INTRODUCTION:

With so many unofficial opinions and practices on the topic, we take a look at what the Church has actually said about wearing temple garments.

Author’s Note: As has happened occasionally in the past, the focus of this lesson does not exactly correspond with the lesson manual provided by the Church. There is a message in the final chapters of the book of Ether that I have often missed in my reading. But it is a message worth noticing and contemplating—a message about what happens when people consistently refuse to follow the prophets. If you are teaching, the lesson manual must be your first choice. The considerations that follow should only be used for additional insight and personal enrichment. They are not designed to take the place of correlated materials.

While in New York City last weekend, it was hard not to notice the strategic marketing campaign by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Mormons, across the city. The ads coincide with the intense publicity the church is receiving because of The Book of Mormon, currently the number one show on Broadway and winner of 9 Tony Awards (no, sadly, I did not have tickets to the show). In addition to the show, Governor Mitt Romney, a Mormon, is leading the pack for the GOP nomination, adding to the national buzz.

The artist said the experience was holy.

“We thank Thee for this occasion and all it signifies and symbolizes,” the Apostle said in the dedicatory prayer.

Filmed at the Church’s Motion Picture set in Goshen, Utah, “The Christ Child: A Nativity Story,” brings to life the familiar scriptures in the Bible like never before. By showing Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, the wisemen, and the Christ child as real individuals, the nearly 18-minute film has captured the hearts of many as it tells the sacred events of that first Christmas.

The first open house for the DC Temple in 1974 was an enormous challenge filled with unexpected problems, but also unexpected blessings.

As pointed out in the last installment, Joseph Smith was not a “translator” in the Academic sense. He couldn’t read ancient languages. Somehow, through the power of God, he was able to convert the Nephite writings into the scriptural English of his day. According to witnesses who were close enough to Joseph to get a feel for the translation process, Joseph would “see” the English translation of the Nephite text when he put is face into the hat with the seer stone. Anyone who tries to copy this process—with or without a hat—will quickly discover that you cannot see (let alone read) any text so close to your face. In the darkness of the hat it seems likely that the English text which Joseph saw was in his “mind’s eye.” Technically vision occurs in the brain. Yes, our eyes send the data to the brain, but the brain converts the signals to form the things we see.

The people of Connecticut in those days thought it wicked to believe in any religion, or belong to any church, except the Presbyterian. They did not believe in having any prophets, apostles, or revelations, as they had in the days of Jesus, and as we now have in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.