sacrifice

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.

Living the Law of Consecration – Part 2: The Law & The United Order

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(Continued from Part 1)

One of the common misconceptions concerning the law of consecration is that it is often conflated with the United Order.  When we think that these two are one and the same thing we run into difficulties understanding them.  When we don’t properly understand the law, we can’t live it.  When we don’t properly understand the United Order, we can’t learn from it.  The law of consecration is not the United Order.  The United Order was an economic and administrative method of living the law of consecration, but even as such is commonly misunderstood and blended with the law of consecration.  President Benson explained:  [Read more…]

Living the Law of Consecration – Part 1: The Mythic “Folk Memory”

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“Some day we will live the law of consecration again, but until then we must be ‘willing’ to live it.”

“It is Church doctrine that the full Law of Consecration was suspended by the Lord through the Prophet in 1834.”

“My belief is that things will get progressively worse until the actual Second Coming when Christ will institute the law of consecration.”

Have you ever heard these types of statements before?  Each one comes from active, church-going, temple-attending, members of the Church.  Each of them was said to me in conversation over the past two weeks.  Each one is also, unfortunately, untrue.  [Read more…]

The First and Oldest Temple in the World? – Göbekli Tepe

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One of the excavated enclosures at Göbekli Tepe, Turkey, with massive T-shaped megaliths forming ancient stone circles thought to be up to 12,000 years old. (Click for a larger view)

One of the excavated enclosures at Göbekli Tepe, Turkey, with massive T-shaped megaliths forming ancient stone circles thought to be up to 12,000 years old. (Click for a larger view)

Grandpa Enoch over at Pronaos wrote a few days ago that Archaeology Magazine‘s latest issue has a cover article by Sandra Scham entitled “The World’s First Temple” ((Archaeology Magazine, Volume 61 Number 6, November/December 2008, abstract)).  The magazine Science also did an article on the same subject back in January 2008 ((Science, Vol. 319. no. 5861, p. 280, abstract)).  There are many articles that are being published, all focused on one archeological dig in southeast Turkey (see this map) which has come to be known as Göbekli Tepe, a Turkish name meaning “navel hill/mountain” or “hill with a belly” ((Wikipedia – Göbekli Tepe.)).

What makes this excavation so unique?  Why all the hype?  Because evidence is showing that this may be the world’s first man-made monumental structure ever built, even before agriculture developed.  Archeologists didn’t believe that Neolithic hunter-gatherers were capable of building such an enormous complex at such an early date, but this site is starting to redefine our understanding of the beginnings of mankind.  What else is interesting is that this appears to have been some sort of ritual center or ceremonial complex – a temple.  [Read more…]

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.)