conference

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…]

TempleStudy.com One Year Anniversary

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A Wordle created from all the text of TempleStudy.com posts in 2008. Click on the image to see a larger version. Created at http://www.wordle.net/

A Wordle created from all the text of TempleStudy.com posts in 2008. Click on the image to see a larger version. Made at http://www.wordle.net/

One year ago today I published my first post on TempleStudy.com, my first blog.  And it has been quite a year.  During 2008 I expanded my learning on the temple in leaps and bounds, and was able to share some of that with you as well as learn from you.  I met countless new people and made many new friends.  We shared new thoughts, interpretations, and discoveries with each other.  I attended for the first time several conferences and liveblogged them.  I’ve been humbled by your kindness and charity.  I was blessed to touch the lives of numerous people as you sent me emails expressing your thoughts and feelings.  You have touched me too, in multitudinous ways.  And the growth has been tremendous—nearly 100,000 people have visited the website from 170 countries around the world generating over 220,000 hits.  Over 500 people have subscribed by RSS feed, and another 254 have subscribed by email.  It’s been an amazing experience.  I hope your participation with me and our commenters has been fruitful for you, and has given you more insight into temple studies and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

To commemorate this anniversary of TempleStudy.com my dear wife was very kind and made a Wordle of all the posts from this past year.  For those of you who are not familiar with Wordles, it is an online tool that you can use to input text and generate a word collage with the most commonly used words shown larger, kind of like a tag cloud.  So you can see in this image where our focus was this past year.  Fun to see.  My wife printed out a copy and framed it for me to hang on our office wall.  She’s the best!

For those who are wondering where I’ve been the last month or so, I haven’t left.  The blogging has slowed down a bit.  I think I can blame some of that on our beautiful new baby boy that was born at the end of September.  He’s been a joy to our family, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.  But it did shift my priorities a bit though, and gave me time to rethink things.  I will continue to blog about the temple, but it may not be as frequent.  I want to expand my learning into other areas, in addition to temples.  Not that TempleStudy.com will go too dormant, but I like the sentiments addressed by Sharon Otterman in her New York Times article on slow blogging.  Blogging is becoming a form of expression, and a channel of inquiry and thought, not a 140 character Twitter feed.

So while TempleStudy.com might not fill your daily appetite for news on the temple, hopefully the posts that are published here will be full of meaning.  I look forward to sharing new insights on the temple, and learning more from you throughout 2009.  Please feel free to send me your thoughts and findings.  I’d love to hear from you.

Thanks for a wonderful year!

Only a Stonecutter

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DVD cover

DVD cover

A new short film by Excel Entertainment and T.C. Christensen has been released entitled “Only a Stonecutter: One Man’s Sacrifice to Build the House of the Lord.”  The film tells the story about John Rowe Moyle and how for 20 years he walked 22 miles from Alpine to Salt Lake to work as a stone mason on the Salt Lake Temple.  He endured this rigorous routine even after losing his leg in an accident.

Several general authorities have told this story, including President Uchtdorf in the Priesthood Session of the most recent General Conference (October 2008).  We have also recounted this story previously as told by Elder Holland in the April 2000 Conference.  As a capstone to Br. Moyle’s work on the temple, he is the one who chiseled “Holiness to the Lord” on the eastern façade.

The film is 14 minutes long and available at Deseret Book and likely wherever LDS items are sold.  A short preview video clip is below.

New Webpage for BYU SANE Symposium on Temples on November 7th

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Flyer

Flyer

The BYU Religious Studies Center has posted a new webpage with information about the Students of the Ancient Near East Symposium entitled “Temples and Ritual In Antiquity” that will be taking place at BYU on November 7th.  They have the date, time, location, maps, schedule, phone number, flyer, and other information available.  See it here:

http://www.rsc.byu.edu/comingSoonAntiqua.php

I’m really looking forward to this conference.  I am working with the organizers of the symposium to hopefully videotape all the presentations and make them available online later.  I might even be able to live broadcast one of the rooms to the internet, so those that are unable to attend can still participate.  Stay tuned…

Ye Are the Temple of God

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Provo Utah Temple. © 2003, Rick Satterfield. LDSChurchTemples.com. Used with permission. (Click for a larger view)

Provo Utah Temple. © 2003, Rick Satterfield. LDSChurchTemples.com. Used with permission. (Click for a larger view)

When I attended the FAIR Conference a couple months ago I was privileged to meet Hannah Rebekah, who is a reader here and also among many forums and blogs in the Bloggernacle.  This morning she was kind enough to forward me some thoughtful words about the temple, written by Tom Kelly in the Ensign a number of years ago, that have greatly impacted her throughout her life, and which she has shared with many.  My post about how we should make our homes a temple reminded her of these words, that we should also strive to make ourselves into temples.  As Hannah remarked about the author, “I think [he] was really inspired in his views and his comparisons and I love how he wove everything together so beautifully…”

Ye Are the Temple of God

Last winter I was facing some deep challenges. Wanting to get close to the Lord, I walked up to the Provo Temple one evening. As I gazed at that lovely, sacred edifice, I reflected upon the words of Paul: “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God?” (1 Cor. 3:16.) I found myself pondering the significance of these words. In what sense is a person like a temple? What changes would I need to make in myself to be worthy to be called a temple of God?

A temple becomes a temple when it is dedicated. It is not the house of the Lord until it is given unto Him.

A temple is beautiful. Looking at it lifts and edifies. It is spotless and dignified.

A temple is calm and still. Peace and quietness reign within.

A temple is a place of worthiness—no unclean thing may enter therein.

Engraved deeply into the wall of the temple are the words, “Holiness to the Lord.”

A temple is a house of service. Its whole purpose is to provide those things that are truly essential for the happiness of God’s children.

The spire of the temple rises skyward. The righteous, on seeing the temple, lift their eyes to heaven.

A temple is built by sacrifice, by diligent and patient labor.

A temple is, above all, a home for God the Father, his son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost. The house of the Lord is a sacred place, worthy of their presence.

With such thoughts in my heart, I look at the temple and then at my own life:

Am I dedicated to the Lord?

Does my appearance lift and edify?

Am I peaceful and calm within?

Are my mind and heart open only to worthy thoughts and feelings?

Is “holiness to the Lord” engraved upon my soul?

Am I engaged in vital service to God’s children?

Do I lift my eyes toward heaven?

Am I willing to build myself by sacrifice, toil, and patience?

Does the Spirit of God dwell in me?

In short, am I becoming a temple of the Most High God?

(Tom Kelly, Brigham Young University Sixteenth Branch, BYU Fifth Stake, “Ye Are the Temple of God,” Ensign, Dec. 1976, 59, link.)