The House of The Lord
This verse is engraved on all of the temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
It was actually written on the first temple, a moveable temple that the children of Israel carried during their travels through the wilderness. They went through all the trouble of carrying a temple, why? To receive inspiration and guidance from The Lord. The same reason temples are used In the restored church today.
"Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God" - D&C 88:119
Ancient Temples
From the beginning of time The Lord has declared to his people to build temples.
The best know temple, mentioned in the Bible, was built in Jerusalem during the days of Soloman. This temple was destroyed in 587 B.C. but was rebuilt by Zerubbabel around 70 years later. This rebuilt temple was partially burned in 37 B.C. and was partially rebuilt by Herod the Great, the rebuilding continued in A.D. 64, but was destroyed by the Romans in A.D. 70.
Some people might think that the building of Temples seized with the coming of Jesus Christ, but by the temple being rebuilt after the coming of Christ we know that this was not the case. The adversary was strong in stopping the growth of a temple so close to after the ministry of Jesus Christ.
(Payson, Utah Temple - Under Construction)
Why so many Temples?
The LDS church has 144 operating temples, 15 under construction, and 14 announced all over the world. The Jews recognize only one temple in Jerusalem. So that may lead people to ask, Why do we need and recognize so many temples as Houses of The Lord?
Ancient Israelites needed only one temple at the time due to everything being geographically constricted. (You could now fit over 25 Israel's in the state of Alaska!) Now, due to growth in population and migration geographically all over the world it would be extremely difficult for members to go to one central location during there life to partake of these sacred temple ordinances.
Incidentally, there were also other places of worship in Israel besides the Jerusalem Temple, though worship was centralized in that Temple.
- Gideon's Shrine in the Easten Jezreel Valley (Judges 6:24-26)
- Solomon's high place at Gibeon (1 Kings 3:2-5)
- Elijah's altar on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18:30)
Today there are temples all the way from Utah, to Birmingham Alabama, to Johannesberg South Africa, and even Hong Kong!)
Baptisms for the Dead
Baptisms for the Dead are one of the ordinances of the gospel performed in The Lords holy temples.
Baptisms for the dead were not performed in the Jerusalem Temple, nor were any ordinances for the dead because Jesus Christ had not organized that work. Not until his visit to the spirit world between his death and resurrection (1 Peter 3:18-19, D&C 138). Baptisms for the dead were mentioned only after Christs resurrection (1 Corintians 15:29).
I had the blessing of going to the temple to do Baptisms for the Dead a couple of weeks ago. I somewhat knew what to expect, because this is a simple ordinance that I had already partaken of when I received my own baptism. There was just one difference. I went to the House of The Lord to do them for people who did not have the oppourtunity to do them while on this earth.
It was an incredible experience. With every baptism I could feel the spirit so strong, and it felt a little different. I was acting as an agent for the exhaltation of another persons immortal soul. In the temple, all the things of the world just seem to leave your mind and you can only focus on happy, spiritual things. I encourage everyone who can to go to experience this for yourself, and to gain a testimony of the temple and of the powers within.
Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of the water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
(John 3:5)
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