with a simple yes. I pulled these quotes off an LDS website.
President Thomas S. Monson (president of the LDS church) says this: “I think there is no place
in the world where I feel closer to the Lord than in one of His holy temples.“
President Boyd K. Packer said this; "At the temple the dust of distraction seems to settle out, the fog and the haze seem to lift, and we can ‘see’ things that we were not able to see before and find a way through our troubles that we had not previously known.”
As much as I understand the significance of the Mormon temple to those who follow this religion, I see it much differently according to God's Word and the truths found in the Holy Bible. I think it's very clear in reading through the Old and New Testaments what is said about the temple and how it is very much insignificant nowadays. And what a wonderful thing because we have direct access to Christ and can approach the throne of Grace confidently. Hebrews 4:16 says; "Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."
And how exciting we have this to look forward to...
Rev. 21:22 I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
1 comment:
I toured the temple, too, and the first thing that struck me is how attractive the religion feels. Starting with the two lovely high school girls who graciously and maturely introduced the film, to the quiet and beautiful rooms we went through, it's not hard to see why it is such a fast growing global church. But I also thought about the same thing you did, Korri: that God is not housed in a temple anymore; he lives in our hearts and souls. Emmanuel! I was torn between wanting to go to a church that feels as beautiful and inviting, to praying fervently for all the people who don't understand the truth.
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