Mar

23

Yesterday I had the privilege of attending the dedication of the Draper Mormon Temple. That was the second time I had such opportunity. It was a great experience and I was glad that my kids were able to be there with me and my wife. I wish people could understand better the blessings connected with the temples. Too many people outside the church have wrong ideas about them and many in the church do not take enough advantage of the blessings of regularly attending the temple.

For me to go regularly to the temple has become almost a necessity, to be able to keep my eternal perspective in place, to avoid being dragged by life problems to the point of losing such perspective. The temple is a place of refuge and peace, where we can learn the things of eternity and receive inspiration for our lives.

I really love temples.

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Feb

19

A few weeks ago I went to the Draper temple open house with my three kids (those who still live at home, since the oldest is now serving a mission). It was a very nice experience to go through those rooms with them. I have been in many Mormon temples already, and therefore, in spite of the small differences found in each temple, nothing was particularly new to me.

Idaho Falls Mormon Temple

Idaho Falls Mormon Temple

However, it was different for my kids, who had only been inside a temple to perform baptisms for the dead, and therefore they were only familiar with the area of the temple where those baptisms are done.

I noticed how curious they were, and how that visit helped them to feel, at least in part, the great spirit of a Mormon temple, where ordinances for the living and the dead are performed daily, after the temple is dedicated.

It is really a good opportunity for us to take our children, or our friends of other faiths, to see those temples, before they are dedicated, so that they too can feel that great spirit and become a little more familiar with this most important aspect of Mormonism.

The general public is invited to tour the new Draper Utah Temple during the open house, which will be held Mondays through Saturdays from January 15 to March 14. Reservations are required and are available free of charge.

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Nov

19

It has been suggested by some that Mormons (and other Christians) hate gays because they worked hard to support Proposition 8 in Califronia, but this is not a fair accusation and misses completely the point.

Mormons believe in loving all mankind and to do well even to their enemies. However, loving our enemies does not mean to agree with wrong ideas, even if they are popular or politically correct. This is the reason because the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints decided to support this legal fight to protect marriage.

I quote below a few parts of a very interesting article from Meridian Magazine written by Paul Bishop, a thirty-one year veteran of the Los Angeles Police Department who describes what happened after Proposition 8 was voted in California

The controversy in California regarding Proposition 8 built to a frenzy in the days leading up to Tuesday’s election and then exploded into anger and violence in the aftermath of Prop 8’s slim passage into law (52.5% to 47.5%)…. Exit polls showed the proposition was supported by 7 of 10 Black voters, a majority of Latino voters, and by people with children under the age of 18 still at home. Clearly, it was supported by all people who believed marriage is a special and protected institution.

Many supporters of Proposition 8 were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) and they worked hard to promote their cause – not out of homophobic hatred, but out of a love of Christ and a belief in the sanctity of traditional marriage.

Many of those who opposed Proposition 8 reacted to the defeat by accusing Mormon of hatred. However, Mormons simply believe that marriage was instituted by God and that should be between a man and a woman and used legal means to defend their belief (and they were not the only one, or the only church involved, by the way).

On the other hand, some of the demonstrations against the Church by supporter of gay marriage seem to be motivated by hatred and they singled out the Mormon Church.

These are a few pictures taken outside the Mormon temple that illustrate well this point.

Challenges to our faith are not new. Nor are they likely to go away anytime soon. But, as Elder Hales reminds us,

True disciples of Christ see opportunity in the midst of opposition. We can take advantage of such opportunities in many ways: a kind letter to the editor, a conversation with a friend, a comment on a blog, or a reassuring word to one who has made a disparaging comment. We can answer with love those who have been influenced by misinformation and prejudice – who are ‘kept from the truth because they know not where to find it’ (D&C 123:12). I assure you that to answer our accusers in this way is never weakness. It is Christian courage in action.

I agree with Paul Bishop that there are several lessons that can be learned from the current unrest:

Tolerance is not agreement and should not be a one way street. However, we must still remain tolerant of those who are intolerant of us.

Recognize the adversary at work here – making good seem bad and evil seem good.

We can only be disciples of Christ when we respond to adversity in a Christlike manner. To do less opens our actions to the influence of the adversary and hurts us even more.

We should never take for granted the opportunities we have to gather together in worship. We should never put off the opportunity to attend the temple. For these valuable things can be disrupted and possibly even closed to us – if not permanently, then at least on a temporary basis.

Pray. Often. Don’t forget to include those who are set against you.

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Oct

7

This post has been modified because I received a complaint about a picture. The picture was funny, nothing bad, but I understand that some people may not like it, and they are probably right. So, it has been removed. We will wait to see what the Rome Mormon Temple will really look like. It is a very sacred event and I do not want to create any problem. I tend to see the funny aspect of things, but at times it may not be appropriated.

This is a real picture of the land where the Rome temple will be built.

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Oct

4

During the opening Saturday session of the 178th Semiannual General Conference, convened in the Conference Center, Mormon Church President Thomas S. Monson announced five new temples will be built in coming years.

Currently, 128 temples are in operation, and today’s announcement brings the number of announced temples to 17. Once completed, the new temples will bring the worldwide total to 145.

The Rome Italy Temple will be the first to be constructed in the region where historic Christianity originated. It will serve church members from a variety of countries and greatly reduce travel time and expense to the Latter-day Saints living in the area, the release states.

The announcement of a mormon temple in Rome brought an audible gasp and smiles to more than 20,000 church members assembled in the Conference Center.

As an Italian who was baptized more than 20 years ago in Italy I cannot avoid feeling extremely happy and excited for this new development.

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Aug

3

Today we traveled from Orem to South Jordan and then to Salt Lake City with the purpose of visiting and performing service in two of the Temples of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Why did we go to two temples? Was not one enough? My youngest daughter had never been in those temples and so we decided to use it as an excuse for a short trip, adding a little bit of variety to the work.

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Also, it seemed a good opportunity to stay together as a family working in favor of those who have already passed to the other side of the veil (that for Mormons simply means those who have already died).

It was a wonderful experience and I am glad that I am sharing it with my children so that they may learn since a young age to experience the blessings and the wonderful feeling of working in the temples.

Moreover, I do not want to find myself in the situation of someone who once spoke in a General Conference and recognized that he had never spent time with his kids in the temples, while he had spent plenty of it watching football games. To go to football games may be a bonding activity with our children, but if I need to choose, I prefer to go to the temple with them.

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Jul

15

Last Saturday I went for the first time to get a massage. A friend of mine gave us a free ticket and I could not see a reason not to go.

I need to say that it was great, very relaxing. It actually helped me remove a little pain in one of my feet. Similarly my wife had not had back pain since then.

Today I went to the Temple, the Mormon Temple, where I serve almost every Tuesday morning for a few hours. While I was there, as usual, I felt better, more relaxed, and my spiritual or mental aches disappeared.

I could not avoid comparing the Temple (at least the Mormon Temple) to the massage. In the case of the massage my body was relieved of some pain and restored to its best condition. Similarly, when I spend time in the Mormon Temple, serving others, I come back feeling a lot better, with my spiritual senses and my intellect reinvigorate and in better “tune” with God and life.

I know that many people who have never been in a Mormon Temple wonder why not everybody can go into one of them.

Perhaps this is part of the answer. To go inside a temple we need to be prepared so that the proper atmosphere is maintained and people who enter can receive the spiritual benefits they are looking for. Moreover, everybody can qualify to enter one of those temples and receive the blessing of an eternal marriage and family and spiritual peace. He or she only needs to become a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and keep the commandments….

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Jun

18

Yesterday I went to Manti, Utah and watched the Mormon Miracle Pageants. Before the performance started, I noticed these people from other faiths with their signs about the Bible or other websites, usually against the Mormon Church.

Usually I avoid them, but this time I decided to talk with a couple of them. It was an interesting experience. All of them insisted on salvation by grace. They have a hard time to understand or accept a simple and even logical concept as that of progression. The have an all-or-nothing attitude. Or you are saved or you are damned, or you believe or you do not, or you pay tithing or you do not. They do not understand or they do not want to understand degrees. Also, they want something simple and easy. Jesus does everything for you.

They do not get the big picture and insist on words or specific scriptures trying to prove their point. I know that discussing religion with them is almost useless, but I tried to understand them. There was another one who was only yelling, trying to be like Samuel the Lamanite. I could not even talk to him, he just kept yelling and really nobody was listening to him, he should have tried with a megaphone.

There were also a father and a son. The father left the LDS Church after going unworthily to the Temple when he was 18, according to his own words. His parents are still active in the Church, but his son was with him trying to convert Mormons….

I told his son that because his father left the Church he was losing the blessing of the temple and he told me that “Mormons do terrible things in the temple, they do baptisms for the dead”… When he said that I did not know if I should laugh or cry. I thought about his father. He went to the Temple at least once and he knows that we do not do “terrible things”, but his choices have “terrible” consequences in the lives of his family and his posterity. As a convert I am particularly sad when I see people who were born in the Church break the progression of their families. I think how sad must be his parents.

For some reason when he was 18 he gave up. Why? At one point he told me that it is hard for some people to keep the commandments. I had the impression he was trying to tell me that he prefers his new doctrine because there is really no effort or possible failure implied.

According to his doctrine, you accept Jesus and you are saved, while in the Mormon Church you are taught that you need to fight against your nature to follow the commandments and keep improving your life (even after accepting Jesus). He probably felt unworthy when he was 18 and he gave up. He was inactive for many years and then a few years ago he was “saved” by some Protestant group. He wishes it was that easy. But it is not. On the other hand, it is not impossible and it is not just for a few special people, but all men and women can qualify for the true salvation. However, it requires humility and perseverance: true salvation is a process not a single event.

During the performance it was remembered how important is to let people know the true principles of the gospel, because when the true doctrine is not known and practiced, human being have the tendency to fall into transgression and entire societies may end up being destroyed, as it happened with the ancient Nephites.

While there I have thought again about the power of the Internet. How important is for us to explain true principles to all mankind,

“teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things…(Matthew 28:19-20)

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May

15

As I mentioned in a previous blog, Mormon Temples can be visited inside before they are dedicated. This is a good opportunity, since this video show images of the inside of the new Mormon Temple, built in Curitiba, state of Paraná, Brazil.

I used to live in Londrina, the second city in the same state, and I am glad that now members of the Mormon Church will not have to travel to S. Paolo, a long trip from Curitiba.

I currently live in an area where it is easy to go to a temple. I only need to travel 10-15 minutes and I know what a great blessing is to live close to one of these sacred buildings.

If you are not a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon Church), I invite you to talk to the Mormon missionaries and ask them about our temples, where families can be sealed for eternity.

Watch the video:

Inside Mormon Temples: part 2.

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May

7

There are many people who wonder what is so special, or secret, in the Mormon Temples. Why “normal” people cannot go inside? What mysterious things do Mormon do inside?

First of all, for those who would like to see the interior, I suggest to simply attend an open house. After a temple is constructed and before a temple is dedicated, the public is invited to enter and view the rooms. Hundreds of thousands of people usually attend these open houses. After the formal dedication, the temple is closed to tourists because the Latter-day Saints begin using the temple to perform sacred ordinances.

This is the first concept to understand: temple ceremony are sacred, not secret. I will elaborate on this idea in a future blog.

For now, if you did not have an opportunity to go to an open house, you may want to take a look at these pictures (a virtual tour):

For more information you can also visit MormonChurchTemples or LDSChurchTemples.com

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