Mormon Bloggers

~by Becky Seeing the prophet’s jet heading towards the Safford airport caused great excitement! It’s the little white line at the top of the mountain. We had made signs to welcome the prophet and got construction barricades for the signs to be put on. We heard the news that the prophet would be landing around 2:00 so we decided to wait at the end of my in-laws drive way so we could wave to him as he drove by. We had no idea that we were in for the treat of a lifetime! Here comes his slew of cars…. The prophet instructed his driver to pull over. It almost caused the cars behind his to rear end each other. You can imagine our AWE when the cars pulled over. I had been told to take lots of good pictures so I ran closer thinking they might get out and wave to us then get back in their cars. Imagine my excitement seeing the prophet walking towards us. He was telling us to stay there and he would come to us, he didn’t want us in the road. By great chance I happened to... Read the rest of this entry »

This weekend, the Gila Valley Arizona Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was dedicated by President Thomas S. Monson. The building and dedication of this temple fulfills a prophecy historians say was made in 1882. For more information about the history of this temple, this article includes an impressive compilation of links. If you are wondering what a temple dedication is like, this personal account about the Gila Valley Arizona Temple dedication is a moving summary of what temple dedications mean to Mormons, and what it’s like to attend a dedication. You can also read this Mormon Women article for more information: What happens at a Mormon temple dedication? Prior to the dedication, an open house was held, where the public was able to walk through the temple and learn more about what temples mean to Mormons. (For more information on this topic, see our index entry on Mormon temples.) The following video was from a press tour of the temple in April and includes... Read the rest of this entry »

For those near Vancouver British Columbia, you are invited to an open house of the Mormon temple that has been in Langley. The open house runs through April 24. Admission is free, and there is no reservation required. For more details about location (including a map) and open house hours, see the Vancouver British Columbia Temple temple open house invitation. The invitation also briefly addresses the following questions: What is the purpose of the temple? What is the inside of the temple like? Can the public see the inside of the temple? What is the difference between a temple and a meetinghouse? You can also read more about temples in the following post on our site: Chapels and Temples: Glimpses inside each and how they differ What happens at a Mormon temple dedication? What does the inside of the Oquirrh Mountain temple look like? What the temple means to Mormons? What does the inside of a Mormon temple look like? The connection between LDS temple worship and ancient (Old Testament)... Read the rest of this entry »

I must add one last post to the “visions in the Kirtland Temple” series I have posted over the last week or so. I found an interesting article written by Larry Barkdull, an author who has written a book titled “The Three Pillars of Zion”, which explains the blessings that are received because of this great endowment of power, given to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in Kirtland, very succinctly. I have included a portion of it here. Imagine Moses, Elias and Elijah laying their hands upon your head to give you a blessing. First, Moses blesses you with the ability to gather with your family to the Kingdom of God and the holy temple. Then Elias blesses you and your spouse and children to organize into an eternal family. He offers you the same covenant of the gospel that Abraham received-the New and Everlasting Covenant. When you agree to its terms, Elias blesses you with everything that was promised to Abraham: you and your posterity will have the eternal “right to the priesthood,... Read the rest of this entry »

~by Michelle B. The temple, to me, is the pinnacle of our experience in the gospel and in this life. We talk about the Atonement. Serving in the temple is the Atonement in action. I once heard someone explain this point: Every time we attend the temple, we need to forgive someone of something. Even if it is forgiving ourselves, we need to partake of the Atonement in this way. When I think about that, I usually equate the Atonement with repentance and being saved from our sinful, mortal lives. What better way to show our gratitude than by serving in the temple and doing for others what the Saviour has done for us. We are providing ordinances of salvation to those who have gone on before us and doing for them what they cannot do for themselves. We talk of service. We know from the scriptures that if we don’t have charity, we have nothing. I believe one of the greatest forms of service we can render is to serve in the temple. We talk of finding peace and being in the world but not of the... Read the rest of this entry »

My name is Michelle. I’m a Mormon Woman, and I love our temples. I first started going to the temple regularly after I was married.  My husband and I lived only five minutes away from the temple, and we went about once a month. It was easy to go, and we enjoyed spending the time together and being in the House of the Lord. I got pregnant about nine months after we got married and I was terribly sick for my whole pregnancy. I rarely, if ever went anywhere other than work and church because I was so sick.  The temple was an “extra” and I fell out of the habit of going. After my daughter, Ellie, was born,  I still couldn’t get back in the habit of attending the temple; I was  too afraid to leave my new baby for 2 hours at a time, I worried about the issues with nursing, and leaving her with a babysitter. For a couple years, I had been having a pretty serious conflict with one member of my family.  I always considered myself optimistic, but found that I just wasn’t... Read the rest of this entry »

Continuing in the theme of the glorious visions that occurred in the Kirtland Temple, I again add another post today on the first of the four visions. By retiring to the pulpit of the temple, Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery had separated themselves from the “world” and had allowed the “veil to be taken from their minds”. This transfiguring moment led to the magnificent experience of seeing the Lord himself, as he accepted the offering the Saints had made by building the Temple. They described what they saw as follows: Doctrine and Covenants 110:2 We saw the Lord standing upon the breastwork of the pulpit, before us; and under his feet was a paved work of pure gold, in color like amber. 3 His eyes were as a flame of fire; the hair of his head was white like the pure snow; his countenance shone above the brightness of the sun; John the Revelator described what he saw when he had a similar experience with these words: Revelation 1:13 And in the midst of the seven candlesticks... Read the rest of this entry »

As I was studying the great visions that were received by Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery as recorded in Section 110 of the Doctrine and Covenants, I could not help but contemplate the simple logistics in which they were received. It is recorded that the two men “retired to the pulpit, the veils being dropped, and bowed… in solemn and silent prayer.” This description is loaded with symbolism in itself. The Kirtland Temple has a completely different construction from any of the other LDS Temples in operation today. In its simplicity, I believe it is arranged similarly to that of the tabernacle that Moses constructed. The tabernacle was organized in a way to reveal the progression necessary to come back into the presence of the Lord. The Kirtland Temple also teaches this theme through the placement of the pulpits and veils. Originally the Kirtland Temple had four pulpits which stood, one above another, in the centre of the building, from north to south, both on the east... Read the rest of this entry »

My last post was a comparison of the dedicatory prayers that were offered at the dedication of both the Temple built during the reign of King Solomon, and the one which was given by Joseph Smith in dedication of the Kirtland Temple built by the Latter Day Saints in Ohio. In my study I decided to look at another dedicatory prayer to see if I could find any similarities to either of the previously mentioned prayers. I chose to look at the San Diego Temple dedicatory prayer simply because of the proximity of this beautiful temple. I believe that you could compare any dedicatory prayer offered and find similarities of interest… try it on the temple location nearest you. I focused primarily on Kirtland and San Diego. It is interesting to note that the Kirtland Temple dedicatory prayer was a prayer of “asking”. In contrast, the majority of the San Diego Temple dedicatory prayer was offered by way of “thanking”. When I noticed this, I decided to see if any of the thanking... Read the rest of this entry »

As the Kirtland Temple was nearing completion, Joseph Smith was given the task of composing the Dedicatory Prayer. Can you even imagine being given an assignment like that? What steps would you take to begin the project? I believe I would do a little research before I even started. Perhaps that is exactly what Joseph Smith did. The only other Dedicatory Prayer for a temple that could have been used for a reference at that time, was the one given by King Solomon. The Dedicatory Prayer offered to the Lord regarding Solomon’s Temple was recorded twice in the Old Testament, in 2 Chronicles Chapter 6, and 1 Kings Chapter 8. It is interesting to note that both of the Dedicatory Prayers, Solomon’s and Kirtland, started in a similar fashion. 1 Kings 8:23 And he said, Lord God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heaven above, or on earth beneath, who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart: Doctrine and Covenants 109:1 Thanks... Read the rest of this entry »

In 1832, during the month of September, the elders who had been sent on missions for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints had started returning to Kirtland, Ohio. It was a time of joy and reunion as they returned to give their homecoming reports regarding their labors in the eastern states. During this time the Lord, through the Prophet Joseph Smith, blessed them with continued instruction about the priesthood that they held, and the blessings that are promised to those who magnify their callings in that priesthood. Section 84 of the Doctrine and Covenants is that recorded revelation. Although Section 84 is known as the revelation on the oath and covenant of the Priesthood, it explains in beautiful detail the blessings that are given to the saints through the Melchizedek priesthood. Up until this point those who held the Melchizedek priesthood were given authority to use it solely to bestow the gift of the Holy Ghost, and to manifest all other blessing through the gifts... Read the rest of this entry »