"For the word of the Lord is truth, and whatsoever is truth is light..."

Mormon Temples

"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;" (Doctrine & Covenants 109:8)

 

Mormon Temple Virtual Tour Directory of Mormon Temples
Why these Temples?
President Gordon B. Hinckley explains why mormons have temples.

Preparing Our Families for the Temple
Carol B. Thomas discusses the importance of mormon temples (from April 1999 General Conference).

Latter-day Saint Temple Worship and Activity
"Performing ordinances and seeking the will of the Lord in the temple are a sacred and meaningful form of worship in Latter-day Saint religious life." Encyclopedia of Mormonism

Meanings and Functions of Temples
The mormon temple is the primal central holy place dedicated to the worship of God and the perfecting of his covenant people. In the temple faithful members of the mormon church may enter into covenants with the Lord. Mormon temples are also a place where members can perform baptisms for the dead.

Mormon Temple Sealings
"A 'sealing,' as a generic term, means the securing, determining, or establishment of a bond of legitimacy. Among members of the Church sealing refers to the marriage of a husband and wife and to the joining together of children and parents in relationships that are to endure forever."

Temple Recommend
Once a mormon temple is dedicated, ceremonies in the temple are only for members of the Church who have a current identification card, called a temple recommend.

Why is a Temple Recommend Required?
A discussion of the reasons that temple recommends are required to enter the House of the Lord.

Discussing the teachings of the temple
A discussion of why some details of temple ceremonies are not discussed outside the temple.

Mormon Garments
Latter-day Saints, who have been to the temple, wear sacred garments under their regular clothing to remind them of the sacred covenants that they have made with God.

The Temple Garment
Elder Carlos E. Asay discusses the importance of the temple garment.

The New Name
The concept of getting a new name is symbolic of many things including a new identity, a new life, a new beginning. It's a refreshing of things.

Endowment Houses
"An Endowment house is a building or place where certain temple ordinances may be administered, outside of the temple itself." Encyclopedia of Mormonism

Hosanna Shout
"Among Latter-day Saints, the sacred ceremony of the Hosanna Shout is usually reserved for temple dedications." Encyclopedia of Mormonism

What I Hope You Will Teach Your Children About the Temple
President Ezra Taft Benson gives an address given at the Logan Temple Centennial, 17 May 1984.

Receive the Temple Blessings
At April 1999 General Conference, Elder Richard G. Scott discusses the importance of eternal marriage.

The Temple and the Atonement
Truman G. Madsen discusses the theological importance of Temples to Latter-day Saints.

Temples Make Families Forever - Church Media Kit

 

Salvation for the Dead
"A distinctive doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is that the dead as well as the living may receive the gospel of Jesus Christ. Every man, woman, and child who has ever lived or who ever will live on this earth will have full opportunity, if not in this life then in the next, to embrace or reject the gospel in its purity and fulness." Encyclopedia of Mormonism

Mormon Temple Ceremony
"The ordinances performed only in the temple are baptisms for the dead, washings and anointings, endowments, and marriages or sealings for eternity. " Encyclopedia of Mormonism

Baptism for the Dead
"Baptism for the dead is the proxy performance of the ordinance of baptism for one deceased. Joseph Smith taught, "If we can baptize a man in the name of the Father [and] of the Son and of the Holy Ghost for the remission of sins it is just as much our privilege to act as an agent and be baptized for the remission of sins for and in behalf of our dead kindred who have not heard the gospel or fulness of it" Encyclopedia of Mormonism

Washings and Anointings
"The washings and anointings of the biblical period have a parallel today in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints." Encyclopedia of Mormonism

The Temple Endowment
"An Endowment generally is a gift, but in a specialized sense it is a course of instruction, ordinances, and covenants given only in dedicated temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."

History of Latter-day Saint Temples From 1831 to 1990
"Latter-day Saints are a temple-building people. Theirs is a history of temples projected and built, often under intense opposition." Encyclopedia of Mormonism

LDS Temple Dedications
"A temple dedication is a supremely sacred ceremonial enactment in the Church, which consecrates the building to the Lord before the beginning of temple ordinance work." Encyclopedia of Mormonism

Administration of Mormon Temples
"The administration and internal working of a temple are designed to reflect the faith of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that each temple is in every way 'The House of the Lord.'"

Temples Through the Ages
"The center of the community in ancient Israel and in other parts of the ancient Near East was the temple, an institution of the highest antiquity." Encyclopedia of Mormonism

Spirit of Elijah
"For members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the spirit of Elijah is the spirit of family kinship and unity. It is the spirit that motivates the concern to search out ancestral family members through family history; and, on their behalf, to perform proxy baptisms, temple endowments, and sealing ordinances (HC 6:252)." Encyclopedia of Mormonism

Altars
"In LDS temples, altars ...play a major role. Kneeling by them, Latter-day Saints participate in covenant-making ceremonies." Encyclopedia of Mormonism

Early Christian Temple Rites
Various articles discussing similarities between early Christian temple work and modern LDS temple worship.

LDS Temples and Catholic Cathedrals
Thoughts about an essay written by a Catholic priest about Latter-day Saints.

 

Early Christian Temple Rites

The Doctrinal Exclusion: Lesser Arguments
Stephen E. Robinson discusses the esoteric tradition as described by the Christian Fathers whose writings have defined the nature of Christian orthodoxy.

Baptism for the Dead in Ancient Times
Dr. Hugh Nibley discusses the ancient Christian practice of baptism for the dead and its later disappearance from the medieval church.

Ancient Sources for Baptism for the Dead
"In his first epistle to the Corinthians Paul wrote: "Otherwise, what shall they do who are being baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are they being baptized for them" (Conzelmann, 1 Corinthians 15:29)."