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On January 19, 1841 in Doctrine and
Covenants Section 124 "the Lord" commanded LDS to
build a Temple as well as the Nauvoo House in
Nauvoo, Illinois. "The Lord" said,
And again,
verily I say unto you, let all my saints come from
afar. And send ye swift messengers, yea, chosen
messengers, and say unto them: Come ye, with all
your gold, and your silver, and
your precious stones, and with all your
antiquities…and build a house to
my name, for the Most High to dwell
therein…But I command you, all ye my saints, to
build a house unto me; and I grant unto
you a sufficient time to build a house unto me;
and during this time your baptisms (for the dead)
shall be acceptable unto me. But behold, at the end of
this appointment your baptisms for your dead shall not
be acceptable unto me; and if you do not these
things at the end of the appointment ye shall
be rejected as a church, with your dead, saith the
Lord your God…And ye shall build it on the place
where you have contemplated building it, for
that is the spot which I have chosen for you to
build it…And again, verily I say unto you,
I command you again to build a house to my
name, even in this place, that you may prove
yourselves unto me that ye are faithful in all things
whatsoever I command you, that I may bless you, and
crown you with honor, immortality, and eternal life
(vs. 25-27; 31-32; 43; 55).
"The Lord" is very specific in these
instructions: All Mormons everywhere are to bring
all their gold, silver, precious stones and
antiquities to pay for building of the temple in Nauvoo.
But LDS records show that the temple was built slowly
because Mormons did not give all their wealth for
it. In An Epistle of the Twelve Apostles to the
Saints on December 13, 1841 they wrote,
The
building of the Temple of the Lord in the city of
Nauvoo is occupying the first place in the exertions
and prayers of many of the Saints at the present time,
knowing, as they do, that if this building is not
completed speedily, ‘we shall be rejected as a Church
with our dead;’ for the Lord our God hath spoken it (History
of the Church, vol. 4, p. 472).
Yet, that temple was never completed as
Brigham Young stated:
Joseph
(Smith) located the site for the Temple Block in
Jackson County, Missouri, and pointed out the
south-east corner of the Temple in the year 1831,
—also laid the corner stone for a Temple in Far West,
Caldwell County, MO. These Temples were not built.
We built one in Nauvoo. I could pick out
several before me now that were there when it was
built, and know just how much was finished and
what was done. It is true we left brethren there with
instructions to finish it, and they got it
nearly completed before it was burned, but
the Saints did not enjoy it (Journal of
Discourses, vol. 18, pp. 303-304).
According to History of the Church,
the roof of the Nauvoo Temple caught fire November 9,
1846 while the building was still under construction
(vol. 7, p. 581). On November 19, 1848, after the LDS
moved to Salt Lake, that temple burned to the ground
(vol. 7, pp. 617-618).
Were "the Lord’s" commands fully obeyed
by the LDS in Nauvoo? Did all Mormons come from
everywhere bringing all their gold, silver, etc.
to pay for the Nauvoo Temple? "The Lord" said, "I
grant unto you a sufficient time to build a house
(temple) unto me." Since the LDS didn’t complete it
within that time, were they rejected as a Church? Is
"the Lord’s" word trustworthy? The Doctrine and
Covenants Student Manual says:
The
building of the Nauvoo Temple was the fifth
attempt by the Latter-day Saints to build a house of
the Lord. The first attempt was in Jackson County,
Missouri; then in Kirtland, Ohio; and then in Far West
and Adam-ondi-Ahman, Missouri; and finally in Nauvoo,
Illinois. Only the Kirtland Temple was completed
before the one in Nauvoo, and it was desecrated…the
Temple at Kirtland had fallen into the hands of
wicked men, and by them been polluted, like the
Temple at Jerusalem, and consequently it was disowned
by the Father and Son (p. 306).
The "wicked men" who took over the
Kirtland Temple was the Reorganized Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter Day Saints, now called the Community of
Christ Church, one of the Mormon splinter groups. It is
ironic that only one out of five LDS Temples the
Lord commanded to be built was fully completed and it
fell into "wicked" hands soon after it was built! Why
did "the Lord" command LDS to build temples that they
could not finish or use?
Since the LDS moved to Utah they have
built over 120 temples, yet no LDS scripture contains a
command by "the Lord" to build a single one of those
temples! But, the five temples that "the Lord"
commanded to be built in LDS scripture were not built
or used as "the Lord" commanded! LDS Apostle
Bruce R. McConkie said, "The Prophet observes that God
is the only supreme governor and independent Being in
whom all fullness and perfection dwell; who is
omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient;
without beginning of days or end of life" (Mormon
Doctrine, p. 317). The word "Omniscient"
means that "He knows all things." So, did "the Lord"
know that the LDS wouldn’t build or use those first five
temples He commanded them to build? Or, can man stop
God’s plans from being fulfilled?
Our next article will conclude our study
of Doctrine and Covenants Section 124. Those who
want to know more about this section should read it and
what LDS history records about the things it mentions
along with the chapter in my Mormon Claims Answered
that covers it.
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