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Tours of new LDS Draper temple offered Thursday through March 14
By Jennifer DobnerDRAPER -- The towering granite temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are something of a religious mystery for those who can't go in: Are the majestic buildings topped by golden angels sacred or secret?
"We would say they are sacred, not secret," Quentin L. Cook of the church's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said during a small tour for media of a new suburban Salt Lake City temple on Wednesday.
As Cook explains, the sacred nature of temples is tied to what happens inside: Draped in white, worthy Mormons receive religious teachings and perform ceremonies designed to help them secure an eternal place for themselves -- and for others by proxy -- in heaven.
Church Apostle M. Russell Ballard compared a temple to "a university of the Lord," where Mormons learn who they are and how to keep focused "so that when we're out in the world and things are coming at us from all directions, we don't lose our balance."
Beginning next week, outsiders can get a peek inside the newest 53,000-square-foot LDS temple, in Draper. Public tours begin Thursday and continue through March 14. The temple -- the church's 129th worldwide -- will be dedicated by church leaders during the weekend of March 20.
Once dedicated, the building is closed to nonmembers and those Latter-day Saints who fail to secure the blessing of worthiness from their local church leaders. Mormons undergo interviews with leaders every two years to secure the wallet-size card, called a "recommend," that opens the temple doors.
Outsiders might be surprised by what they see.
Temples are not without grandeur, but the buildings are also not cavernous cathedral-style halls with pews, ornate altars and stained-glass scenes from the Bible. Instead, a series of small rooms alternate practical and spiritual purposes. There are administrative offices, locker room-style dressing rooms, a laundry and a kitchen.
A series of waiting rooms resemble tasteful upper middle-class living rooms, with comfortable couches, chairs in muted hues of blue and green. The walls are adorned with artwork that depict religious themes. A temple chapel with an organ echoes those found in regular church meeting houses.
The temple's decorative styling shifts dramatically, however, when the work of the Latter-day Saints turns toward the spiritual.
From the carpeting to the upholstery, the sealing rooms are creamy white, with high ceilings and two large mirrors where the reflected images of couples or families repeat over and over -- a symbol of the Mormon belief in the eternal nature of familial relationships.
A dramatic, octagonal-shape baptismal font sits on the backs of 12 huge marble oxen, representing the 12 tribes of Israel. In the endowment rooms, films -- and in some temples, live actors -- recount the story of Adam and Eve and God's plan of salvation. The rooms progress in decorative splendor to mirror the Mormon belief of a three-tiered heavenly afterlife.
At the center of it all, the Celestial Room offers a refuge for quiet contemplation and prayer. With natural light and a glittering crystal chandelier, the three-story high ceiling rises to a dome topped outside by the Angel Moroni, whom Mormons believe led church founder Joseph Smith to the golden plates, from which the Book of Mormon originated.
For Mormons, each step through the temple is an effort to deepen one's faith.
"It's almost impossible for Latter-day Saints to describe the feeling you get in the temple," said Cook. "There's a feeling of peace and purpose that is almost beyond description."
Reservations to tour the Draper temple may be made at www.lds.org/reservations or by calling (800) 537-6181 (toll free) or 240-7932.
Jews have taken particular issue with the baptisms being conducted for victims of the Holocaust. In 2008, the Vatican ordered its dioceses worldwide to withhold member registries from Mormon genealogical researchers so that dead Catholics could not be baptized in the Mormon faith.
Whether on a public tour or around the office water cooler, Mormons don't disclose the specifics of endowment ceremonies, but many of the rituals have been posted on the Internet.
"The temple clearly is both secret and sacred," said Lavina Fielding Anderson, a feminist author and editor who was work resulted in her excommunication in 1993. "If you are in the temple already, it means you have passed some pretty major tests."
But being there can also raise challenging questions of faith. Anderson could not attend her own son's temple wedding after she was excommunicated. She understands the draw of inclusion in sacred practices and the community of Latter-day Saints but also has experienced the exclusion.
"Do you feel right about it? Do want to be there, or do you want to be with the people outside who can't come in?" Anderson said. "On the one hand they are promising you exaltation and eternal life with your family. On the other hand, the claim that the church makes on you by giving you access to its most sacred practices is very powerful."
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On the Net:
www.lds.org
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It doesn't matter how many of you out there bash the LDS faith,because it won't even dissuade half the non- LDS populace of Draper and surrounding areas to see the temple inside and out. They want to come and see, despite the protesters and antagonists in abundance.
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