Temple (Mormonism) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Latter Day Saint movement

The Latter Day Saint movement is a group of independent churches tracing their origin to a Christian primitivist movement founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. in the late 1820s. Collectively, these churches have over 14 million members...

, a temple is a building dedicated to be a house of God

God

God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....

and is reserved for special forms of worship. A temple differs from a church meetinghouse

Meeting house

A meeting house describes a building where a public meeting takes place. This includes secular buildings which function like a town or city hall, and buildings used for religious meetings, particularly of some non-conformist Christian denominations....

, which is used for weekly worship services. Temples have been a significant part of the Latter Day Saint movement since early in its inception. Today, temples are operated by several Latter Day Saint denominations. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) has 135 operating temples worldwide to perform Endowment ceremonies

Endowment (Latter Day Saints)

In the theology of the Latter Day Saint movement, an endowment refers to a gift of "power from on high", typically associated with Latter Day Saint temples. The purpose and meaning of the endowment varied during the life of movement founder Joseph Smith, Jr...

, marriages, and other services for both the living and by proxy in behalf of dead ancestors.

Although the most prolific builder of temples within the Latter Day Saint movement

Latter Day Saint movement

is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, several other denominations have built or attempted to build temples. Community of Christ

Community of Christ

The Community of Christ, known from 1872 to 2001 as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints , is an American-based international Christian church established in April 1830 that claims as its mission "to proclaim Jesus Christ and promote communities of joy, hope, love, and peace"...

operates two temples in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, which are open to the public and are used for worship services, performances, and religious education. Other denominations with temples are the Apostolic United Brethren

Apostolic United Brethren

The Apostolic United Brethren is a polygamous Mormon fundamentalist church within the Latter Day Saint movement. The sect is not affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...

, the Church of Christ, the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and the Righteous Branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Righteous Branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The Righteous Branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as The Righteous Branch, The Branch Church, The Peterson Group and Christ's Church, is a fundamentalist Mormon sect of the Latter Day Saint movement...

History

The Latter Day Saint movement

Latter Day Saint movement

was conceived as a restoration of practices believed to have been lost in a Great Apostasy

Great Apostasy

The Great Apostasy is a term used by some religious groups to describe a general fallen state of traditional Christianity, especially the Papacy, because it allowed the traditional Roman mysteries and deities of solar monism such as Mithras and Sol Invictus and idol worship back into the church,...

from the true gospel of Jesus Christ. Temple worship played a prominent role in the Bible's Old Testament

Old Testament

The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...

, and in the Book of Mormon

Book of Mormon

The Book of Mormon is a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement that adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from approximately 2600 BC to AD 421. It was first published in March 1830 by Joseph Smith, Jr...

.

On December 27, 1832—two years after the organization of the Church of Christ—the church's founder, Joseph Smith, Jr., reported receiving a revelation that called upon church members to restore the practice of temple worship. The Latter Day Saints in Kirtland, Ohio

Kirtland, Ohio

Kirtland is a city in Lake County, Ohio, USA. The population was 6,670 at the 2000 census. Kirtland is famous for being the early headquarters of the Latter Day Saint movement.-Origins of Kirtland:...

were commanded to:

"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." (Doctrine and Covenants
Doctrine and Covenants
The Doctrine and Covenants is a part of the open scriptural canon of several denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement...

1835 VII:36, LDS 88:119, RLDS 85:36b)

More importantly, Latter Day Saints see temples as the fulfillment of a prophecy found in (KJV):

"Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me; and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts."

This is believed to emphasize that when the Lord comes again, he will come "to his temple."

As plans were drawn up to construct a temple in Kirtland, the decision was made to simultaneously begin work on a second temple

Temple Lot

The Temple Lot, located in Independence, Jackson County, Missouri, is the first site to be dedicated for the construction of a temple in the Latter Day Saint movement...

at the church's colony in Jackson County

Jackson County, Missouri

Jackson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. With a population of 674,158 in the 2010 census, Jackson County is the second most populous of Missouri's counties, after St. Louis County. Kansas City, the state's most populous city and focus city of the Kansas City Metropolitan...

, Missouri

Missouri

Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...

. Surviving plans indicate that both temples would have the same dimensions and approximately the same appearance and both were to be at the "centerplaces" of cities designed according to Smith's plan for the City of Zion

Zion (Mormonism)

Within the Latter Day Saint movement, Zion is often used to connote a utopian association of the righteous. This association would practice a form of communitarian economics called the United Order meant to ensure that all members maintained an acceptable quality of life, class distinctions were...

.

Conflict in Missouri led to the expulsion of the Mormons from Jackson County, preventing any possibility of building a temple there, but work on the temple in Kirtland continued. At great cost and after great sacrifice, the Latter Day Saints finished the Kirtland Temple

Kirtland Temple

The Kirtland Temple is a National Historic Landmark in Kirtland, Ohio, USA, on the eastern edge of the Cleveland metropolitan area. Owned and operated by the Community of Christ, formerly the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints , the house of worship was the first temple to be...

in early 1836. On March 27, they held a lengthy dedication ceremony and numerous spiritual experiences and visitations were reported.

Conflict relating to the failure of the church's Kirtland Safety Society

Kirtland Safety Society

The Kirtland Safety Society was a quasi-bank organized in 1836 by leaders and followers of the Church of the Latter Day Saints. According to KSS's 1837 "Articles of Agreement", it was intended to serve the banking needs of the growing Mormon community in Kirtland, Ohio...

bank, caused the church presidency to leave Kirtland and move the church's headquarters to the Mormon settlement of Far West, Missouri

Far West, Missouri

Far West, Missouri, was a Latter Day Saint settlement in Caldwell County, Missouri.-Foundation and early history:The town was founded by Missouri Mormon leaders, W. W. Phelps and John Whitmer in August 1836 shortly before the county's creation. The town was platted originally as a square area,...

. Far West was also platted along the lines of the City of Zion plan and in 1838 the church began construction of a new, larger temple in the center of the town. They may also have dedicated a temple site in the neighboring Mormon settlement of Adam-ondi-Ahman

Adam-ondi-Ahman

Adam-ondi-Ahman is an historic site along the east bluffs above the Grand River in Daviess County, Missouri. According to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , it is the site where Adam and Eve lived after being expelled from the Garden of Eden...

. The events of the 1838 Mormon War and the expulsion of the Mormons from Missouri left these attempts at temple-building no further progressed than excavating foundations.

In 1839, the Mormons regrouped at a new headquarters in Nauvoo, Illinois

Nauvoo, Illinois

Nauvoo is a small city in Hancock County, Illinois, United States. Although the population was just 1,063 at the 2000 census, and despite being difficult to reach due to its location in a remote corner of Illinois, Nauvoo attracts large numbers of visitors for its historic importance and its...

. They were again commanded to build a "House of the Lord" — this one even larger and greater than those that went before. Plans for the temple in Nauvoo followed the earlier models in Kirtland and Independence with lower and upper courts, but the scale was much increased.

New conflicts arose that caused Joseph Smith, the Prophet and President of the Church, to be murdered, along with his brother Hyrum the Patriarch

Patriarch (Mormonism)

In the Latter Day Saint movement, Patriarch is an office of the Priesthood whose main duty is to give Patriarchal blessings to church members. It is considered to be either an office of the Patriarchal Priesthood or the Melchizedek priesthood...

, at Carthage Jail on June 27, 1844. The Nauvoo Temple

Nauvoo Temple

The Nauvoo Temple was the second temple constructed by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, commonly known as the Mormons. The church's first temple was completed in Kirtland, Ohio, United States in 1836. When the main body of the church was forced out of Nauvoo, Illinois in the...

stood only half finished. Eventually, this temple was finished and dedicated. Some temple ordinances were performed before most of the saints followed Brigham Young west across the Mississippi River.

Joseph Smith's death resulted in a succession crisis which divided the movement into different sects. The concept of temple worship evolved separately in many of these sects and only the LDS Church continued to build temples until April 1990 when the Community of Christ

Community of Christ

, then known as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS), began to construct the Independence Temple

Independence Temple

The Temple in Independence, Missouri, is a house of worship and education "dedicated to the pursuit of peace". It dominates the skyline of Independence, Missouri, USA, and has become the focal point of the headquarters of the Community of Christ...

, which was officially dedicated in 1994. The Community of Christ still owns the Kirtland Temple, which is used for worship services and special events but also open to visitors, including various Latter Day Saint denominations interested in the building's historical significance.

Purposes

Temples have held numerous purposes in the Latter Day Saint movement, both historically and their differing expressions today. These purposes include:

A House of the Lord — Joseph Smith, Jr. reported a revelation in 1836 explaining that the recently-dedicated Kirtland Temple
Kirtland Temple
The Kirtland Temple is a National Historic Landmark in Kirtland, Ohio, USA, on the eastern edge of the Cleveland metropolitan area. Owned and operated by the Community of Christ, formerly the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints , the house of worship was the first temple to be...

was built "that the Son of Man might have a place to manifest himself to his people." (Doctrine and Covenants
Doctrine and Covenants
The Doctrine and Covenants is a part of the open scriptural canon of several denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement...

LDS 109:5). All Latter Day Saint denominations with temples still consider temples to be special houses of the Lord.
A House of Learning — The Kirtland Temple housed the "School of the Prophets."
Center of the City of Zion — Latter Day Saints often view temples as central to the establishment of Zionic communities. Examples include: the Kirtland Temple, the original (unfinished) Independence Temple, the (unfinished) Far West
Far West, Missouri
Far West, Missouri, was a Latter Day Saint settlement in Caldwell County, Missouri.-Foundation and early history:The town was founded by Missouri Mormon leaders, W. W. Phelps and John Whitmer in August 1836 shortly before the county's creation. The town was platted originally as a square area,...

Temple, the (unfinished) Adam-ondi-Ahman
Adam-ondi-Ahman
Adam-ondi-Ahman is an historic site along the east bluffs above the Grand River in Daviess County, Missouri. According to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , it is the site where Adam and Eve lived after being expelled from the Garden of Eden...

Temple, the original Nauvoo Temple, the Salt Lake Temple
Salt Lake Temple
The Salt Lake Temple is the largest and best-known of more than 130 temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is the sixth temple built by the church, requiring 40 years to complete, and the fourth operating temple built since the Mormon exodus from Nauvoo,...

, the St. George Utah Temple
St. George Utah Temple
The St. George Utah Temple is the first temple completed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints after the forced exodus of the body of the Church from Nauvoo, Illinois, after the death of its founder Joseph Smith, Jr.-Description:The building is located in the SW Utah city of St....

, the Mesa Arizona Temple
Mesa Arizona Temple
The Mesa Arizona Temple is the seventh operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Located in the city of Mesa, Arizona, it is the first of five LDS temples built or planned in the state.-History:...

, the Lā‘ie Hawai‘i Temple
Laie Hawaii Temple
Laie Hawaii Temple is a temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints located on the northeast shore of the Hawaiian island of Oahu. The temple sits on a small hill a half-mile from the Pacific Ocean in the town of Lāie, from Honolulu...

, and others.
Headquarters of the church — the Kirtland Temple served as the headquarters of the early church from its completion in 1836 through the end of 1837.
Sacred spaces for special ordinances — Beginning in Nauvoo, temples were spaces in which to perform special ordinances such as the endowment
Endowment (Latter Day Saints)
In the theology of the Latter Day Saint movement, an endowment refers to a gift of "power from on high", typically associated with Latter Day Saint temples. The purpose and meaning of the endowment varied during the life of movement founder Joseph Smith, Jr...

and baptism for the dead
Baptism for the dead
Baptism for the dead, vicarious baptism or proxy baptism is the religious practice of baptizing a living person on behalf of one who is dead, with the living person acting as the deceased person's proxy...

— see Ordinance (Mormonism)
Ordinance (Mormonism)
In Mormonism, an ordinance is a religious ritual of special significance, often involving the formation of a covenant with God. Ordinances are performed by the authority of the priesthood and in the name of Jesus Christ...

.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS church) has been the most prolific builder of temples. In this church, temples are not only a House of the Lord

Lord

Lord is a title with various meanings. It can denote a prince or a feudal superior . The title today is mostly used in connection with the peerage of the United Kingdom or its predecessor countries, although some users of the title do not themselves hold peerages, and use it 'by courtesy'...

, but are also where members of the Church make covenants

Covenant (theology)

In religion a covenant can refer to a promise between man and God:* Covenant , in the Hebrew Bible* Greater Covenant, in the Bahá'í Faith* Covenant Theology, in Christianity interpretations of a covenant surrounding Jesus's death and resurrection...

, receive instructions, and perform sacred ordinances, such as: baptism for the dead

Baptism for the dead

Baptism for the dead, vicarious baptism or proxy baptism is the religious practice of baptizing a living person on behalf of one who is dead, with the living person acting as the deceased person's proxy...

, washing and anointing

Washing and anointing

The washing and anointing is a temple ordinance of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that pertains to exaltation within the Celestial Kingdom. Combined, the two ordinances are known as the initiatory, which is performed for both the living and the dead.-History:Ritual anointings were...

(or "initiatory" ordinances), the "endowment

Endowment (Mormonism)

In Mormonism, the endowment is an ordinance designed to prepare participants to become kings, queens, priests, and priestesses in the afterlife. As part of the ceremony, participants take part in a scripted reenactment of the Biblical creation and fall of Adam and Eve...

," and eternal marriage

Celestial marriage

Celestial marriage is a doctrine of Mormonism, particularly The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and branches of Mormon fundamentalism.Within Mormonism, celestial marriage is an ordinance associated with a covenant that always...

sealings. Ordinances are a vital part of the theology of the church, which teaches that they were practiced by the Lord's covenant people in all dispensations

Dispensationalist theology

Dispensational theology refers to the unified teachings of Dispensationalism that address what other views teach as divergent theologies in the Old Testament and New Testament...

. Additionally, members consider the temple a place to commune with God

Direct revelation

Direct revelation is a term used by some Christian churches to express their belief in a communication from God to a person, by words, impression, visions, dreams or actual appearance. Direct revelation is believed to be an open communication between God and man, or the Holy Spirit and man, without...

, seek God’s aid, understand the will of God, and receive personal revelation.

Upon completion, temples are usually open to the public for a short period of time (an "Open House"). During the Open House, the church conducts tours of the temple with missionaries

Missionary (LDS Church)

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is one of the most active modern practitioners of missionary work, with over 52,000 full-time missionaries worldwide, as of the end of 2010...

and members from the local area serving as tour guides, and all rooms of the temple are open to the public. The temple is then dedicated as a "House of the Lord," after which only members in good standing are permitted entrance, thus they are not churches but rather places of worship.

History

In 1832, shortly after the formation of the Church, Joseph Smith, Jr. said that the Lord desired the saints build a temple; and they completed the Kirtland Temple

Kirtland Temple

in 1836. Differing from other churches in the Latter Day Saint tradition, members feel that the first endowment ceremonies were performed in Kirtland, Ohio, although the endowment performed in Kirtland differed significantly from the endowment performed by Joseph Smith in Nauvoo. The construction of the Nauvoo Temple and the teaching of the full endowment by Smith are seen as the final steps in restoring the Church founded by Jesus Christ following the great apostasy

Great Apostasy

. Because it is an integral part of their worship, members, upon arriving in Salt Lake City began plans to build temples there, and built the Endowment House

Endowment House

The Endowment House was an early building used by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to administer temple ordinances in Salt Lake City, Utah Territory. From the construction of the Council House in 1852, Salt Lake City's first public building, until the construction of the Endowment...

to allow members to receive the endowment until the temples were completed.

Construction

Initially, the Church constructed temples in areas where there were large concentrations of members: Utah

Utah

Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...

, Idaho

Idaho

Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....

, Arizona

Arizona

Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

, Hawai'i (all in the USA), and Alberta

Alberta

Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

(Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

). In the mid 20th century, because of the importance of temples in the theology, the Church tried to balance density with the travel requirements that attending the temple imposed upon members. Thus, temples were built in Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

(Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

-1955 and England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

-1958); the Pacific Islands

Pacific Islands

The Pacific Islands comprise 20,000 to 30,000 islands in the Pacific Ocean. The islands are also sometimes collectively called Oceania, although Oceania is sometimes defined as also including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago....

(New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

-1958); and Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

(1974-first American temple East of Utah since Nauvoo

Nauvoo Temple

in 1846) when membership alone might not have justified the effort.

Temple growth continued in the 1980s, Spencer W. Kimball

Spencer W. Kimball

Spencer Woolley Kimball was the twelfth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1973 until his death in 1985.-Ancestry:...

directed the Church to build smaller temples with similar designs. Before this time, all but the Switzerland temple were at least 45000 square feet (4,180.6 m²), and the average size of the first 20 temples was 103000 square feet (9,569 m²). The new temples varied in size but were generally less than 25000 square feet (2,322.6 m²) allowing temples to be built where there were fewer members. As a result the first temples in South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

(Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

-1978); Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

(Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

-1980); and Central America

Central America

Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...

(Mexico City

Mexico City

Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...

-1983) were built and the number of temples doubled from 15 to 36. Church president and prophet

Prophet, seer, and revelator

Prophet, seer, and revelator is an ecclesiastical title used in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that is currently applied to the members of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles...

Gordon B. Hinckley

Gordon Bitner Hinckley was an American religious leader and author who served as the 15th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from March 12, 1995 until his death...

(1910–2008) also accelerated the construction of temples through the use of an even smaller standardized base design and set a goal to have 100 operating temples before 2001. Between the brief building period from 1998 to 2001, 38 of these standardized temples were constructed and dedicated, meeting Hinckley's goal and, during Hinckley's service as president, the number of temples more than doubled from 47 to 124.

Community of Christ

(formerly the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) maintains two temples. Unlike those of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, however, these temples are open to the public. Many religious functions take place including Communion

Sacrament (Mormonism)

In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , the Holy Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, most often simply referred to as the sacrament, is the sacrament in which participants partake of bread and drink water in remembrance of the body and blood of Jesus Christ...

and a daily prayer for peace.

The temple built in Kirtland, Ohio is owned

Kirtland Temple Suit

The Kirtland Temple Suit is an 1880 Ohio legal case that is often cited as the case that awarded ownership of the Kirtland Temple to the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints...

and maintained by Community of Christ. This was the first temple actually built (rather than merely planned) by the Latter Day Saint movement and the only temple completed in the lifetime of Joseph Smith, Jr. This temple was the first temple built by Latter Day Saints.

Additionally, during its 1994 World Conference, Community of Christ

Community of Christ

dedicated a second temple in Independence, Missouri

Independence, Missouri

Independence is the fourth largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri, and is contained within the counties of Jackson and Clay. It is part of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area...

. Community of Christ describes this temple as a house of worship and education "dedicated to the pursuit of peace". The church holds a Daily Prayer for Peace

Daily Prayer for Peace

The Daily Prayer for Peace is a spiritual discipline unique to the Community of Christ and practiced at the Independence Temple in the church's headquarters campus in Independence, Missouri. It falls within the most common category of Christian prayer known as supplication.Each day of the year at 1...

at 1:00 p.m. Central Time in the 1,600 seat sanctuary.

Other denominations

Six addational Latter Day Saint denomination have built a temples.

The Church of Christ built two temples, the Kirtland and Nauvoo

Nauvoo Temple

Temples.

The Church of Christ (Wightite) build a temple near Zodiac, Texas

Zodiac, Texas

Zodiac is a vanished Mormon settlement established in 1847 on the Pedernales River, located southeast of Fredericksburg, in Gillespie County, in the U.S. state of Texas. It was the first Mormon colony established by Lyman Wight in Texas. The second settlement was Mormon Mill, Burnet County, Texas...

, about three miles from Fredericksburg

Fredericksburg, Texas

Fredericksburg is the seat of Gillespie County, in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 Census estimate, the city had a population of 10, 530...

, at a colony founded by Lyman Wight

Lyman Wight

Lyman Wight was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement. He was the leader of the Latter Day Saints in Daviess County, Missouri in 1838. In 1841, he was ordained a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. After the death of Joseph Smith, Jr...

. The only remaining material infrastructure of the colony is the Morman Mill cemetery near Hamilton Creek, about fifty miles east by north of Fredericksburg.

The Apostolic United Brethren

Apostolic United Brethren

The Apostolic United Brethren is a polygamous Mormon fundamentalist church within the Latter Day Saint movement. The sect is not affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...

has had a temple in Ozumba, Mexico by at least the 1990s, as well as an Endowment house in Utah since sometime in the 1980s. This was the first time any of the polygamous Mormon fundamentalists sects build a temple of their own.

The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS), in 2004 constructed a temple at their new settlement near Eldorado, Texas

Eldorado, Texas

Eldorado is a city in and the county seat of Schleicher County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,951 at the 2000 census, but dropped to 1,800 according to a July 2009 estimate.Eldorado is located on U.S...

. The foundation of the FLDS temple roughly matches that of the original Nauvoo Temple.

The Righteous Branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Righteous Branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

, a denomination founded in 1978, built a pyramid-shaped temple on a “sacred hill” near Modena, Utah

Modena, Utah

Modena is an unincorporated community in far western Iron County, Utah, United States, near the Nevada border. It lies along State Route 56 west of the city of Parowan, the county seat of Iron County. Its elevation is 5,476 feet...

Construction attempts

During the life of Joseph Smith, Jr., a few years before the Kirtland temple was planned or built, Smith dedicated a location in Independence, Missouri for the building of a special temple, which was to be the center of a New Jerusalem. Several sections of the Latter Day Saint scripture Doctrine and Covenants

Doctrine and Covenants

The Doctrine and Covenants is a part of the open scriptural canon of several denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement...

refer to this first dedication of a temple location in Latter Day Saint history. As of 2011, the lot

Temple Lot

The Temple Lot, located in Independence, Jackson County, Missouri, is the first site to be dedicated for the construction of a temple in the Latter Day Saint movement...

for this temple is owned and maintained by the Church of Christ (Temple Lot)

Church of Christ (Temple Lot)

The Church of Christ is a denomination of the Latter Day Saint movement headquartered in Independence, Missouri on what is known as the Temple Lot. Members of the church have been known colloquially as "Hedrickites", after Granville Hedrick, who was ordained as the church's first leader in July 1863...

. Although the church planned to build a temple on the site in the early 20th century, and even excavated a foundation, efforts were abandoned during the economic woes of the Great Depression

Great Depression

The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...

and due to a schism which resulted in the establishment of the Church of Christ (Fettingite)

Church of Christ (Fettingite)

The Church of Christ is a denomination within the Latter Day Saint movement which split from the Church of Christ —informally known as "Hedrickites"— in late 1929...

. Today, the Church of Christ (Temple Lot) has no plans to construct a temple of its own. Instead, the church believes it is the steward of the location until the various sects of the Latter Day Saint movement re-unite into a single organization before the Second Coming

Second Coming

In Christian doctrine, the Second Coming of Christ, the Second Advent, or the Parousia, is the anticipated return of Jesus Christ from Heaven, where he sits at the Right Hand of God, to Earth. This prophecy is found in the canonical gospels and in most Christian and Islamic eschatologies...

of Jesus.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite)

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite)

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is a denomination of the Latter Day Saint movement with around three hundred members as of 1998...

began to construct a temple at their headquarters in Voree, Wisconsin

Voree, Wisconsin

Voree is an unincorporated community on the outskirts of present-day Burlington, in Walworth County, Wisconsin, United States, in the town limits of Spring Prairie. It is best known as the historic and current headquarters of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints , a denomination of the...

in the mid-1840s. Another temple may have been planned for Beaver Island

Beaver Island (Lake Michigan)

Beaver Island is the largest island in Lake Michigan and part of the Beaver Island archipelago. Once home to a unique American monarchy, the island is now a popular tourist and vacation destination....

in Lake Michigan, prior to their expulsion. The church has made no attempt to build temples since the death of their prophet, James J. Strang.

Performing ordinances in other buildings

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints performed ordinances in the Endowment House

Endowment House

to allow members to receive the endowment during construction of temples in Utah after leaving Nauvoo.

Although the Church of Jesus Christ (Cutlerite)

Church of Jesus Christ (Cutlerite)

The Church of Jesus Christ is a denomination of the Latter Day Saint movement headquartered in Independence, Missouri. This church derives its epithet from its founder, Alpheus Cutler, a member of the Nauvoo High Council and of Joseph Smith's secretive Council of Fifty...

does not have any temples, it still conducts Baptisms for the Dead

Baptism for the dead

and a Nauvoo-style Endowment

Endowment (Latter Day Saints)

within its meetinghouse in Independence, Missouri. A second meetinghouse exists in Clitherall, Minnesota

Clitherall, Minnesota

Clitherall is a city in Otter Tail County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 112 at the 2010 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land....

, but this is not currently in use. Eternal Marriage is rejected by the Cutlerite church. While Cutlerites believe in temples, they do not believe that either of their temple ordinances require a temple for validity. As within the LDS church, these sacred services are not open to the public, and participants are discouraged from discussing them outside the temple.

External links

Official LDS Church site on Temples
LDSChurchTemples.com
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - Visitors site
Mormon Times - Mormon Times
Mormon Times
Mormon Times was a website and newspaper insert containing news and information for and about members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . According to mormontimes.com, it has moved back to Deseret News....

Temple articles
Topical bibliography + LDS Temple Preparation FAQ
Inside a Mormon Temple - Rexburg Idaho (YouTube)
AllAboutMormons.com
Temple Geography Links
History of Mormon Temples
Mormon Temples
Many Temple photos and prints
Joseph Smith, Jr. - The Kirtland Temple (YouTube)
Latter-Day Fortresses: The spooky charisma of Mormon temples - article at Slate online

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

History

Purposes

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

History

Construction

Community of Christ

Other denominations

Construction attempts

Performing ordinances in other buildings

See also

External links