Eternal Love

For members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, temples are very important. So important in fact, that details about them might be more guarded by members than secrets of national security. This is not because God is merely afraid of bad people stealing words and ceremonies from the temple to use against the church, though that is certainly an unfortunate and despicable practice done by many. The main concern for God is something very simple: God's laws are eternal. He has a plan for His children involves more than just being baptized and following Jesus. His plan involves covenants, or mutual promises, so grand and special, that only the people of His church striving to live their purest can partake in them. These are done in the Lord's house... the temple.

The words of the Lord in these ceremonies involve everything that a person needs to know and understands so that they might truly live spiritually inspired and protected in this life and live in the highest heaven with God and become like Him after one's death and resurrection. They are sacred. In fact, one might say that they are sacred, but not secret. God wants all of His beloved children to come back, to repent, and enjoy the spiritual blessings He has all set up. The importance of these blessings, though, is such that only people worthy to enter into a piece of heaven on earth (God's house, the temple) may witness and receive such things. That said, our Father in Heaven is far from happy with those who attempt to publish or expose the most holy of holy things, such as the contents of the temple and the ceremonies only practiced therein.

Many things are open to the public. In fact, every time a temple of the Church is built, there is an open house directly following its completion, where the Church publicizes and invites all respectful visitors to walk through all the rooms of the beautiful temple and learn about their general functions. After a few weeks of this, the temple is dedicated by a prophet of the Lord and its doors are closed to all but those church members that are found worthy to enter by the Lord's appointed servants. Thereafter, the importance of the temple is such that most members are encouraged to live worthily and to attend and perform saving ordinances (ceremonies) for themselves and for their ancestors as often as their means permit.

Now there are more than 120 temples in the world, scattered over every continent. We are privileged where we live to actually live down the street from one. It is beautiful, sacred, and bears the same nameplate as the others built in this modern age, just as was displayed in the ancient temples: House of the Lord, Holiness to the Lord. Though many people in many industries in the public eye seek to vilify the Church or religion in general, my family, my friends, and I seek to venerate, uphold and keep sacred the eternal truths of the temple, the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ, and our very own invaluable souls.