still trying to understand - the Temple


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OK, I've seen videos showing the inside of temples. I've read about baptisms for the dead, endowments, and sealings.

What I don't get yet is, these places are huge. I used to live in the DC area and the temple in the Maryland suburbs is just massive. How many people go through a Temple to justify the size? I'm not trying to be rude, I'm just think, how many people are going to get sealed or get an endowment at any given time? Are these places filled with people every day (except Sunday:) )?

I've read profiles from some Mormons in which they state how much they like to go to the Temple. Why would you go that much? What are you doing? Plus, if you aren't temple worthy, you can't go in and I would imagine a good percentage (20-40%?) of people aren't temple worthy, so they aren't going in, which would reduce the numbers of available temple goers even more.

I'm just trying to put what I'm reading together with what I see on videos of the temples. And having seen the inside, with all the seats, etc., I just have to wonder how many people are getting endowments, etc. at any one time, especially in areas where the temple is meant to serve a geographically dispersed membership, like maybe Bismarck, ND, where you just don't have that many people close enough to come to the temple all the time.

Thanks.

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Hi,

They are doing proxy work for the dead - baptisms for the dead, endowments for the dead, etc. Most of the newer temples are smaller. The temples that I have been to in Utah were always full and going Tuesday through Saturday from early am to evening. Usually when I go in the daytime, I see a lot of retirement age people in there, and the temple tends to be busier in the evenings and Saturdays.

Some of the temples are by appointment only if in a rural area, so they aren't open as many hours and don't have as many patrons. Those temples seem to be just a little bigger than a Mormon church

Oh and they also do sealings for the dead. The temple is a very peaceful, quiet place where the more you go, it seems the more you want to go.

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So what is the difference between church (if that is the right word) and temple? People who don't have temple recommend would go to church or a service so is it only those other things (sealings, baptisms for the dead etc) or do they have services (if that is the right word) as well? What does it take to get a temple recommend? If there is a link to where I can find the answers please post rather than repeating what is already there :)

Thanks in advance.

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Maybe this link will help answer some of your questions: Search Results for Mormon.org

The temples where I live in Utah are very busy places. They open at 5am and the last session is at 8pm, from Tuesday through Saturday. There are endowment sessions where we do proxy work for the dead. Its the same endowment sessions a person does for themselves. Its nice to be able to do the work for our ancestors because it helps us remember our covenants with our Heavenly Father. We also do baptisms for the dead there.

Temples are the most sacred and peaceful place on the face of the earth. I have received answers to prayers while in the temple that I've struggled to get answers to. We are closer to our Heavenly Father there. And if we go in with the right attitude and reverence its easy to feel the Spirit. Temples are the House of God here on earth.

Church meetings consist of Relief Society for women, Priesthoon meeting for men. Sunday School classes for everyone and Primary classes for children under age 12. Our meetings are in a three hour block of time. Church services are similar in many ways to other churches. During Sacrament meetin we partake of the Sacrament. In Relief Society and Priesthood our lessons are similar but we also discuss compassionate services opportunities. Sunday School is similar to other churches to...we study the scriptures.

The temple doesn't have "classes" as you would think of a normal Sunday School class. We are there to do the proxy work for our ancestors... endowment/baptism for the dead. We also seal families together forever... husband to wife, wife to husband, children to parents. The ordinances performed in the temple are sacred and cannot be done anywhere else.

Some things can only be done in Temples.

EDIT: Temples The video at this link might help you more than anything we can say.

Edited by applepansy
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Temples are the most sacred and peaceful place on the face of the earth. I have received answers to prayers while in the temple that I've struggled to get answers to. We are closer to our Heavenly Father there. And if we go in with the right attitude and reverence its easy to feel the Spirit. Temples are the House of God here on earth.

Apple, I want to comment briefly on your statement here.

Here is an excerpt from the Bible Dictionary: "A place where the Lord may come, it is the most holy of any place of worship on the earth. Only the home can compare with the temple in sacredness. "

So, while the temple is sacred and holy, our homes can be a type of temple for us as well. D&C 88:119 is often attributed to temples, but I choose to see that as how my home should be: Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God;

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OK, I've seen videos showing the inside of temples. I've read about baptisms for the dead, endowments, and sealings.

What I don't get yet is, these places are huge. I used to live in the DC area and the temple in the Maryland suburbs is just massive. How many people go through a Temple to justify the size? I'm not trying to be rude, I'm just think, how many people are going to get sealed or get an endowment at any given time? Are these places filled with people every day (except Sunday:) )?

I've read profiles from some Mormons in which they state how much they like to go to the Temple. Why would you go that much? What are you doing? Plus, if you aren't temple worthy, you can't go in and I would imagine a good percentage (20-40%?) of people aren't temple worthy, so they aren't going in, which would reduce the numbers of available temple goers even more.

I'm just trying to put what I'm reading together with what I see on videos of the temples. And having seen the inside, with all the seats, etc., I just have to wonder how many people are getting endowments, etc. at any one time, especially in areas where the temple is meant to serve a geographically dispersed membership, like maybe Bismarck, ND, where you just don't have that many people close enough to come to the temple all the time.

Thanks.

Good luck...I have been going for many years and still learn something new when I am there.

It is more than 40-percent who are not worthy. Even among those who hold a temple recommend, are they really worthy to enter these portals?

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The Washington DC temple was built in the early 1970s, and was the only temple in the eastern United States for a decade. It had to be big enough to take care of all the members wishing to serve in the temple for half of the United States. Today, it is still busy, because the LDS Church has had a large increase in membership over the past 40 years. Back in 1970, the membership stood at less than 3 million worldwide. Now it is 14 million.

Most of the temples built today are small, about the size of a stake center/chapel. These are designed and built so that members have easier access (within 5 hour drive) of a temple. A few large ones are still occasionally built, though not on the size of the DC temple.

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Agree Ram. I believe that at a recent General Conference it was said that about 80% now live within 200 miles of a temple. I'd have to find that talk. I'd like to say it was from President Monson but I'd have to search for it.

*edit* Found it: LDS.org - Liahona Article - Welcome to Conference

Edited by pam
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The Washington DC temple was built in the early 1970s, and was the only temple in the eastern United States for a decade. It had to be big enough to take care of all the members wishing to serve in the temple for half of the United States.

Well, you learn something new everyday! Thanks for the info. I have to tell you, when we'd go past the Temple, it always struck me as being like pictures I'd seen of the castle at Disneyland. I've never been where you could see the base, just this humongous white shining thing off of the Beltway. Now that I'm older and a lot of big things from my youth have started to look smaller, the DC temple is still awe-inspiring.

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FWIW: I went to an endowment session (followed by a wedding) in the DC temple in 2007, and the place was practically deserted.

Also, I think in terms of square-footage the DC temple is the largest or 2nd-largest temple that the Church operates.

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Apple, I want to comment briefly on your statement here.

Here is an excerpt from the Bible Dictionary: "A place where the Lord may come, it is the most holy of any place of worship on the earth. Only the home can compare with the temple in sacredness. "

So, while the temple is sacred and holy, our homes can be a type of temple for us as well. D&C 88:119 is often attributed to temples, but I choose to see that as how my home should be: Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God;

I completely agree. I was stating my experience.

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Well, you learn something new everyday! Thanks for the info. I have to tell you, when we'd go past the Temple, it always struck me as being like pictures I'd seen of the castle at Disneyland. I've never been where you could see the base, just this humongous white shining thing off of the Beltway. Now that I'm older and a lot of big things from my youth have started to look smaller, the DC temple is still awe-inspiring.

Dahlia, you should go and see the temple sometime. They have a visitor's center there, where you can enter in and have many questions regarding the temple answered. You'll also be able to walk the grounds and see the beauty and feel the peace of that wonderful place.

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Dahlia, you should go and see the temple sometime. They have a visitor's center there, where you can enter in and have many questions regarding the temple answered. You'll also be able to walk the grounds and see the beauty and feel the peace of that wonderful place.

I definitely recommend this. It wasn't until I visited a temple that I received my answer about the truthfulness of this church, after months of praying and studying. The temple I went to didn't have a visitors center, but just being on the temple grounds was enough for me.

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Well, you learn something new everyday! Thanks for the info. I have to tell you, when we'd go past the Temple, it always struck me as being like pictures I'd seen of the castle at Disneyland. I've never been where you could see the base, just this humongous white shining thing off of the Beltway. Now that I'm older and a lot of big things from my youth have started to look smaller, the DC temple is still awe-inspiring.

I remember being in Washington DC and driving around the bend of the highway. It honestly seemed like the temple was sitting in the middle of the freeway. What an illusion. It was spectacular.

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I'm no longer in the DC area, but I am close to Nauvoo and really hoping to go down there. I'm not a highway driver, so I'm trying to convince my son to take me. That's not going too well. : ) So far, the only tours I've found online are for arranged groups. I don't even think I can take a Greyhound, but I'm still going to look around. About a year or so ago I saw a show about the Nauvoo settlement and temple-building and was fascinating. I'm a history buff, so even without being an investigator, I'd still like to go check it out.

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I'm 5-1/2 hours from Nauvoo. I go there at least once a year, and it is wonderful. There is a nice LDS Visitor's Center near the temple. All of the reconstructed buildings have older missionary couples in them to explain the history, etc. There are evening shows. All of it is free and interesting.

Make sure to walk behind the visitor's center and see the Relief Society statues. Also, they have hour long wagon rides to show you the area, including along the Mississippi. I was last there in early June, and spotted an eagle sitting on a log in the river. Pelicans and blue herons are usually nearby, as well. If you go on Labor Day weekend, you will experience the area's non-LDS history as well, as they have their Grape/Wine festival (many Catholics settled in the area after the Mormons left for the west). They have some of the best Concord grapes I've ever tasted.

Still, the masterpiece is the Nauvoo Temple. It is a beautiful structure. My wife and I went on our honeymoon 24 years ago, when there was only a hole in the ground where the destroyed temple once stood. I could not have imagined that it would be rebuilt about 15 years later. Walking the grounds around the temple is peaceful, especially in the early morning or later in the evening when there are fewer crowds.

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FWIW: I went to an endowment session (followed by a wedding) in the DC temple in 2007, and the place was practically deserted.

Also, I think in terms of square-footage the DC temple is the largest or 2nd-largest temple that the Church operates.

Actually, I think its 3rd. The largest was the Los Angeles Temple when it was built, but then the Salt Lake Temple was expanded and regained its place as the largest temple. One reason the L.A. Temple is so big is because it is the only modern temple with an assembly hall.

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Great Idea Dahlia, remeber the temple is not open on Sun. or Monday, just so you are aware most eveyone wears the nicest things they have to attend the temple, to show respect for the Lord and the ordinances there. You might see a bride and groom getting their pictures taken, husbands carrying their wives temple bags, children with a parent walking around the garden or trying to play in the fountain, the inside of the temple is very quiet...don't get me wrong...they are usually packed...just really quiet. So if you go in and you can hear a pin drop, don't be nervous like there is something wrong, it's the usual thing. Most all of them have a visitors center now, which is really nice.

If you can't go to Nauvoo, maybe there is a temple closer that you can visit? Although it is rather awsomely restored! The temple feeling is the same no matter which one you go to, though. LDS.org has a temple locator.

Oh, and you should know that the temple is first and foremost a house of prayer, a place where we can pray and receive answers without any interference from worldy influence.

Edited by jayanna
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Great Idea Dahlia, remeber the temple is not open on Sun. or Monday, just so you are aware most eveyone wears the nicest things they have to attend the temple, to show respect for the Lord and the ordinances there. You might see a bride and groom getting their pictures taken, husbands carrying their wives temple bags, children with a parent walking around the garden or trying to play in the fountain, the inside of the temple is very quiet...don't get me wrong...they are usually packed...just really quiet. So if you go in and you can hear a pin drop, don't be nervous like there is something wrong, it's the usual thing. Most all of them have a visitors center now, which is really nice.

If you can't go to Nauvoo, maybe there is a temple closer that you can visit? Although it is rather awsomely restored! The temple feeling is the same no matter which one you go to, though. LDS.org has a temple locator.

Oh, and you should know that the temple is first and foremost a house of prayer, a place where we can pray and receive answers without any interference from worldy influence.

dahlia, just so you know, you will not be able to go inside the temple. As a non-recommend holder, you cannot enter the temple (well, you can enter, but you will be gently escorted out).

You can go to the temple and walk around it. You can go to the visitor's center and have any questions answered and receive tons of information.

And you can dress however you like for any of that. One who is a recommend holder can enter the temple and at that point it is required that one dresses nice (Sunday best).

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If you will like to see which temple have visitor centers, you can go the Mormon.org, point on visit us on the menu at the top of the home page.

Click 'places to visit' on the drop down menu, when the new window opens choose the region you live in. When that window opens, go to the left and click visitor's centers, pick one and you will get info on that visitors' center! Personally, I like to look at the pretty pictures. :)

OOOoooooo Hawaii :D

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