nauvoo temple

Fireside Discussion Part III

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Welcome!  This is our third episode of the fireside discussions on the temple, facilitated by Goolge+ Hangouts on Air.  We’re glad you could join us.  Tonight’s discussion is about the first chapter in Andrew Skinner’s book Temple Worship.  You can watch the recording below. Or view the machine transcription here. You can also download an MP3 audio version here.

In this discussion we talk about the temple as being the “ultimate” of our worship, what it means to “serve” in the temple, where temples or temple worship can take place on the earth, the first endowments given in the Nauvoo Temple attic, temple “work” vs. temple “worship,” the fact that the Nauvoo temple was only in use for 2 months (8 weeks) before it was destroyed which makes us reflect on the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem in ancient times, what it means to have a “fullness of the Holy Ghost” which we can attain to in the temple, and the profound importance of the temple in the lives of Latter-day Saints and in our worship in the Church.

Panelists include Bryce Haymond, Gary Anderson, Gerald Smith, and William Hamblin.

The Promises Made to the Fathers

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Elijah Appearing In The Kirtland Temple, by Dan Lewis.

Elijah Appearing In The Kirtland Temple, by Dan Lewis.

My father is on the High Council in the Riverton Utah Stake, and this past Sunday he was asked to speak in a ward about the temple and family history work.  He sent me his talk, and I thought it was good and thought provoking.  I thought you might like it too.  -Bryce

By Mark Haymond
November 15, 2009
Riverton 11th Ward

At the first of October, just last month, I had the privilege of traveling with other members of our stake and even President and Sister Higbee back to the important sites in early Church history. We visited the birthplace of Joseph in Sharon, Vermont. We visited Harmony, Pennsylvania, where the Prophet Joseph and Emma first lived after they were married. In the home in Harmony most of the Book of Mormon was translated and revelations were received. Just behind that home, not fifty yards, are the banks of the Susquehanna River where John the Baptist laid his hands on Joseph and Oliver’s heads and the authority of the Aaronic Priesthood was bestowed upon them. While Joseph and Emma lived in Harmony, the Apostles Peter, James and John came to the earth and laid their hands on the heads of Joseph and Oliver and bestowed upon them the Melchizedek Priesthood and the holy Apostleship.  [Read more…]

The Seal of Melchizedek – Part 4

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Satellite Photo of the San Diego California Temple with the "Seal of Melchizedek" overlayed 13 times

Satellite photo of the San Diego California Temple with the “Seal of Melchizedek” overlayed 13 times.  I particularly like the symbol used in the skylight of the atrium in the center of the temple.

(Continued from Part 3)

To continue my research I wanted to know as accurately as possible the story about this symbol, the “seal of Melchizedek,” as it was used in the San Diego Temple.  I couldn’t find a good account online, so I decided to go to the source.  Who better would know than the design architect of the temple?  So I gave him a call.  [Read more…]

Sacred Stone: Temple on the Mississippi – DVD

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Sacred Stone

Sacred Stone

I just watched an excellent documentary on BYU Television entitled “Sacred Stone: Temple on the Mississippi.” It was all about the building of the Nauvoo temple, and included video of the rebuilding of the current temple from just a few years ago. Here is the description from BYU broadcasting:

In September 1846, the last of more than 12,000 Nauvoo, IL residents were forcibly driven from their homes to begin their journey to the Great Basin, blazing what is now known as the Mormon Trail. Their presence in Nauvoo accounted for one of the largest and fastest-growing cities in Illinois and the construction of its stately temple. In 1848 the same unruly forces that drove them out also sacked and burned the temple. Today, more than 150 years later, the Nauvoo Temple rises on the very footprint of its original. Please join narrator Hal Holbrook for this remarkable story – a historic chapter from 19th-Century America.

Not only did this documentary outline the history of the Nauvoo temple, but the history of temple building among the Latter-day Saints in general. Many interviews were conducted with LDS scholars and other scholars from prominent universities all across the country. Some of the comments from non-LDS scholars were very interesting as it relates to the purpose of temples on earth. I will see if I can pull some of those quotes for a future post.

You can watch this documentary online at www.byu.tv. Just follow the instructions to install the Movie Media Player, and then scroll back to 12:00pm on today’s date, February 16, 2008. You can watch the entire program online. If you have BYU-TV you can also watch the program be rebroadcast on February 18th, 2008, at 8:30am MST. Or if those options don’t work out, you can also purchase the DVD of the program from Deseret Book.