Virtual Temple Tour Part I: Meaning and Preparation

Perhaps the most visual symbols of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are temples that sometimes have at the top of spires a gold statue of an angel blowing a trumpet. Less noticed, unless living in a place that has a lot of Latter-day Saints (otherwise called “Mormons”) are the meeting chapels where Sunday worship and other activities take place. Anyone who is an LDS Church member or not can go to a chapel, but the temples are different. Only those who are baptized as faithful members can enter into and partake of the worship inside. Every now and then those who are not LDS members may visit a recently built or refurnished temple and take a non-worship tour. Once temples are dedicated only LDS members in good standing can enter for worship activities.

Unlike a meeting house where congregations gather for weekly Sunday services, LDS Church President Russell M. Nelson explained, "The temple is the house of the Lord. The basis for every temple ordinance and covenant…is the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Every activity, every lesson, all we do in the Church, point to the Lord and His holy house." (General Conference, April 2001). It is a place where families of the Earth are united for all of eternity in righteousness. Elder Boyd K. Packer of the LDS Twelve Apostles stated, "Temple. One other word is equal in importance to a Latter-day Saint. Home. Put the words holy temple and home together, and you have described the house of the Lord!" (GC, April 1993). Each temple will have the words “Holiness to the Lord, the House of the Lord” engraved over an entrance door, signifying it belongs to Jesus Christ with the prospect of heavenly visitation.

Worship within the temple is full of symbolism compared to a regular church service that mostly contains prayer, hymns, and sermons. There is only a few symbolic rituals outside the temple that Latter-day Saints practice. Baptism is done by full immersion to represent rebirth, death and resurrection, and cleansing away of sins. Related to baptism is the Sacrament, known to other Christian religions as Communion, that was instituted by Jesus Christ in remembrance of the sacrifice of his blood and flesh on the Cross. The amount of symbolic ritual in the temple is strikingly different from the basic Sunday worship services.

Temple worship is also considered highly sacred and to be discussed with careful reverence, if mentioned at all to the point of secrecy. The sentiment is similar to what the early Christian theologian Origen wrote in his Against Celsus (Ante-Nicene Fathers, 4:399), “to speak of the Christian doctrine as a secret system, is altogether absurd, but there should be certain doctrines, not made known to the multitude . . . not deemed fit to be communicated to profane and insufficiently prepared ears.” The writer of the early Christian document Clementine Rocognitions ( in ANF 8:83) wrote, “For the most sublime truths are best honored by means of silence.” Jesus Christ himself often spoke in parables, with his disciples asking why he taught in that way. His response according to Mark chapter 4:11 was, “unto you it is given to know the mystery of the Kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables.” For these same reasons Latter-day Saints are advised, such as former LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinkley cautioned (GC, April 1990), “Sacred matters deserve sacred consideration. We are under obligation, binding and serious, to not use temple language or speak of temple matters outside.” Because of the sacred nature of the temple, this virtual tour will follow the example of what is available in official LDS Church statements and publications.

From the early years of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' founding, temples were built as places of special services. The first temple was in Kirtland, Ohio where heavenly messengers were said to have delivered Priesthood Keys making the ordinances available. Years later Endowment ceremonies were introduced in an upper room of a red brick building. A record of the event claims it took all day, with the founding prophet Joseph Smith telling those present to work on what they were given to make improvements.

Kirtland, OH Temple

The second temple was built in Nauvoo, Illinois after the death of the prophet Joseph Smith. Years later it burned to the ground after the Latter-day Saints were chased out of the United States, to be rebuilt in 2002.

Nauvoo, IL Temple

The famous quote by former LDS Church President Brigham Young once he reached Utah, “this is the place,” pointed out where to build what is now the Salt Lake Temple. It took 40 years to build, with the St. George Utah Temple the first in the west.

Salt Lake City, UT Temple

Slowly at first, but with greater frequency, temples started to be constructed wherever the membership population could support doing the work inside these holy houses of worship. In order to enter an LDS temple, other than before a building is dedicated for worship, a person must be baptized a member of the Church and in good moral and religious standing. They must interview with their Bishop who leads a local congregation, and then their Stake President that leads a geographical group of congregations, to determine spiritual preparation and moral worthiness. When found acceptable for entering into a temple, a small “recommend” card is given that allows access to any one of the Holy Temples. Elder Robert D. Hales, of the LDS Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, explains (April, 2012):

What are the standards for recommend holders? The Psalmist reminds us:

“Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place?

“He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart.”

Worthiness to hold a temple recommend gives us the strength to keep our temple covenants. How do we personally gain that strength? We strive to obtain a testimony of Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, the Holy Ghost, the reality of the Atonement, and the truthfulness of the Prophet Joseph Smith and the Restoration. We sustain our leaders, treat our families with kindness, stand as a witness of the Lord’s true Church, attend our Church meetings, honor our covenants, fulfill parental obligations, and live a virtuous life. You may say that sounds like just being a faithful Latter-day Saint! You are right. The standard for temple recommend holders is not too high for us to achieve. It is simply to faithfully live the gospel and follow the prophets.

With a temple recommend in hand the LDS member can, “go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob,” (Isa. 2:3), at any time they are open. Going to worship at the LDS temple is similar to approaching a Holy Mountain or mountain of the Lord in ancient times. Jewish prophet Moses was tending sheep when he went up Mount Horeb and encountered the Divine. The Angel of the Lord appeared in a burning bush that wasn't consumed by the fire. Moses was told to take off his shoes because he was on holy ground, before learning the name of the Lord and called as a prophet. After leading Israel out of Egypt he went up Mount Sinai to once again encounter the Lord and receive the Ten Commandments and other instructions. Jesus Christ in the New Testament went up a high mountain with three of the apostles. There he was visited by prophets Moses and Elijah, along with The Father hidden behind a dark cloud. The apostles acknowledged the importance of these visits and wanted to make three tabernacles, but were asked by Jesus not to reveal what happened until later.

The Book of Mormon also contains stories about prophets reaching the top of a mountain to receive visions of the Divine. The prophet Nephi prayed to understand his father’s Tree of Life vision and was miraculously placed on an unknown high mountain. There he was shown his own version of the Tree of Life vision, along with prophecies of Jesus Christ and much of world history. Another prophet during the time of the Tower of Babel climbed a mountain to ask how to have light in boats made to cross a large body of water. He decided regular rocks could be turned into glowing stones and asked the Lord to touch them. Because of his great faith the prophet was able to first see the finger of the Lord and then the complete spiritual body of the Lord.

Temples are a spiritual representation of mountains where the Earth and Heaven meet together. They are also not easy to climb, making them places of privacy separated from the profane. Both the Mesopotamian ziggurats and Egyptian temples are specifically patterned to resemble mountains, metaphorically representing the Earth and Heaven coming together. They also reference the first mound of land that arose from the primordial waters, signifying the center of everything.  Temples in history are often places to observe the Sun, Moon, planets and stars to know when to plant, harvest, and hold religious festivals. It is at temples that people learn about the cosmos, are reminded of their place in Creation, and make divine covenants on Earth to prepare for Eternity.