Sunday Reflections: What Those Mormon Temples Are All About

My best friend got married yesterday. It's a weird feeling you know? Anna has always been my partner in every crime. As excited as I was to get married a year and a half ago, it was weird for me to leave my best friend and start adventures with someone else. I found myself overly protective of Anna because I wanted the person she had her lifelong adventures with to be the greatest guy in the world for her.

She found him. Anna and Buck Harrison got married 8/21/2010 in the Boise, Idaho LDS Temple.

I know that for some, LDS temples are big pretty buildings that only Mormons can go into and do secret things. But the ceremony was so beautiful yesterday, that I thought I would shed a little light on this topic. Anna and Buck would want me to.

First of all, to understand why we build temples, people have to know that Christ's church was lost shortly after His resurrection, but has been restored again through living prophets. Right now, we have a Prophet of God- a modern day Moses or Noah, leading and guiding those who want to return to live with God again. Because Christ's church has been RESTORED, some ancient practices are practiced today. This includes temple worship.

(This video is only 3 minutes long and really explains what I'm talking about)

Contrary to popular belief, the temple is not a place of secrecy. It is a place of sacredness. It is the Lord's house on earth, where we can be the closest to Him. Because no unclean thing can dwell with God, His temple is reserved for those who have made specific covenants with Him and are observing His commandments. This is not to say that Mormon's are "clean" and others are not. We are all unclean in this life. But through the atonement of Christ, we can be made clean and therefore be blessed with the opportunity to be in the Lord's most holy house. This is why the temple is so sacred to me.

(This video is also about 3 min long, and shows what the inside of our temples look like)

In the temple, we perform eternal ordinances for ourselves, and for those who did not have the opportunity to do them in their lifetime. Those spirits then can choose whether or not to accept these ordinances, some of which include baptism, receiving the Holy Ghost, and eternal marriage.

When Scott and I were married in the Boise Temple (like Anna and Buck), we made a covenant, or two-way promise, to God and each other. We promised to take each other as husband and wife and promised God that together, we would keep His commandments. In return, God promised us ALL of His blessings. We were then sealed to be together for time and all eternity. There was no "til death do us part" about it. Because we were sealed in the temple of God, by His authority, we will be together FOREVER.

And so will Anna and Buck. And so can everyone else who chooses to.

I know that this post probably raises a lot of questions. When I learn about other religions, I am usually concerned that by asking questions, I'll get attacked and the person will never leave me alone about converting. To avoid anything like this, I have started a formspring so that you can ask me any questions you want under the mask of anonymity. Please remember that I am sharing what I base my life after, so any negative comments are expected, but not appreciated or welcome. You can still feel free to comment, I just did the formspring thing for those of you who might not feel comfortable putting your name. :)