Mormon Temple

The Mormon Temple
Written By Danny D. Bunn, B.A.(Born Again Believer in the Lord Jesus Christ)
Let's go inside the temple.
THE CREATION
I would like to talk about a few scenes in the Mormon temple ceremony. The first one that I would like to discuss is entitled "The Creation". The three characters in the creation series are "Elohim, Jehovah, and Michael". Yet God's written word says that God created the earth and none besides him. God spoke the world into existence, as we can clearly see from the following verses.
In the first chapter of Genesis, we see: "And God said, 'Let there be...' " about seven times concerning the creation. God spoke what he wanted to 'be', and it 'was'.
Now we look at Psalm 33:6-9: "By the word of God were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth. he gathered the waters of the sea together as a heap; he layeth up the depth in storehouses. Let the earth fear the LORD: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. For he spake and it was done; he commanded and it stood fast."
By the above quote, it is pretty clear that the heavens and the earth came into existence by God speaking them into 'being'.
And even in the Book of Mormon, Mormon 9:17:
"Who shall say that it was not a miracle that by his word the heaven and earth should be; and by the power of his word man was created of the dust of the earth; and by the power of his word have miracles been wrought?
There are more verses, I will list a few. Please check them for yourself: II Peter 3:4-7, Psalms 148:1-5, Hebrews 11:3, 1:3, Romans 4:17. I would like to make a short comment using Matthew 8:5-13. In the same way that God created everything by speaking- when He put on flesh or became a man, he spoke and what he said had to happen.
Now I would like to talk about the three characters in more detail- Elohim, Jehovah, and Michael.* The word makes it clear that an angel didn't help in the creation of the world, not even an archangel, so that leaves Michael out.
*In response to this, Brigham Young taught Adam was our God and the only God with whom we have to do. (Journal of Discourses, Vol. 1, pages 50,51). Yet in Doctrine & Covenants, Section 107:52-56; Joseph Smith teaches Adam is Michael the archangel. Will the real Adam please stand up? Or is Adam playing two roles in the creation series? But then again in the creation series Michael the archangel does become Adam.
Regarding Elohim and Jehovah, let's look at some scriptures. In Deutermony 4:35 the Bible states, "Unto thee it was showed, that thou mightest know that the LORD he is God; there is none else beside him." Also in Deutermony 6:4, "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:"
In reference to these two verses, and there are many, many more like these in the Bible, when you see capital "LORD" in the Old Testament of the King James Version, the Hebrew meaning is 'Jehovah.' And the word 'Elohim' in English would be God or gods according to the context it is written in. So let's re-read these verses quoted above, inserting the Hebrew meaning for LORD and God:
"Unto thee it was showed, that thou mightest know that Jehovah He is Elohim; there is none else beside Him. Or, "Hear, O Israel: Jehovah our Elohim is one Jehovah."
And Isaiah 43:10 says, "Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD (Jehovah), and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God (Elohim) formed, neither shall there be after me."
Now going back to Genesis 1:1, God (singular) created the heavens and the earth.
THE GARDEN OF EDEN
The second scene that I would like to bring to your attention is called 'The Garden of Eden'. It starts off with Lucifer (Satan) tempting Adam to partake of the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Adam refuses, so Satan goes over to tempt Eve. She asks him who he is. He tells her that he is her brother. He gets her to believe that lie so he tells her another one. He persuades her to eat of the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil by telling her that is how God the Father gained His knowledge. Then Eve takes the fruit over to Adam and gets him to eat. About this time, they hear Elohim and Jehovah (according to Mormon doctrine) coming. Satan tells them to take fig leaves and make aprons. And this is what they do. So Elohim get there and asks Adam, "Where art thou?" Adam answers and says, "I heard thy voice and hid because I was naked." Elohim said, "Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou partaken of the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, of which we commanded thee not to partake?"
The act goes on. Adam blames Eve and Eve blames the serpent. Elohim (God) curses Lucifer (Satan), then curses Adam and Eve.
QUESTION: Why is Adam blaming Eve and Eve blaming the serpent? And, why is God cursing them?
COMMENT: According to Mormon teaching, Adam didn't sin, he transgressed, and it must have been upwardly, because in the Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 2:22-25 and Pearl of Greal Price, Book of Moses, Chapter 5:10, 11, they are rejoicing because they partook of the fruit that men might be and that they might have joy.
Ultimately, the blame is on Satan, and Satan did a good thing, because if it wasn't for him, men couldn't be and they wouldn't have joy. So God is the one who messed up because he cursed them for making the right decision (according to Mormon doctrine).
So, I ask, "Who is the Mormon god, or should I even ask?" As I think about this, my mind goes to a precept in Mormonism that Joseph Smith started, "God dwells in everlasting burnings" and that is in History of the Church, Volume 6, pages 306 and 366, exactly where Satan will spend all eternity based on Revelation 20:10-15.
Satan seems to ignore Elohim's (God's) curse, since everytime he shows up after that, he is just as proud and as boastful as ever. Besides not paying any attention to God's curse, Satan also teaches them what to accept as true and real. He is the one who thought up the fig leaf apron, which God rejected in the Holy Bible. God made them coats of skins and clothed them (see Genesis 3:21). In the temple ceremony, the Mormons continue to wear the fig-leaf apron and Satan is the author of it.
THE LONE AND DREARY WORLD
In this part of the temple ceremony labeled 'The Lone and Dreary World', Adam is praying to God and Satan shows up, asking him, "What do you want?" Adam looks and sees Satan, and does not seem to remember who he is (which is strange since according to Mormon doctrine, Satan is his brother, Eve remembered him). Anyway Adam asks, "Who are you?" Satan responds, "I am the God of this world." Doesn't this tell you something concerning who the Mormon god is? Adam is praying to God the Father, and Satan answers.
To continue, Satan asks, "What do you want?" Adam says, "I am looking for messengers." Satan replies, "Oh, you want someone to preach to you. You want religion, do you? I will have preachers here presently."
THIS is when the Mormon temple cermony starts ridiculing the Christian God, especially regarding him being spirit and everywhere present at the same time, and also being able to live inside men.
What is interesting to note here is that the Book of Mormon bears witness with this in Alma 11:26-40 and 18:24-28; also, Alma 34:36.
The temple ceremony goes on to teach that Christian preachers who go to college and receive training for the ministry, and then go out and preach and convert others are paid by Satan and paid well. There are many other things that go on in the temple ceremony that are not Christian, but to conclude this particular scene: The Apostle Peter comes into the picture, puts his right arm to the square and commands Satan to depart in the name of Jesus Christ, Our Master.
NOWHERE, I repeat NOWHERE in the scriptures does it teach that you must know certain masonic signs and the name of Jesus to take authority over Satan. If Jesus is in you and you realize what you are in Him, that is all that you need. Also, while we are on the signs, included with this are the secret handshakes, tokens, five points of fellowship, and all the rest. They are not needed to enter the celestial kingdom of God.
THE SHED BLOOD OF JESUS IS
ALL SUFFICIENT WITHOUT
ANYTHING ELSE ADDED!
The Word says in Ephesians 1:7: "In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace."
Salvation is a free gift (general and personal, they are one and the same). We read this in Ephesians 2:8,9: "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works , lest any man should boast."
And in Romans 4:5,6: "But to him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works."
DOES GOD HAVE TEMPLES TODAY?
Certainly, but temples made with men's hands are replaced with temples created by God.
In I Corinthians 3:16,17: "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are."
And, in Acts 17:24,25: "God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that He is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is He worshiped with men's hands, as though He needeth anything, seeing He giveth to all life, and breath, and all things."
Also, in II Corinthians 6:16,17: "And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, 'I will dwell in them, and walk in them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.' "
Even the Book of Mormon is in agreement with this, as we see in Alma 34:36: "And this I know, because the Lord hath said, he dwelleth not in unholy temples but in the hearts of the righteous doth He dwell;...."
Everything in the law and the prophets found its fulfillment and completion in him. He is what the Old Testament is all about.
When Jesus came, He did away with all the types and figures concerning him in the Old Testament. He said, "Search the scriptures; for in them ye think that ye have eternal life; and they are they which testify of me. And ye will not come to me that ye might have life." (John 5:39, 40)
Sacrifices are not needed anymore. Jesus is our complete sacrifice once for all time. High priests are not needed anymore. Jesus is the high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. The new covenant replaces the old covenant. (Hebrews, Chapter 7:21- Chapter 10:18)
As a Christian, I applaud God Almighty who became a man and took the abuse, beatings, mockery, and laughter from those he loved. Then he let the ones he created nail him to a cross. All this he let them do because of his great love for mankind. He came to die and in so doing everyone who receives him through his finished work on the cross of Calvary and his resurrection from the dead becomes new creatures being transferred from children of Satan to children of God. And this is the message of Christ.
"For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
"And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.."
I Corinthians 15:3,4
"But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name."
John 1:12
Ask Jesus Christ, who is Jehovah Elohim (LORD God) Almighty to forgive your sins and come into your life, and he will. He will set you free and make you a new creature!
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ADDITIONAL SOURCES
God's Inspired Word: The Holy Bible
Sackett, Chuck: What's Going On In There?
Smith, Joseph: The Book of Mormon
History of the Church
Pearl of Great Price
Post Script:
Religion
The Mormon Gender Gap
Since its founding in 1830, Mormonism has remained a religion dominated by males steeped in missionary zeal and protective by the secrets of its sacred temples. Last week, the secrecy was breached by reports of a rare change in temple rituals to eliminate parts deemed offensive to women and members of other faiths.
Leaders of the 7.3 million- member Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints quietly dropped a vow in which women pledge to obey their husbands. The husbands, in turn, vow obedience to God. Also cut was a portrayal, in a re-enactment of the story of creation and life on earth, of a non-Mormon preacher as Satan's agent. Both were part of the "endowment" ritual a Mormon must go through to be assured of eternal life. It is performed not in ordinary churches but in 43 temples open to the most devout.
The changes, announced to church members in April without explanation, leaked to the press last week. Rapid membership growth worldwide is forcing the church to adapt some of its 19th-century practices to modern sensibilities, some prominent Mormons say. In 1978, the church ended its ban on blacks in the priesthood. Many women have stayed away from the temple because they felt "discomfort and alienation," says Lavina Fielding Anderson, editor- elect of the Journal of Mormon History. While women's rights advocates applaud the reforms, they say the church has a long way to go. Women are still barred from the priesthood and from top leadership posts and are excluded from participating in child- christening ceremonies.
U.S. News & World Report 5-14-90
Editorial Note:
A man-made religion has to change with the changing times. The above article is an example of another change. The Mormons have made over 4,000 changes in the Book of Mormon, they allowed blacks into the priesthood when Brigham Young said, "...when one ounce of black blood enters the Mormon Temple, the true church is taken from this planet and God leaves us to our fate." Look for the Mormon woman to be able to be a part of the priesthood in the near future. The Mormon Church is making some fairly decent changes but it has a long way to go to become the Church that God is looking for. A Church that recognizes Jesus as the one and only way to heaven. To know that salvation is a free gift. When you accept this free gift, God comes into your life and he makes you a new creature and gives you everything that you need to live for him.