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Establish a House of God

Explore the spiritual significance of the temple and home connection, with insights on the Kirtland Temple timeline, building challenges, and sacrifices made by early Saints.

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Establish a House of God

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  1. Establish a House of God D&C 95,109,110

  2. Temple/Home Bible Dictionary Gary Stevenson, CR April 2009 • It is the most holy of any place of worship on the earth • Only the home can compare with the temple in sacredness • For me this suggests a sacred relationship between the temple and the home. Not only can we turn the doors of our homes to the temple, or the house of the Lord; we can make our homes a “house of the Lord”

  3. Sacred Homes, Sacred Temples

  4. “temples became an obsession. For the rest of his life, no matter the cost of the temple to himself and his people, (Joseph) made plans, raised money, mobilized workers, and required sacrifice: Richard Bushman, Rough Stone Rolling, 218 Kirtland Temple Timeline Dec 27, 1832 Establish a house D&C 88:119 June 1833 Conference held Construction on the temple began D&C 95:1-2,9,11,14-17

  5. What did the Lord reveal to Joseph Smith about HOW to build the Kirtland Temple?D&C 95:13-17 • The Lord revealed His plans for the Kirtland Temple in a vision to the First Presidency (Joseph Smith, Sidney Rigdon, and Frederick G. Williams). President Frederick G. Williams said they knelt together in prayer, and a model of the building “appeared within viewing distance. … After we had taken a good look at the exterior, the building seemed to come right over us.” When the temple was completed, Frederick G. Williams said it looked exactly as it had in the vision. (In The Revelations of the Prophet Joseph Smith, comp. Lyndon W. Cook [1981], 198.)

  6. Some of the workers suggested they build the temple with logs or boards. But Joseph Smith replied: “Shall we … build a house for our God, of logs? No. … I have a plan of the house of the Lord, given by himself; and you will soon see by this, the difference between our calculations and his idea of things” (quoted in Lucy Mack Smith, History of Joseph Smith, ed. Preston Nibley [1958], 230).

  7. Kirtland Temple Timeline Dec 27, 1832 Establish a house D&C 88:119 June 1833 Conference held Construction on the temple began D&C 95 three years of intense sacrifice of time and possessions March 1836 Prophet dedicated the temple Pentecostal manifestations of the Spirit D&C 109,110

  8. D&C 109:5What challenges were associated with building the temple? • How were the Saints blessed for the sacrifices they made in building the Kirtland Temple? • What sacrifices have you seen members of the Church make to receive temple blessings or to participate in temple work? • What are some sacrifices we could make to participate in temple work?

  9. John Joshua Tanner • God bless you, Father Tanner; your children shall never beg bread

  10. D&C 95:3-4,8-9,16-17; 109: 5,8,15,24WHY did the early saints build the Kirtland Temple?

  11. Purposes for building the Kirtland Temple

  12. D&C 109:75-77An Invitation to: ever be with Him • Invites mortals who occupy a polluted telestial planet where they cannot think of more than one thing at a time and generally only in finite terms to receive power that will enable them to journey to the real world where God lives: • “enthroned, with glory, honor, power, majesty, might, dominion, truth, justice, judgment, mercy, and an infinity of fulness, from everlasting to everlasting” • Making Sense of the D&C, Steven Harper

  13. Touch the temple • Even our young children have been encouraged to visit the temple grounds and touch the temple. President Thomas S. Monson once counseled, “As we touch the temple, the temple will touch us.” • Gary E Stevenson, CR April 2009 Jones blog

  14. Video Between Heaven and Earth • 13:18 Kirtland • 38:36 Holiness

  15. SundayMarch 27th, 1836 • Saints had gathered • for dedication • Building held 900 • 1000 in seats • 800 left outside • Rules for those attending dedication • All had to be in their seats by 9:00 (7:00) • No talking, whispering, laughing • No “menacing looks” • Children not allowed to run around

  16. Kirtland Temple DedicationSunday March 27,1836 • 9:00am • Presiding: Joseph Smith • Conducting: Sidney Rigdon • Reading of the 21st and 96th Psalms: Pres Rigdon • Choir: Ere the Veil is Rent in Twain • Opening Prayer: Pres Rigdon • Congregational Hymn: Oh Happy Souls Who Pray • Speaker: Pres Rigdon Matthew 8:18-20

  17. Kirtland Temple DedicationSunday March 27,1836 • Sustaining of Joseph Smith as Prophet, Seer and Revelator: Pres Rigdon • Congregational Hymn: Adam-Ondi-Ahman • Speaker and Sustaining of Other Church Leaders: Joseph Smith Jr • Congregational Hymn: How Pleased and Blessed Was I • Dedicatory Prayer (D&C 109) read by: Joseph Smith Jr • Choir: The Spirit of God Like a Fire is Burning • Acceptance of the Dedicatory prayer: Joseph Smith Jr • Administration Of the Sacrament

  18. Kirtland Temple DedicationSunday March 27,1836 • Testimonies Shared by the Following: • Joseph Smith Jr • Don Carlos Smith • Fredrick G Williams • David Whitmer • Hyrum Smith • Hosanna shout: Congregation • Speaker: Brigham Young • Speaker: David W Patten • Closing Prayer: Joseph Smith Jr • Meeting Ended About 4:00PM • Joseph Smith, History of the Church, 2:410-28

  19. The Second Pentecost • Beginning new dispensation • Apostles being sent out to do missionary work

  20. The Prophet Joseph Smith recorded that during a meeting in the temple on the evening of the dedication, “Brother George A. Smith arose and began to prophesy, when a noise was heard like the sound of a rushing mighty wind, which filled the Temple, and all the congregation simultaneously arose, being moved upon by an invisible power; many visions; and I beheld the Temple was filled with angels, which fact I declared to the congregation. The people of the neighborhood came running together (hearing an unusual sound within, and seeing a bright light like a pillar of fire resting upon the Temple), and were astonished at what was taking began to speak in tongues and prophesy; others saw glorious place” (History of the Church, 2:428).

  21. D&C 109How do we prepare? • The dedicatory prayer, the Prophet emphasized some responsibilities of Church members with regard to temples. What responsibilities did he emphasize?

  22. D&C 109Our responsibilities

  23. The temple is a place of holinessD&C 109:12-13 • “There is need occasionally to leave the noise and the tumult of the world and step within the walls of a sacred house of God, there to feel His spirit in an environment of holiness and peace” • Gordon B Hinckley, Ensign, Nov 1995, 53 Nauvoo Celestial Room Video

  24. Video • Holiness 38:36

  25. “I invite the Latter-day Saints to look to the temple of the Lord as the great symbol of your membership. • Howard W Hunter, Ensign, Nov. 1994, 8 ).

  26. Promises in the dedicatory prayerD&C 109 • President Howard W. Hunter, the 14th President of the Church, described these promises in the dedicatory prayer of the Kirtland Temple as “stirring and wonderful” (“The Great Symbol of Our Membership,” Ensign, Oct. 1994, 5). This prayer, he said, “continues to be answered upon us individually, upon us as families, and upon us as a people because of the priesthood power the Lord has given us to use in His holy temples” (Ensign, Oct. 1994, 4).

  27. D&C 109:11What are the promised blessings?

  28. Honorably Hold a Name and Standing • D&C 20:77 • We do not witness that we take upon us the name of Jesus Christ. (Rather), we witness that we are willing to do so…suggests that something else must happen before we actually take that sacred name upon us in the ultimate and most important sense” Dallin Oaks • D&C 109: 5,22,26,79

  29. Honorably Hold a Name and Standing These scriptures help us understand that the process of taking upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ that is commenced in the waters of baptism is continued and enlarged in the house of the Lord. As we stand in the waters of baptism, we look to the temple. As we partake of the sacrament, we look to the temple.

  30. Video • Help and Hope: 40:50

  31. “Let us be a temple-attending and a • temple-loving people. Let us hasten to the temple as frequently as time and means and personal circumstances allow. Let us go not only for our kindred dead, but let us also go for the personal blessing of temple worship, for the sanctity and safety which is provided within those hallowed and consecrated walls. The temple is a place of beauty, it is a place of revelation, it is a place of peace. It is the house of the Lord. It is holy unto the Lord. It should be holy unto us” • Howard W Hunter, (Ensign, Oct. 1994, 5).

  32. “Keep a picture of a temple in your home that your children may see it. Teach them about the purposes of the house of the Lord. Have them plan from their earliest years to go there and to remain worthy of that blessing” • Howard W. Hunter, Ensign, Nov. 1994, 8).

  33. D&C 109:7-9Pattern for our homes • Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin: • “The place to cure most of the ills of society is in the homes of the people. Building our homes as fortresses of righteousness for protection from the world takes constant labor and diligence. . . . • “In the plan of salvation, all families are precious instruments in the Lord’s hands to help direct His children toward a celestial destination. The righteous molding of an immortal soul is the highest work we can do, and the home is the place to do it. To accomplish this eternal work, we should make our homes gospel centered. When peace and harmony abound, the Holy Spirit will ever be present. The storms of the evil one can be stopped at the very entrance of our homes. . . . • “The Lord’s standards for building a temple apply also to building spiritual strength in our homes: ‘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 ). Do we heed this counsel from the Lord? Do we do what He asks? We would do well to build our homes according to this plan, or they are destined to fail” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1993, 85; or Ensign, May 1993, 69 ).

  34. Temples as a pattern for our Homes • Soft Voices • Prayer • Teaching and Learning • Teach, • Show, • Practice together, • Work individually • Love • Order Temple Worship, Merrill Bateman, BYU Women’s Conf, May 2008

  35. There exists a righteous unity between the temple and the home. Understanding the eternal nature of the temple will draw you to your family; understanding the eternal nature of the family will draw you to the temple. President Howard W. Hunter stated, “In the ordinances of the temple, the foundations of the eternal family are sealed in place.” • Gary E Stevensen, CR April 2009

  36. Next Week: Plan of Salvation

  37. “Willingness to take upon us the name of Jesus Christ can therefore be understood as willingness to take upon us the authority of Jesus Christ. According to this meaning, by partaking of the sacrament we witness our willingness to participate in the sacred ordinances of the temple” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1985, 102–3; or Ensign, May 1985, 81 ). • The process of taking upon us the name of Jesus Christ begins at baptism and is renewed when we take the sacrament (see D&C 20:77, 79 ). This process continues on to the temple (see D&C 109:22, 26, 79 ), and is not complete until we obtain exaltation. Elder Oaks continued:

  38. D&C 109What blessings did the Prophet pray for?

  39. D&C 109What blessings did the Prophet pray for?

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