General Authorities

The Virtual Design of Temples

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Have you ever wondered what goes into the design of new temples? How much is planned ahead of time?  To what extent do they know what the temple will look like when it is finished?  What level of detail is thought about even before construction begins?

I have thought those things many times before, and I believe they have now been answered in large measure by something fascinating that Elder Bednar shared in his CES fireside address just a couple weeks ago on May 3, 2009.  His talk was entitled, “Things as They Really Are,” and he spoke about how the virtualization of reality through modern technology can take particularly pernicious forms that can have damaging eternal spiritual effects.  It is an excellent talk, and one that every member of the Church should read and study carefully.

He also spoke of the good that can come through these technologies.  One of the positive influences of our modern advances in virtual reality was shown in architecture, engineering, and design planning.  Elder Bednar showed two sets of images of how computer graphics technology is used in the design of temples, and they are incredible:

Left: Computer rendering of sealing room in the Newport Beach California Temple. Right: Photo of sealing room in the Newport Beach California Temple. (click for a larger view)

Left: Computer rendering of sealing room in the Newport Beach California Temple. Right: Photo of actual sealing room in the Newport Beach California Temple. (click for a larger view)

As you can see, an extremely detailed plan of the Newport Beach California Temple was conceived before construction even started, even down to the fabrics, textures, colors, lights, windows, and furniture.  Here is another:

Left: Computer rendering of lobby in the Copenhagen Denmark Temple. Right: Photo of lobby in the Copenhagen Denmark Temple. (click for a larger view)

Left: Computer rendering of lobby in the Copenhagen Denmark Temple. Right: Photo of actual lobby in the Copenhagen Denmark Temple. (click for a larger view)

Again, the attention to detail is astounding in the lobby rendering of the Copenhagen Denmark Temple before it was constructed.  Needless to say, the Church knows a great deal about what a temple will look like before the dirt is stirred.  Coming from a computer graphics background, I am greatly impressed.

The Church spares no expense in doing things right, particularly where the Lord’s temples are concerned.  As in ancient times, the House of the Lord is only built with the finest of materials, craft, and skill available, and the most painstaking efforts are made beforehand to ensure that the Lord’s most holy house ends up being what it should be—the most sacred place on earth.

10 Reasons to Remove your Watch When You Enter the Temple

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rolex-submariner

Remove your watch when you enter a house of the Lord. -Elder Richard G. Scott

This last weekend in General Conference, Elder Richard G. Scott gave an incredibly good talk about the temple and the importance of temple attendance.  I will break down more of this talk in a future post to glean more from the great insight he gave us.

One of his “interesting suggestions” for gaining more benefit from temple attendance was this — “Remove your watch when you enter a house of the Lord.”  I immediately took notice of this counsel, as you might have also.  I have not heard the General Authorities recommend this before.  I did find it “interesting” because it is something that I have already practiced since the first time I went to the temple.  It didn’t feel right for me to wear that piece of apparel into the sacred space.

But how could something as trivial as wearing a watch affect what we gain from the temple?  While it is unlikely we can easily know why Elder Scott counseled us so, let me offer some personal reasons why I don’t wear my watch when I enter the temple, and why it might be a good idea for you too. [Read more…]

Sneak Preview of General Conference Liveblog

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General Conference live Twitter feed

General Conference live Twitter feed

As I noted a couple days ago, I will be liveblogging General Conference.  This year I’m going full out and changing the design of the blog just for this occasion.  I’m dimming the lights, so to speak, to make a more comfortable Conference viewing experience.  I’m including the video broadcast from the Church, a liveblog commentary, and a slick live auto-updating Twitter feed that will be following the hashtag #ldsconf, all in one place.

I hope you will join me in listening in to Conference this weekend, and adding your own thoughts and comments as we listen to the prophets of God speak to us.

And no, this is not an April Fool’s joke.  You can get a sneak preview of what the liveblog will look like at this page.  (Note that the liveblog page will become the homepage beginning Friday night.)

Don’t forget, I will also be liveblogging the Mormon Studies Conference at UVU starting Thursday morning.  Hope to see you here for that great event too.

Liveblogging Mormon Studies Conference and General Conference

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This upcoming Thursday and Friday (April 2-3, 2009) there is a going to be an annual event — the Mormon Studies Conference at Utah Valley University, in Orem, Utah.  I just became aware of this a few days ago, and it looks like it’s going to be very good.  The theme of the conference is “Mormonism in the Public Mind: Perceptions of an Emerging World Faith.”  The keynote address will be given by Michael Paulson, Pulitzer Prize winning religion reporter for the Boston Globe, on the topic “Far From Zion: Meeting Mormonism on the Religion Beat.”  Other participants will include [Read more…]