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Sunday, October 12, 2008
Temples
Temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are holy buildings dedicated to the Lord. A temple is also called the house of the Lord. It is a place where worthy Church members receive saving ordinances and make sacred covenants with God. In temples families can be sealed together forever. Today it is the religious symbol of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints throughout the world. Copied from http://www.lds.org/hf/art/display/1,16842,4218-1-5-135,00.html
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DOES GOD LIVE IN THE TEMPLE?
In churches everywhere, among all christians, it should be commonly known that our bodies are a temple. This should be recognized as a metaphor. It is to to say that our body is a house that can contain the presence of God within it. Which presence we recognize as the Holy Spirit, which is always with us.
Now Mormons do not believe God literally lives inside of them, but I can say Mormons believe the life and love of Christ can indeed be in side us as a well of living water flowing out from our inner most being (in order to bring life and love to the rest of the world).
Now if you see the well of living waters as the Holy Spirit, then God lives inside of us. But if you see that this is in reference to the fruit the spirit gives, then the Mormon take that we feel God's influence without him living inside us is still correct. For are the fruits the Spirit gives us to taste the same as God inside us literally? Or is that fruit we eat just the life God gives for our faith in Him?
Now it should be known:
The Holy Spirit is a personage of Spirit. He can only be in one spot at once, but his influence can be felt everywhere at the same time. The Holy Spirit can enter into our bodies, as all spirits can, but as a ghost can only haunt one house at a time... so does the holy spirit dwell in only one temple at a time. And yet the influence of God is in all things, even all the earth. For heaven is God's thrown room, and earth is his footstool. Therefore does God only live in one temple? I tell you he he does not live in one temple, but that he lives in Heaven.
He who has ears, let him understand.
WHO IS WORTHY TO GO TO THE TEMPLE?
Mormons believe people must first be baptized, a member of one year, and then pass a series of temple recommend questions.
Well, most Mormons do anyway. (I am an exception, and disagreeing with priesthood authority is ironically why I'm "unworthy" to go. Thinking outside the box somehow auto-labels me as an apostate despite my best efforts. *sigh*)
You can google what these questions are yourself, so I won't go ahead and tell you what they are here.
What I will say is, however, I personally believe they are in direct violation to God's law. The Temple recommend questions are centered around determining if a man is worthy of salvation based upon his ability to keep the deeds written within the law rather than his faith in Jesus Christ and the atonement. Which, as every good Christian SHOULD no, NO MAN IS JUSTIFIED BY HIS KEEPING OF THE LAW FOR ALL HAVE FALLEN SHORT OF THE GLORY OF GOD.
If we are to judge a man worthy of salvation based upon his ability to keep the law, then Christ is dead in vain. For in due time Christ DID die for the ungodly in the weakness of sins. So that we, while yet being unable to overcome sin, may yet overcome in our sins because of our faith in Jesus Christ. And that faith will give us grace to overcome sin, death, and the grave, making us perfect in ways we cannot do for ourself. And yet it is not becoming perfect (without sin) that makes us worthy. But the faith that gave Christ the power to bring us there before it ever even happened.
So thus I conclude that I must say Haggai 2:11-14 applies to this situation today. If no unclean thing may enter into the temple, lest the temple becomes defiled, then "So is this people, and so is this nation before me, saith the Lord; and so is every work of their hands; and that which they offer there is unclean."
Know this: No man is worthy according to the deeds of the law except for Jesus Christ himself, whom we have faith in, hoping that we may one day appear before God to be like him. Being purged of sins because of our faith, and not our own doing. Being worthy of all blessings because of our faith that drove us to do our best to follow God, and not our ability to actually do so.
All with faith are worthy, let God ALONE be the judge if an individual has enough faith for all of heavens rewards at the great and last day.
WHAT SAVING ORDINANCES TAKE PLACE WITHIN THE TEMPLE?
There are family sealings, eternal marriage sealings, and the first and second endowment. Personally I think it should end at marriage and family sealings. I think the endowments are idolatrous rituals, but I'll get into that in just a moment.
It is a true doctrine that families can be together forever, and that we can be married to our husbands/wives for time and all eternity. Now I'm aware people say that because fashions of this world pass away, so will family and marriage relations. However I'm here to be a little bit in your face and say that that is a lie from the devil.
"Fashions of the world" is in reference to all that is wicked. This should be common sense since the Bible continually uses "the world" to represent the wicked who live without God. So then must ask you... Is your relations with your family and loved ones is wicked? If so, why not cut off those relations now?
All things that are good are eternal. Families and marriages are good, therefore they can be eternal is we have God as the binding cord. As, it should be no surprise to Christians, that without God in the marriage, family, and home... things are at a time bomb of falling apart if we do not allow the savior to step in.
The Mormons believe God uses priesthood authority as a means of power to bind families and loved one together for time and all eternity. This is not evil because there is a practical aspect to having such ordinances done. Having real and tangible like that to do makes eternity together more real for us, and thus gives us a drive to truly make that happen.But lose sight of that, forget we made a covenant before God, and you better believe it... those relationships are going to come apart.
The endowment, in my humble opinion, is not only a total rip off of Free Masonry. It is filthily mocking the laws of God. The first endowment promises a man heir to the highest kingdom of heaven if he/she continues to do his or her best. And, believe it or not, breaking promises to keep certain laws such as the law of chastity lands a man in the excommunication court. Cutting him/her off from the covenant for not keeping the deeds written within the law. Even if it was just a moment of weakness, it doesn't matter, excommunicated.
The second endowment is what the priesthood leaders believe makes a man's calling and election sure. Thus they also believe that if a man is excommunicated after their calling and election is made sure through a second endowment that they become a son of perdition.
There are problems with this on many levels. Primarily being: all believers in Christ are heir to the promise of eternal life. Next, that non-members may also have their calling and election made sure. God calls upon things that are not as though they already were, because He's God and knows all things. Therefore a man may be called of the covenant for his exceeding great faith in his heart of Christ while yet living without the covenant by the letter. It is possible because God speaks the promise over a person, and so it shall be.
Again, what's more, the promise given within the first endowment is not what will get you into the Celestial kingdom. You can have all the good works in the world, but without Christ be cast out. And yet a pothead may enter in if he has all faith in Christ. Now Mormons may laugh at this because they cast druggies out of the temple, saying they are less worthy, but God sees the heart and not a man's works. This is always what I loved about God! Jesus Christ sat down to eat and drink with sinners that the pharisees esteemed as filth.
Are the prophets and apostles today then no better than the pharisees? I tell you they too would send Christ off to the courts to be cut off from the church. The leaders today would excommunicate Christ, and nail him to the cross. For although they sit in Moses seat, and wear fine apparel, I am convinced they forget the outward appearance of godliness speaks nothing of the heart.
MY TESTIMONY
Now do I judge the prophets for keeping the endowment inside the temple? Nay, I see them as children believing the words of their earthly fathers. But might I add... Joseph Smith was went to Carthrage jail for distroying a printing press that was to reveal his practice of plural wives inside the temple, but without marriage in the world. Then it was a mob of anger Free Masons that came to kill him. Why? Well, because it's death to reveal the Free Masonic ritual. Didn't you know Joseph Smith swore an oath in Free Masonic rituals not to reveal their secrets? And yet he went off and not only broke a worldly covenant, but also polluted the Lord's temple. We've been astray for a LONG time my friend. Go figure, God always does what we say he would never allow.
Now I still testify to young that Joseph Smith is a prophet, and the Book of Mormon is the word of God. For has God not given I, and all the Mormon converts, this testimony? Yeah, he has. And I shall cleave onto the words of the Lord desperately, for letting them go is a spiritual death sadder than any fleshly pains within this world.
I witness to you also of a truth: those who believe in Jesus Christ shall have a well of living waters within them, that flows throughout their whole body unto eternal life. The fruits of the spirit are love, joy, peace, kindness, meekness, gentleness, temperance, mercy, and all other attributes that are godly and cannot be truly be defined by worldly description. God loves us all, and if you knew what I knew... You too would what nothing less than to be with God for time and all eternity. What a wonderful God that we serve, yea, even one who can do NO evil!
And so yes, I can tell you that I know Jesus Christ lives, he is the c=savior and redeemer of the world, sent of the father to help us return to heaven.
And I leave all my thoughts with you, whether they be perfect or not, in name of Jesus Christ, amen.
I am for you, and not against you in as much as you are for God and not against him. Whose side am I on? God's as much as it is within me... with all energy in heart.
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