How Mormon Temples Help the Living

The Holy Temple

When members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are asked what they think the mission of the Mormon Church is, perhaps the most frequent answer is “Bringing all unto Christ and perfecting the Saints.” To fully understand this goal, one must remember that in the LDS Church all of the members are referred to as “saints.” In other words, one purpose of the LDS church is to help its members in their quest to follow the perfect example set by Jesus Christ.

So how do Mormon temples help in this mission? There are two important answers. The first is on a personal level, in that temples are places set apart from the world allowing increased influence of the Holy Ghost. Only members of the Mormon Church who are keeping certain minimum standards of conduct and have a strong faith in Jesus Christ are allowed to enter the temple. While this may be disappointing to some, both inside and outside of the Church, it serves an important purpose. Each of us is entitled to feel the Spirit of the Lord in our lives as we are prompted by it to be righteous, or change our lives when we are not; but the further one is from the Lord’s path, and the more he or she ignores the promptings of the Spirit, the less he or she is able to feel that Spirit. By only allowing people into the temple who are meeting certain standards and who are firm in their faith in the Lord, the temple becomes a place where the Spirit of the Lord can freely dwell. In this way LDS temples serve as a kind of sanctuary to those who attend them, providing a place that has been kept more pure than the average home or even chapel. They are places for prayer, thought, reflection, and revelation.

Ceremonies and Rituals of the Temple

The second purpose that Mormon temples serve in helping the members of the LDS Church is that special ceremonies take place inside the temple. These are holy and sacred ceremonies that are called ordinances. Ordinances are symbolic rituals that are performed as a way to signify covenants made with God. In Old Testament times the ordinance of sacrificing of an animal to God in the temple was often performed. The person providing the animal joined the priest in laying hands upon the animal’s head and transferring sins to the animal; this was a symbolic reminder of the sacrifice that would one day come through the Lord Jesus Christ. While animal sacrifice was done away with after the death and resurrection of the Eternal Sacrifice, Jesus Christ, the New Testament indicates that ordinances, and the covenants they represented, did not cease. Matthew 26:26-28 gives us the following account:

“And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” (Matt 26:26-28)

The apostles ate bread and drank water that was symbolic of the sacrifice which Christ was about to make for them. This same ritual, or ordinance, is practiced by many Christians to this day. The ordinance goes by many different names, such as the Eucharist or the Lord’s Supper, but it is essentially the same ordinance that was instituted in New Testament times.

As was mentioned before, ordinances are not only to remind us of an event, but additionally are a sign of covenants made with the Lord. A covenant is a two way promise. When we are baptized we make a covenant with the Lord that we will strive to follow the example of Christ, and repent of our sins. In return, the Lord promises that if we keep our part of the covenant, he will forgive us when we come to him with our mistakes and a sincere heart, with a real desire to change.

Sealings and Endowments

Inside the temple there are primarily two ordinances that are performed for the members of the Mormon Church. These ordinances are very sacred and holy, so we do not discuss their details outside of the temple, even with other members of the Church. It is important, however, to know what they are and why they are done.

The first of these ordinances is often called, “sealing.” This is where faithful Mormon couples are sealed together in a special type of marriage ceremony. A sealing is different from a typical marriage, though, primarily because it is performed by a different authority than a civil marriage. When a couple is married civilly, they are married by authority of their government. A representative of the State tells them that in the eyes of the State, they are married until their death. This is all that the government can promise, since it is all they have jurisdiction over. In the temple, however, people are married by the authority of God. The Lord promises them that if they keep their vows to each other and to Him they can be together, not just in this life, but for “time and all eternity.” Children can also be sealed to their parents through this authority. (If children are born to an already-sealed couple, they are considered “born in the covenant.”  But if no sealing of the parents has ever been performed, the couple is sealed and then the children are sealed to the parents.)

The second of these ordinances tends to be less well known or understood.  It is the Temple Endowment. An “endowment” is a gift, generally given by a higher power. Indeed, the Endowment in the temple is a gift from God to help us understand who we are, where we came from, and where we are going. It also helps us understand what we should do in our lives to prepare to meet God, and how Jesus Christ offers each of us ft of salvation. This information is taught in the Temple Endowment in a highly symbolic way. Because of the sacred nature of these symbols, we will not discuss them directly, but the information is contained almost completely in the Mormon book of scripture known as the “Pearl of Great Price.” In fact, the best way to prepare for the Endowment is to read the Pearl of Great Price and pray to understand it as fully as possible.

During the Endowment we also make covenants with the Lord to obey his commandments, however these covenants are more specific then the ones that are made at baptism (to keep God’s commandments). The Endowment is a gift, because it gives us knowledge and the promise of blessings to come. Ultimately, all of these blessings are available to us only through the salvation offered by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. These ordinances are necessary for us, but it is Jesus Christ who brings salvation, and through faith in Him alone can we be saved.