General Images from the LDS Church- Page 1

Kirtland Temple

(D&C 88:117-130; D&C 109:10)
Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God. (D&C 88:119)

Temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, like those in ancient times, are holy buildings dedicated to the Lord. A temple, also called the house of the Lord, is a place where worthy Church members receive sacred ordinances and make solemn covenants with God. In these holy temples, families are sealed together forever. Although design and location vary, the work accomplished in each of the Lord's temples is the same.

Heavenly Father established a plan so that the blessings of the temple could be offered to all His children. People who have received their own ordinances are encouraged to return to the temple often to act as proxies for those who have died without having the opportunity of going to the temple for themselves.

The Kirtland (Ohio) Temple was the first house of the Lord built in the latter days. In 18-32 the Lord commanded the Saints to build this holy house for a place of revelation and instruction (D&C 88:117:30). For three years the Kirtland Saints devoted themselves to fulfilling this commandment. As the Saints sacrificed money and labor, the Lord blessed and strengthened them. The temple was dedicated on 27 March 18-36. The Saints witnessed many spiritual manifestations and had many spiritual experiences in the weeks before the dedication, during the dedication itself, and in the weeks following the dedication. (D&C 109)

The most important of these spiritual manifestations occurred a week after the dedication. On 3 April 18-36, Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery and accepted the Kirtland Temple as His house. Then Moses, Elias, and Elijah appeared and gave Joseph and Oliver authority to gather Israel in the last days and to seal families together for eternity. (D&C 110) Elijah had restored the sealing keys so Latter-day Saints could perform sacred ordinances for both the living and the dead. Unfortunately, the Saints were forced to abandon the Kirtland Temple before these sacred ordinances could be performed, but the spiritual knowledge received there helped prepare the Saints for future trials and blessings.

The Kirtland Temple is currently owned by the Community of Christ (Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints).

Summary

Temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are holy buildings dedicated to the Lord. A temple is also called the house of the Lord. It is a place where worthy Church members receive saving ordinances and make sacred covenants with God. In temples families can be sealed together forever. The Kirtland Temple was the first house of the Lord built in the latter days and was a place where several heavenly visitors came. Jesus Christ Himself appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery and accepted the Kirtland Temple as His house. Moses, Elias, and Elijah also came and gave Joseph and Oliver the authority to gather Israel and to seal families together forever.

Nauvoo Illinois Temple

(D&C 124:26-44)
And verily I say unto you, let this house be built unto my name, that I may reveal mine ordinances therein unto my people. (D&C 124:40)

Temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, like those in ancient times, are holy buildings dedicated to the Lord. A temple, also called the house of the Lord, is a place where worthy Church members receive sacred ordinances and make solemn covenants with God. In these holy temples, families are sealed together forever. Although design and location vary, the work accomplished in each of the Lord's temples is the same.

Heavenly Father established a plan so that the blessings of the temple could be offered to all His children. People who have received their own ordinances are encouraged to return to the temple often to act as proxies for those who have died without having the opportunity of going to the temple for themselves.

In 18-41, the Lord commanded the Latter-day Saints to build a temple in Nauvoo, Illinois (D&C 124:26-28). Anxious to receive the blessings of the temple, the Saints began work immediately. Within a year they were able to perform baptisms for their ancestors.

The Nauvoo Temple was built mainly by donated labor. Most men worked one day in 10 on the temple, and the sisters provided clothing and food for them. The Saints also donated about $1 million to buy building materials and supplies. It was a time of great sacrifice for them.

After Joseph and Hyrum Smith were martyred in 1844, the Saints knew they would soon be forced to leave Nauvoo. But they wanted to receive sacred ordinances and kept working on the temple. Rooms were dedicated as they were completed so that ordinance work could begin as soon as possible. The first full endowments were performed 10 December 1845, but the entire temple was not finished and formally dedicated until 30 April 18-46. More than 5,000 members received their endowments before starting their journey west.

An arsonist's fire gutted the Nauvoo Temple in October 1848, and later a tornado severely damaged the remaining walls. Residents of Nauvoo then razed the temple and salvaged the stones from the walls.

On 4 April 19-99, President Gordon B. Hinckley announced that the Nauvoo Temple was to be rebuilt (see Conference Report, Apr. 19-99, 117; or Ensign, May 19-99, 89). Accordingly, a new temple, designed to look like the original, was constructed on the site where the first building once stood. The new Nauvoo Illinois Temple was dedicated on 27 June 2002.

Summary

Temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are holy buildings dedicated to the Lord. A temple is also called the house of the Lord. It is a place where worthy Church members receive saving ordinances and make sacred covenants with God. In temples families can be sealed together forever. The Nauvoo Temple was the first temple in the latter days where endowments, sealings, baptisms for the dead, and other temple ordinances could be performed. Construction on the temple began soon after the Saints came to Nauvoo; it was dedicated on 30 April 18-46. Even though members were being driven from their homes by their enemies, more than 5,000 people received their endowments before they started the journey west. Eventually destroyed after the Saints left, the temple was rebuilt 150 years later and dedicated as the Nauvoo Illinois Temple on 27 June 2002.

Salt Lake Temple

(Isaiah 2:23)
And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths. (Isaiah 2:2-3)

Temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, like those in ancient times, are holy buildings dedicated to the Lord. A temple, also called the house of the Lord, is a place where worthy Church members receive sacred ordinances and make solemn covenants with God. In these holy temples families are sealed together forever. Although design and location vary, the work accomplished in each of the Lord's temples is the same.

Heavenly Father established a plan so that the blessings of the temple could be offered to all His children. People who have received their own ordinances are encouraged to return to the temple often to act as proxies for those who have died without having the opportunity of going to the temple for themselves.

On 28 July 1847, only four days after the Mormon pioneers entered the Salt Lake Valley, Brigham Young marked a site with his cane and declared, "Here we will build a temple to our God." That site is now Temple Square, the center of Salt Lake City.

Construction on the temple began on 14 February 1853 with a ceremonial groundbreaking, and on 6 April the cornerstones were laid. In 1855 the foundation was finished, and the first granite blocks from a quarry 20 miles south in Little Cottonwood Canyon were assembled. But in 1857 the Saints learned that a U.S. Army unit known as Johnston's Army was marching on Utah. The pioneers buried all the work they had done, making the entire site look like a plowed field.

Work on the temple progressed very slowly until 1869, when the transcontinental railroad was finished and a spur could be built into the canyon. The completed temple was finally dedicated on 6 April 1893, 40 years to the day since the cornerstones had been laid. Today the Salt Lake Temple stands as a monument to the pioneers who built it and as the religious symbol of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints throughout the world.

Summary

Temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are holy buildings dedicated to the Lord. A temple is also called the house of the Lord. It is a place where worthy Church members receive saving ordinances and make sacred covenants with God. In temples families can be sealed together forever. President Brigham Young marked the site for the Salt Lake Temple on 28 July 1847, but construction did not begin until February 1853. It took the Saints 40 years to build the temple, and today it is the religious symbol of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints throughout the world.

Salt Lake Tabernacle

(Matthew 18:20; Moroni 6:9; D&C 25:11-12)
Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. (Matthew 18:20)

President Brigham Young knew that the Saints would be spiritually strengthened by having a building they could all gather in to receive instructions from their leaders. By 31 July 1847, just a week after the pioneers arrived in the Salt Lake Valley, the first "tabernacle" was built on Temple Square. It was an improvised bowery made of adobe blocks and poles supporting a roof of leaves and branches. In 1852 the pioneers completed a one-story adobe building, the "Old Tabernacle," which could accommodate 2,500 people.

By 1854 it was clear that the Old Tabernacle was too small, and plans were started for a new, much larger building. Brigham Young envisioned a building with a dome-shaped roof and no supporting pillars. Construction of the Salt Lake Tabernacle began in 1863.

Recognizing the importance of music in worship services (Moroni 6:9; D&C 25:11-12), plans were also made to include a pipe organ in the Tabernacle. Joseph Ridges built and installed the first organ in 18-67. The central portion of the organ case remains, and the famous golden pipes, made of wood staves from Utah timber, still play. The case has been enlarged several times over the years, but the design has always followed the original style.

The Salt Lake Tabernacle was first used for general conference in October 1867. An additional seating gallery, begun in 1870, extends around three sides of the Tabernacle and is supported by 72 columns. The completed Tabernacle, which can seat about 6,000 people, was dedicated at the October 1875 general conference by President John Taylor. It was then the main building used for general conferences until April 2000, when the Conference Center began to be used. Today various meetings and programs are held in the Tabernacle.

Summary

Soon after the Saints arrived in the Salt Lake Valley, Brigham Young chose an area on Temple Square where the members of the Church could gather to be taught by their leaders. For many years the Saints met outdoors or in a one-story adobe building, but in 1863 construction began on the Salt Lake Tabernacle, a building that would be large enough to seat about 6,000 people. The Tabernacle was first used for general conference in October 1867, was dedicated in October 1875, and for many years continued to be used for general conferences. It is used today for various meetings and programs.

Temple Baptismal Font

(John 3:5; D&C 124:29-30)
Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. (John 3:5)

Baptism is an ordinance commanded by Heavenly Father for the salvation of all His children. As we participate in this ordinance, we make a sacred covenant that acts as a gate leading to eternal life: "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God" (John 3:5).

Our Father in Heaven established the way this sacred ordinance could be performed for those who died without having the opportunity to hear the gospel and be baptized. Each temple has a baptismal font, and worthy Church members are baptized in the name of people who died without receiving this ordinance (D&C 124:29-30). Afterward, each individual, again represented by a faithful member, is confirmed a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and is given the Holy Ghost. For all who choose to accept them, these ordinances then become as valid as those that are performed for the living.

Modern-day temple fonts are patterned after the brazen sea in the Temple of Solomon. The sea sat in the outer court of the temple and was used by the priests to wash themselves before they performed sacrifices at the altar. It rested on the backs of twelve oxen, which represented the twelve tribes of Israel.

Summary

Heavenly Father has commanded that all His children should be baptized. Some people who lived on this earth never had the opportunity to hear the gospel and be baptized. For this reason, each temple that has been built in the latter days has a baptismal font, where all worthy members age 12 and older can be baptized for people who died without receiving this ordinance. Each of these temple fonts sits on the backs of twelve oxen, which represent the twelve tribes of Israel.