Month: January 2008

Gordon B. Hinckley – The Temple Builder

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Gordon B. Hinckley

(June 23, 1910 – January 27, 2008)

The most remarkable temple builder who has ever lived passed away this evening at the age of 97 – the Prophet of God on earth, President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and our beloved friend and exemplar, Gordon Bitner Hinckley.

In the 165 years before he was called to the office of president and prophet of the Church 47 temples to God were erected on the earth. During President Hinckley’s 13 years as God’s anointed servant, 77 temples were built up to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 124 temples are now operating around the world, with another 13 temples under construction or announced, nearly tripling the number that existed previously. From an average of constructing a temple every 3.5 years, President Hinckley produced a near 21 fold increase in the rate to every 2 months! In the year 2000 alone, 34 temples were dedicated and given the exalted and holy status of the House of the Lord. During his lifetime he dedicated 85 temples, more than any other man who has ever lived. We might even say that President Hinckley has done more, save Jesus and Joseph Smith only, for the salvation of men in this world, than any other man that ever lived in it, by extending the saving blessings and ordinances of the temple to countless millions of God’s children around the world (see D&C 135:3).  Other members believe similarly.

Many prophets and apostles, ancient and modern, have envisioned this day and prophesied of the inspired and prophetic work of President Hinckley:

Elder Bruce R. McConkie –

We expect to see the day when temples will dot the earth, each one a house of the Lord; each one built in the mountains of the lord; each one a sacred sanctuary to which Israel and the Gentiles shall gather to receive the blessings of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Perhaps they will number in the hundreds, or even in the thousands, before the Lord returns. [Bruce R. McConkie, The Millennial Messiah: The Second Coming of the Son of Man (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 1982), 277.]

President Brigham Young –

To accomplish this work there will have to be not only one temple but thousands of them, and thousands and tens of thousands of men and women will go into those temples and officiate for people who have lived as far back as the Lord shall reveal. [JD 3:372]

Even Isaiah of old foretold this time, and likely saw the ministry of President Hinckley,

Enlarge the place of thy tent, and . . . stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations . . . (Isaiah 54:2)

Elder Merrill J. Bateman has explained Isaiah’s scripture thus,

I suddenly realized that the phrase “the curtains of thine habitations” refers to temples, to houses of the Lord. In looking at the last days, Isaiah saw that a key feature of Church growth would be the building of temples. Temples will spread across the earth. (The Dawn of a New Millenium, Jan. 11, 2000)

Many others have also prophesied of the time when temples would “dot the earth.” President Hinckley saw that era and gave us the realization of that prophecy and vision. Glory be to God for the inspired work of this remarkable man of God! Indeed, we thank thee, O God, for a prophet!

Said the prophet,

I believe that no member of the Church has received the ultimate which this Church has to give until he or she has received his or her temple blessings in the house of the Lord. Accordingly, we are doing all that we know how to do to expedite the construction of these sacred buildings and make the blessings received therein more generally available. . . . We are determined, brethren, to take the temples to the people and afford them every opportunity for the very precious blessings that come of temple worship. (Some Thoughts on Temples, Retention of Converts, and Missionary Service, Oct. 1997)

Let it be known to all nations, kindreds, tongues and people that Gordon B. Hinckley was a chosen prophet of God, that he spoke the word of the Lord, and was a first hand witness of the Savior Jesus Christ! He was God’s prophet, seer, and revelator on the earth. He set in motion the accelerated building up of the most sacred spaces on earth, the holy temples of the Lord, in the most spectacular way this world has ever seen, and in them the saints have worshiped God and performed saving gospel ordinances in and to His name. The world will forever remember the legacy of our beloved prophet, Gordon B. Hinckley!

Hear the testimony of the prophet of God.

King David’s cry in Psalms 54:2

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King David at Prayer - Late 15th Century

King David at Prayer - Late 15th Century

“Hear my prayer, O God; give ear to the words of my mouth” (Psalms 54:2).

Dr. Nibley indicates that this type of prayer or “cry of distress” by David is similar in tone to the words of the Lord on the cross when He said, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34; The Early Christian Prayer Circle, Mormonism and Early Christianity, 58-59). But this is not the only place this type of supplication is given. There are dozens of Psalms which begin the prayer with this same pattern, indicating what appears to be a “specific set of words that accompanied certain Hebrew prayers” (Matthew Brown, The Gate of Heaven, 149):

  • Psalms 4:1 – “Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness . . . hear my prayer.”
  • Psalms 5:1 -“Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my meditation. Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray.”
  • Psalms 13:3 – “Consider and hear me, O Lord my God . . . “
  • Psalms 17:1 – “Hear the right, O Lord, attend unto my cry, give ear unto my prayer, that goeth not out of feigned lips.”
  • Psalms 28:2 – “Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry unto thee, when I lift up my hands toward thy holy oracle.”

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Wilford Woodruff – Eyewitness of the first endowments

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This is an audio recording that was made on March 19, 1897 by Wilford Woodruff, fourth president of the Church, at age 91, just one and a half years before his death. It is one of the oldest audio recordings ever made, using a “talking machine” or cylinder phonograph invented by Thomas Edison just two decades previously. This is a singular recording, as Truman G. Madsen has noted:

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Mona Lisa Smile – Matriculation Ceremony

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Not only do the graduation ceremonies of universities have interesting ritual qualities, but the matriculation ceremonies do also. The commentor Jonovitch on the Times and Seasons blog also made a reference to one of the opening scenes from the movie Mona Lisa Smile. This scene is from a 1953 matriculation ceremony, or a type of induction or initiation, of Wellesley College, a conservative women’s private liberal arts college in Massachusetts.

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The Black Robes of a False Priesthood

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Here Dr. Hugh Nibley quotes himself in one of his most well-known sayings. The video is taken from his prominent BYU commencement address he gave on August 19, 1983 that he entitled “Leaders to Managers: The Fatal Shift.” We smile and chuckle at the brazenness with which Nibley makes this tongue in cheek submission. But is there any real merit to what he said? He seemed to think so; that is why he took the opportunity of this commencement address to explain himself.

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