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Show hy Page 6 Special Monnon Miracle Pageant Supplement Inc. Messenger-Enterpris- e, Latter-d- a BY JERRY CALL terned after Solomons Temple, although it could not be built with such costly materials. Each year, several thousand people who are not members of Saints attend the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-da- y Mormon Miracle Pageant held on the south slopes of the historic Manti Temple. As they admire the physical beauty of the temple itself, it is only natural for these visitors to wonder why temples Saint friends. Why do the seem so important to their Latter-da- y Mormons devote so much time and money to build and operate these beautiful edifices? What takes place in them? For the benefit of Pageant visitors who are not familiar with LDS beliefs, the following article outlines some aspects of Mormon doctrines concerning temples. Later Temples in Palestine During the centuries that followed, the Israelites in Babylon began to repent, and some of the exiles were allowed to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple. By the time of the ministry of Jesus of Nazareth, yet another structure, Herods Temple, had been built on the site of Solomons original temple. About 70 A.D., Jerusalem was again invaded and destroyed, this time by Roman soldiers under Titus. Once again, the existing temple was completely destroyed, and the Israelites were scattered as a people. From that day to the present time, no temple of the Lord has been built on that site, but there are prophecies that eventually another temple will be built there. It is clear, then, from the scriptural accounts found in both the Bible and the Book of Mormon, that temples played a central role in the lives of the covenant people of the Lord in ancient times. Indeed, one of the distinguishing marks of the covenant people has always been that they are temple builders. Furthermore, several ancient prophecies make it clear that temple building and temple worship were not to be limited to ancient peoples only. Isaiah prophesied that in the last days, the mountain of the Lords house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways . . . (Isaiah 2:2-3- Beginnings of Monnonism All of the fundamental doctrines and practices of the LDS Church today, including those relating to temple building and worship, can be traced back to the churchs founder and first president, Joseph Smith, Jr. (1805-44In 1820, Joseph was a boy living with his family on a farm near Palmyra, New York. Deeply concerned from an early age with religious matters, young Joseph was especially troubled by the confusion and strife which he witnessed among rival Christian sects in his own neighborhood. He was particularly baffled by the fact that competingministers from different denominations appealed to identical passages from the Bible to support exactly opposite views. "What is to be done? thought young Joseph. Who of all these parties is right; or, are they all wrong together? If any one of them be right, which is it, and how shall I know it? One day, while reading the Bible, Joseph was deeply impressed by a passage from the Book of James: If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God . . . and it shall be given him. Joseph determined to put James counsel to the test Retiring to a grove of trees near his fathers home, he offered the first vocal prayer of his life, asking God in simple faith to make known to him which of all the churches was right, and which he should join. Joseph later reported that on this occasion, he received a persona visitation from God the Father and Jesus Christ, who told Joseph that he should join none of the churches of his day, for all of them taught some false doctrines, and none of them had Gods authority to act in His name. Joseph also claimed that he received a divine appointment at this time to be a modern-da- y prophet of the Lord, with a mission to serve as an instrument in Gods hands in bringing to pass a restoration of the true Church of Jesus Christ to the earth. Thus, at the very outset, the concept of continuing revelation through a living prophet was established as one of the unique Saint religion. distinguishing features of the Latter-da-y From 1820 until his death in 1844, Joseph Smith claimed to receive many additional visions and revelations, including personal visits from such divine messengers as John the Baptist, Moses, Elijah, the ancient apostles Peter, James, and John, and others. According to Joseph, these servants of God from earlier times bestowed upon him and several associates all of the divine authorities and knowledge which they themselves had possessed in their own day. With this power and authority, Joseph Smith Church of Jesus was instructed formally to organize a latter-da- y Christ. This he did, on April 6, 1830. ). An Additional Book of Scripture Among the many divine messengers who instructed Joseph Smith was an ancient American prophet and historian named Moroni, who appeared to Joseph as a resurrected being in 1823, three years after the visitation from the Father and the Son. Moroni told Joseph that an inspired record describing the Lords dealings with the inhabitants ofthe Americas from about 600 B.C. to 400 A.D. had been preserved by prophets on gold plates. The plates had been deposited by Moroni himself, about 421 A.D., in a hill named Cumorah, situated only a few miles from the place where the Smith family was living in the 1820s. Joseph was told that he had been chosen by the Lord to translate this ancient book of scripture into English and publish it to the modern world. The completed translation of "The Book of Mormon (named after Moronis father, the principal compiler and abridger of the ancient records) was first published in 1830, the same year in which the restored church was legally organized under the laws of the State of New York. Ancient Israel Built Temples Readers of the Book of Mormon learned that the ancient inhabitants of the Americas were descendants of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, and that they consciously sought to preserve and continue the prophetic religion of their ancestors, the ancient Israelites. One of the most important aspects of that religion was the building of houses of the Lord, or temples. For example, the prophet Moses, who was raised up to deliver ancient Israel from Egyptian bondage, received divine instruc- - ). tions to construct a portable tabernacle which could accompany the camp of Israel in its wanderings in the wilderness. The tabernacle was a place where Gods glory could be manifest, where He could personally instruct His appointed servants, and where sacred ordinances could be performed by those who held priestly authority. Later, after the people ofIsrael were established in the land of Palestine, the Lord commanded King Solomon to construct a permanent temple in the city ofJerusalem. No expense was spared in the construction of this building; the most precious and costly materials-gol- d, silver, cedar wood, iron, copper, and hewn stone-wer- e used for the project. Highly skilled craftsmen and artisans worked for seven years on the temple. The completed structure, 60 cubits long, 20 cubits wide, and 30 cubits high, was not an unusually large building. But the exquisite workmanship and costly materials used in its construction made it one of the wonders of the ancient world. The dedicatory ceremonies ofSolomons temple were attended by dramatic manifestations of Jehovahs acceptance of the structure as His dwelling place on earth: a cloud of glory filled the temple, and fire from heaven came down and consumed the sacrifices on The divine messengers who instructed Joseph Smith quoted Isaiahs prophecies concerning the importance of temple building, explaining that this was an indispensable part of the "restoration of all things to be carried out by the Lord in the last days. Joseph Smith, in turn, successfully conveyed to the members ofthe new church his own sense of urgency abo.ut temple building. In 1836, in Kirtland, Ohio (near Cleveland), the first temple to be built in modern times was dedicated. The Saints were few in numbers at the time, and the resources available to them were meager. But they made the heavy sacrifices necessary to complete the temple. Tradition has it that somewomenofthe church ground up some of their best china dishes to be mixed into the exterior plaster, resulting in a unique glistening effect when the sun shone on the walls. As with Solomons Temple, the Kirtland Temple dedication was marked by impressive spiritual manifestations, in which the Savior Himself appeared to some church members. Other Pentecostal manifestations were recorded by many members in their journals at the time. The church also planned to build several temples in the state of Missouri, but these projects had to be postponed because of severe persecution and threats of violence, culminating in the infamous extermination order of Governor Lilburn Boggs, which commanded all Mormons to leave the state or be killed. Not long afterwards, the same intolerance and hostility also forced the Mormons to abandon Kirtland as a gathering place for church members. The Kirtland Temple eventually passed out of the hands of the church. Thus, the Saints were again without a temple. Seeking relief from persecution, the Saints next moved to Illinois. There they found refuge for a few years, during which time they founded several communities along the banks of the Mississippi River. The largest and most important of these settlements was named Nauvoo by the Prophet Joseph Smith, who derived the name from the Hebrew word meaning "beautiful the altar. Although Solomons Temple was larger and more costly than the Tabernacle carried by Israel in the wilderness, both had the same purposes, and both were used for the same ordinances. For several hundred years, Solomons Temple at Jerusalem was the spiritual center for Israelite worship and a symbol of national splendor and unity. Sadly, Israel experienced periods of apostasy, wickedness, and social disunity during these years, which brought forth divine calls to repentance from a series of prophets. These messengers warned that God would overthrow Israel as a nation and destroy their temple if they did not repent, but that they would be spared and prosper if they changed their ways. The prophecies and teachings of some ofthese men, such as Isaiah and Jeremiah, have been preserved in the Bible. A Temple in the New World place. Once again, one of the prophets highest priorities was to build a temple, for in an 1841 revelation the Lord said: "I command you, all ye my saints, to build a house iffito me; and I grant unto you a sufficient time to build a house unto me; . . . and if ye do not these The Book of Mormon records additional prophecies by some of Jeremiahs approximate contemporaries. One of these men was a resident of Jerusalem named Lehi, who was active as an inspired prophet about 600 B.C. Because of Lehis forthrightness in rebuking the people and their rulers for their wickedness, his life was in jeopardy. Lehi was told by the Lord that Jerusalem would things at the end of the appointment ye shall be rejected as a church. ... As work on the Nauvoo Temple began in earnest, the relentless persecution that had pursued the Mormons from the very beginning was once again brought to bear. It became clear that the members ofthe church would probably have to move out of Illinois, in an attempt to distance themselves from their enemies. Nevertheless, they refused to be deterred from their efforts to complete the temple, since they looked upon their assigned task as a commandment of the Lord. It was during this time that the Latter-da- y Saints suffered one of the most traumatic blows in their history. On June 27, 1844, the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were shot to death in Carthage, Illinois. The by a mob of militant forces in Illinois were confident that if leaders ofthe they succeeded inkilling J oseph Smith, Monnonism would quickly soon be conquered and subjugated by foreign nations because of the peoples failure to heed the warnings of the prophets. Lehi was directed to take his own family and a small group of other families and depart into the wilderness. They were promised that they would be led to another promised land which would be given to them as their inheritance as long as they remained righteous. Following these instructions, Lehis party left Jerusalem and sailed to the Americas, only a few years before the Babylonian invasion and captivity which saw Israel broken up as a nation, and its magnificent temple completely destroyed. Several hundred years would pass before the exiled Israelites would be permitted to return to Jerusalem and build another temple. However, there was still a temple of the Lord on the earth during this time, for Lehis son, Nephi, himself an inspired prophet, was commanded by the Lord to build a temple on the American continent. Nephis own record states that his temple was pat-- ' Planning on a Temple Wedding? Early Mormon Temples cl anti-Mormo- ns anti-Morm- die (Continued on Page 7) Palisade State Golf Course ana 3D We are right here In Mantf to cover your wedding with beautiful photographyl 33bfJ33J Restored elegant old English manor located in quiet area, 2 blocks from Main Street In Manti. Creative Weddings Bridals Wedding Invitations Wedding Accessories Groups for all occasions Restoration Sam Day Film Processing 835-284- 4 21 N. Main, Manti We have packages to fit any budget. Quality, Guaranteed Work, and Economical! t out Museum quality antiques and collectables, including a library loft, 4 pianos, 2 organs, and other Interesting memorabilia, located throughout the manor. 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