LDS Why Do Mormons Build Temples?

[John Davidson]

Mormonism claims to be the restoration of the early church and yet the early church did not build temples.

Also, the NT refers to the body of Christ as the Temple.

So why do Mormons believe we need Temples?

 

[Ironhold]

There's a statement right on the church website literally answering that question directly.

https://www.lds.org/church/temples/why-we-build-temples?lang=eng

 

[John Davidson]

There's a statement right on the church website literally answering that question directly.

https://www.lds.org/church/temples/why-we-build-temples?lang=eng

Excerpt from the article:

"When the gospel of Jesus Christ was restored in the early 1800s, the Lord again commanded His people to build temples (see D&C 88:119; see also section 95)."

So we are supposed to believe this prophecy of Joseph Smith is a command from God to begin building Temples?

Since I don't believe JS was a prophet, I don't buy into your logic.

 

[John Davidson]

In a way you didn't answer my question.

Which was: "Why do Mormons build Temples when the early Church did not".

 

[fatboys]

Excerpt from the article:

"When the gospel of Jesus Christ was restored in the early 1800s, the Lord again commanded His people to build temples (see D&C 88:119; see also section 95)."

So we are supposed to believe this prophecy of Joseph Smith is a command from God to begin building Temples?

Since I don't believe JS was a prophet, I don't buy into your logic.

John you were a member once. You really don't know why we build temples?
Joseph Smith received revelation about their purpose and the need to build them. Do you believe in the old Testiment and the reasons they built the tabernacle? And have you ever heard of the Holies of Holies and whoncould gone into it?

 

[John Davidson]

John you were a member once. You really don't know why we build temples?
Joseph Smith received revelation about their purpose and the need to build them. Do you believe in the old Testiment and the reasons they built the tabernacle? And have you ever heard of the Holies of Holies and whoncould gone into it?

There was a temple in the OT but that was an old covenant.

Christ testified that the temple would be destroyed and that his body is now the temple.

 

[John Davidson]

So the answer I am getting here is that "Mormons build temples because Joe Smith said so."

 

[withwonderingawe]

So the answer I am getting here is that "Mormons build temples because Joe Smith said so."

There is a great deal in the New Testament which if one knows what they're looking for which we believe shows they did have temples. But, one could say Joseph just borrowed it from the Bible. As an example;

*John 20:30 And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book

The word signs is sēmeion in the greek and means; a sign, mark, token. When a Mormon hears that they sit up and take notice.

*Matt 16: 19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Matt 17:3 And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias/Elijah talking with him.

This happened to Joseph when he was given the keys of the gathering, Peter had them too.

*1 Cor 15: 29 Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?

That is one of the purposes of having the keys of the kingdom,

*Eph 1& 3
9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:

14 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
15 Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,

This gathering of the family of God into one, another purpose of those keys.

*Eph 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

*Heb 10
19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,
20 By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
21 And having an high priest over the house of God;
22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised

The house of God is the temple Jesus is our high priest, we are consecrated through the veil.

There's more but I think you can see my point, you will understand these passages differently than we will

 

[John Davidson]

There is a great deal in the New Testament which if one knows what they're looking for which we believe shows they did have temples. But, one could say Joseph just borrowed it from the Bible. As an example;

*John 20:30 And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book

The word signs is sēmeion in the greek and means; a sign, mark, token. When a Mormon hears that they sit up and take notice.

*Matt 16: 19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Matt 17:3 And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias/Elijah talking with him.

This happened to Joseph when he was given the keys of the gathering, Peter had them too.

*1 Cor 15: 29 Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?

That is one of the purposes of having the keys of the kingdom,

*Eph 1& 3
9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:

14 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
15 Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,

This gathering of the family of God into one, another purpose of those keys.

*Eph 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

*Heb 10
19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,
20 By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
21 And having an high priest over the house of God;
22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised

The house of God is the temple Jesus is our high priest, we are consecrated through the veil.

There's more but I think you can see my point, you will understand these passages differently than we will

None of those verses state that Christians should build temples.

If God intended Christians to build temples don't you think he would have written it in his word?

 

[withwonderingawe]

None of those verses state that Christians should build temples.

If God intended Christians to build temples don't you think he would have written it in his word?

I think it was sacred as that passage in John 20 states
30 ¶And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book:
31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

They wrote their Gospel to bring the reader to Christ but there were other things which they were careful not to discuss out side their circle.
Luke wrote;
3 It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus,
4 That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed

In 1Cor 3 Paul said speaking to church members
1 And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.
2 I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.

But about 15 years later whoever it was writing to the church in Hebrews says;
"Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation....." 6:1

He then goes into the priesthood and I think he was talking about the oath and covenant of the New and Everlasting covenants we make in the temple.

 

[John Davidson]

I think it was sacred as that passage in John 20 states
30 ¶And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book:
31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

They wrote their Gospel to bring the reader to Christ but there were other things which they were careful not to discuss out side their circle.
Luke wrote;
3 It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus,
4 That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed

In 1Cor 3 Paul said speaking to church members
1 And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.
2 I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.

But about 15 years later whoever it was writing to the church in Hebrews says;
"Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation....." 6:1

He then goes into the priesthood and I think he was talking about the oath and covenant of the New and Everlasting covenants we make in the temple.

And yet none of that scripture mentions building temples.

 

[ArmenianJohn]

I think it was sacred as that passage in John 20 states
30 ¶And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book:
31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

How do you get from that passage anything about temples or anything being "sacred"? It's saying that while Jesus did many signs in the presence of the Disciples not all are being written in the book. It goes on to say that what is written is for those who read to believe that Jesus is Christ, the Son of God, and that believing we might have life through his name. It's saying that what is written is sufficient for those who read it to have faith.

There's nothing in there about temples or "sacred" unrevealed signs that are necessary for anything.

The idea that there is hidden information is occultism. "Occult" means "hidden". It stems from paganism and especially witchcraft which teaches that there are hidden secrets in our world that may only be passed on to those "worthy" to receive the information. The information is guarded by the witches who possess the knowledge and they mete it out to those they judge to be worthy. This system is the basis for Freemasonry which is essentially a modernized version of witchcraft. Freemasonry, in turn, is the basis for Mormonism. That's why Mormonism is an occult religion.

But Christianity is not occultic. There is no secret to Christianity and there is nothing hidden. There are no "sacred" buildings since there is not physical temple as there was prior to Christ. There is no need for a Temple anymore. The only need for the Temple was for the priests to make sacrifices. Christ is the final sacrifice. There are no current sacrifices.

They wrote their Gospel to bring the reader to Christ but there were other things which they were careful not to discuss out side their circle.
Luke wrote;
3 It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus,
4 That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed

And then Luke goes on to discuss and tell that information which he had previously not discussed. He doesn't just end with a mysterious message having "perfect understanding of all things from the very first" and then nothing - he is introducing and setting up what he goes on in the chapter to tell Theophilus.

I don't know how you are getting anything other than this from that passage.

In 1Cor 3 Paul said speaking to church members
1 And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.
2 I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.

And, again, Paul goes on to provide the meat that he is introducing in the verses you quoted.

If you had gone further in the chapter you'd have learned this "meat" teaching of Paul's:
16 Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? 17If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.

The sacred temple is the Church - the body of believers. We comprise the temple. The temple is not a building. This is the Christian belief and the passage above is the basis for that belief.

The mormon religion builds physical buildings that they call temples and those temples are fashioned not after Old Testament Jewish Temples but instead after Masonic Temples. They even have Masonic symbols throughout them. But the Bible teaches that this is wrong. Here you have the Apostle Paul making it clear.

But about 15 years later whoever it was writing to the church in Hebrews says;
"Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation....." 6:1

He then goes into the priesthood and I think he was talking about the oath and covenant of the New and Everlasting covenants we make in the temple.

No, he's not talking about the mormon priesthood or about mormon oaths. If he were, it would be easy for you to have pasted those verses in the same chapter, but there are no such verses. This part is speculation on your part and it's based not on the Bible but rather on mormon teachings. As I mentioned several times already, mormonism is based on (plagiarized from) Freemasonry, and the oaths and other secrets are virtually identical. The "grips" (secret handshakes) are directly from Masonry. The occult symbols and aprons are masonic, as well.

Mormon Temples are unique to mormonism except for the fact that they are plagiarized and copied from Freemasonry. It is only the mormon leaders who insist on building temples - Christians do not do this for we know that there is no use for a temple.

 

[withwonderingawe]

And yet none of that scripture mentions building temples.

Don't know that they actually built one, they may have used a home or any place where they could have privacy.

 

[John Davidson]

Don't know that they actually built one, they may have used a home or any place where they could have privacy.

If the early church (who included Christ's apostles) did not build temples, why should we?

 

[withwonderingawe]

If the early church (who included Christ's apostles) did not build temples, why should we?

Their world was preparing for "the falling away" ours is preparing for the second coming.

 

[John Davidson]

Their world was preparing for "the falling away" ours is preparing for the second coming.

So they refused to build temples because they were preparing for apostasy. Preposterous.

 

[withwonderingawe]

So they refused to build temples because they were preparing for apostasy. Preposterous.

No they didn't have the time and the Lord didn't command it, he too knew what was coming. The apostasy began while Peter, Paul and John were still alive and the priesthood authority to bind was gone in 65ad with the death of Peter.

Adam to Mosses they had an alter in the wilderness, a mountain of the Gods, Ex 3:6. Moses had a tent in the beginning and they went all the way down to Solomon before they had a temple.

 

[John Davidson]

No they didn't have the time and the Lord didn't command it, he too knew what was coming. The apostasy began while Peter, Paul and John were still alive and the priesthood authority to bind was gone in 65ad with the death of Peter.

Adam to Mosses they had an alter in the wilderness, a mountain of the Gods, Ex 3:6. Moses had a tent in the beginning and they went all the way down to Solomon before they had a temple.

The apostasy did not begin while apostles were still on earth. That's ridiculous.

If the early church did not need temples then we don't need them today.

 

[fatboys]

The apostasy did not begin while apostles were still on earth. That's ridiculous.

If the early church did not need temples then we don't need them today.

First off they were scattered in the area and unlike the Mormons who moved into one area.

 

[Rescued One]

So the answer I am getting here is that "Mormons build temples because Joe Smith said so."

More than that. It's a way of exercising mental control over members.