Temple Building Approved by the Lord

Brethren and sisters : Perhaps the most striking feature of the Latter-day work, in which we are engaged, is temple-building; we are a temple-building people. Whenever and wherever the Lord has had a people upon the earth, He has required them to build a temple, or a house of the Lord, unto Him. If this be true, what becomes of the claim of the Re-organized Church of Latter-day Saints that they have the Church of Christ, for they are without a temple and without temple ordinances; and what becomes of the claims of many other denominations in the earth? For they also are without a temple and without temple ordinances. ¶

You will remember that in the early ages of the world, in the days of ancient Israel, in the wilderness, that they had a tabernacle, a kind of a movable building, suited to their condition, which no doubt to them took the place of a temple ; at least, it was the sanctuary of God, a place where He could meet with His people; and there were many demonstrations of power and of the favor of the Lord witnessed in the tabernacle in the wilderness. Later on, in the promised land, a great temple was reared to the name of the Lord; it was known as the Temple of Solomon. It was dedicated to the Lord under very interesting circumstances, and with demonstrations of power and of divine acceptance. Later on, the Savior, many times appeared in the temple and instructed the people there, His disciples and the saints, and when that holy house was used for improper purposes, and was desecrated, the Lord Jesus drove the offenders therefrom, for He declared that it was His Father's house. Even on this continent, in the days of the Nephites, we learn that temples were built among the people, for Nephi declared that he built a temple of the Lord and that it was patterned after the temple of Solomon. At the time, or just prior to the time, that the Savior manifested Himself to the Nephites, the people gathered around the temple in Bountiful, discussing the wonderful events that had transpired. In these latter days, after the saints founded the city of Kirtland, a temple was reared there to the name of the Lord ; and as in the case of the temple of Solomon, the dedication of the temple at Kirtland was attended with demonstrations of power and of divine acceptance of the Lord. He appeared to be well pleased with that work, and in that house the saints enjoyed many glorious visions. It is recorded in section 110 of the Doctrine and Covenants, as follows ; under the heading, "Visions manifested to Joseph, the Seer, and Oliver Cowdery, in the Kirtland Temple, April 3, 1836." — seventy-two years ago : ¶

"The veil was taken from our minds, and the eyes of our understanding were opened. ¶

"We saw the Lord standing upon the breastwork of the pulpit, before us, and under His feet was a paved work of pure gold in color like amber. ¶

"His eyes were as a flame of fire, the hair of His head was white like the pure snow, His countenance shone above the brightness of the sun, and His voice was as the sound of the rushing of great waters, even the voice of Jehovah, saying: ¶

"I am the first and the last, I am He who liveth, I am He who was slain, I am your advocate with the Father. ¶

"Behold, your sins are forgiven you, you are clean before me, therefore lift up your heads and rejoice, "Let the hearts of your brethren rejoice, and let the hearts of all my people rejoice, who have, with their might, built this house to my name, "For behold, I have accepted this house, and my name shall be here, and I will manifest myself to my people in mercy in this house. "Yea, I will appear unto my servants, and speak unto them with mine own voice, if my people will keep my commandments, and do not pollute this holy house. ¶

"Yea, the hearts of thousands shall greatly rejoice in consequence of the blessings which shall be poured out, and the endowment with which my servants have been endowed in this house; "And the fame of this house shall spread to foreign lands, and this is the beginning of the blessing which shall be poured out upon the heads of my people." ¶

Why should the fame of that house, the first temple reared in this generation, spread to all nations? Because it was accepted of the Lord, and the Lord Himself appeared in it, He manifested Himself to His people, and His voice was heard there declaring that He had accepted it, and that He had accepted His people. And there were other glorious visions given ;Moses, Elias, and Elijah appeared, and committed keys of power and authority to the Prophet. ¶

A few years after the saints settled at Nauvoo, and founded that beautiful city, they reared a temple to the Lord; and again, when the people migrated to this country and established a community in the mountains, after they had founded the great city of Salt Lake, they built a temple to the Most High God. In their infancy, as it were, in the days of their poverty, the foundations of this great temple were laid. After the saints settled in Cache valley, and had founded the city of Logan, they built a temple there. Also, after they had settled in Manti, they built a temple there: and when they founded the city of St. George, away to the south, they were a poor people, but in the course of time, they built a temple there. Thus we have, in this mountain region, four great and glorious temples ; and doubtless Isaiah, the Prophet, had his eye fixed upon the temple located on this block, when he said : ¶

"In the latter day, the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the tops of the mountains and be exalted above the hills, and all nations shall flow unto it." ¶

Brethren and sisters, go forth into the world, enter into the mountains, visit the high places of the earth,and where — except here — where will you find a temple erected to the Most High God? Surely Isaiah was inspired, and his prophecies are being fulfilled by the Latter-day Saints. Let me call your attention to this significant fact, that these temples, which have been erected at such a cost of time and means and labor, were not built to beautify the country or to please the eye, or to attract the attention of strangers, but were built for a greater purpose, and that purpose is emphasized in the following words, better, perhaps, than I can tell it; "And again, verily, thus saith the Lord : Let the work of my temple and all the works which I have appointed unto you, be continued on and not cease, and let your diligence and your perseverance and patience and your works be redoubled, and you shall in no wise lose your reward, saith the Lord of Hosts. ¶

"And if they persecute you, so persecuted they the prophets and righteous men that were before you ; for all this there is a reward in heaven. ¶

"And again, I give unto you a word in relation to the baptism for your dead : ¶

"Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you, concerning your dead : When any of you are baptized for your dead, let there be a recorder, and let him be eye-witness of your baptism : let him hear with his ears, that he may testify of the truth, saith the Lord, that in all your recording it may be recorded in heaven, that whatsoever you bind on earth may be bound in heaven ; and whatsoever you loose on earth may be loosed in heaven, Therefore, brethren and sisters, these temples of the Lord are regarded by the Latter-day Saints as the connecting link between the heavens and the earth; and therefore, again, because of the ordinances for the dead, which are performed in the House of God we are not only building up a great church upon the earth, but are laying the foundation for a great church in the spirit world. It is because of this, in my judgment, that the Lord emphasizes the importance of temple work and that with us His people, it must continue on and not cease. ¶

Some years ago, a brother approached me, and he said : "Brother Clawson, I am sixty-seven years of age ; I have been a strong and active man in my life, and have done a great deal of hard work, but now I am somewhat feeble; I can not engage in manual labor as heretofore. How shall I spend my time ?" I said to him, "Go to the house of the Lord." "Thank you," he replied, "I will take your counsel." About eight years later, I met this brother again. He appeared to be very happy indeed; and there was an expression of joy in his countenance. "Brother Clawson," he said, "during the past eight years I have been working for my ancestors, in the house of the Lord, After that conversation with you, I went east and I gathered up eight hundred names of my relatives ; and during the past eight years I have personally officiated for three hundred of my ancestors, and I propose to continue on with the good work ; I am happy for the Lord has blessed me." He further said, "I saw in vision, upon one occasion, my father and mother, who were not members of the Church, who had not received the Gospel in life. ¶

and I discovered that they were living separate and apart in the spirit world, and when I asked them how it was that they were so, my father said: 'This is an enforced separation, and you are the only individual that can bring us together ; you can do this work ; will you do it?'" — meaning that he should go into the house of the Lord and there officiate for his parents who were dead, and by the ordinance of sealing bring them together and unite them in the family relation beyond the vail ; and he informed me that he had attended to the work, and I rejoiced with him and congratulated him. ¶

Just now, at the beginning of this meeting, I went down into the audience, and a brother reached out his hand, a brother eighty years of age and upwards, I think, I judged so from his appearance. He shook my hand, and I recognized him as a man who had been much in the temple here, and I said to the party sitting next to him, "This is a temple man," and the brother spoke up and said, "Yes, Brother Clawson, I have officiated in the temple for twelve hundred souls." Then I turned again to the party next to him and said: "Our brother here may pass through life unnoticed ; he may attract but little attention, but I tell you he will be a big man in the other world." He will be an important character there, because it will be known of him and will be said of him that he turned the key of life and salvation for twelve hundred souls. And I submit to you, my brethren and sisters, is not that a mighty work, and are not his last days better than his first days? ¶

Brethren and sisters, the opportunities that are before us in the house of the Lord are boundless. Our dead are waiting, anxiously waiting for this people to go into the house of God and officiate for them that they may be liberated from the prison house in the spirit world. During the time these four temples have been in operation, there have been over three million ordinances performed in behalf of the dead and over 240,000 ordinances in behalf of the living, or in other words, between three and four million ordinances performed for the living and for the dead. So I maintain and wish to strongly emphasize, if I could, that probably the most striking feature of the latter-day work, in which we are engaged, is the building of temples. We are a temple-building people, and ever will be, for this is one of our duties, it is one of the obligations resting upon us and made binding upon the Latter-day Saints, and made binding upon every people who are blessed and accepted by the Lord. May God bless us and help us to appreciate His goodness, His power and His authority, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen. ¶