Female Episcopal Priest Visits Mormon Temple in Missouri

Women Seeking Christ — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 13:04:59 +0000

Thanks to Danielle Tumminio for this article about her experience visiting the new temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Missouri. (The temple open house continues this week until Saturday, April 28. The open house is free to the public, but tickets are required.)

She visited the Mormon temple with some questions in mind:

What does a Mormon temple look like, and what happens inside it?

Would I feel God’s presence in this space, even though it’s not a space that’s sacred for me?

I appreciate how she started off by addressing a concern many have. Was the intent of the open house to convert her?

Before I go any further — and because I know it’s the question at the front of your mind, dear reader — no one tried to convert me. In fact, everyone was very welcoming. Members volunteered en masse, clad in pressed suits and dresses. They offered guided tours, bent down to put protective boots onto my feet so my shoes wouldn’t dirty the carpeting, and offered me a chewy snickerdoodle at the end of the tour. They showed me every space from changing rooms to sealing rooms where marriages take place and answered every question I asked, no matter how challenging or controversial.

(We know people have questions about our faith and about Mormon temples. Sometimes they are just curious, not interested in actually converting. Addressing curiosity and answering questions is one of the purposes of Mormon temple open houses.)

But I was also moved to hear her describe, through her own experience, what Mormon temples mean to us.

Mormons go to temples to be close to God….

Unlike a cathedral, which is primarily composed of one large worship space, a Mormon temple has a variety of smaller rooms that serve different purposes. There are sealing rooms and rooms for men and women to change into white clothes (every male or female Mormon who enters a dedicated temple wears the same white clothing) and instruction rooms where individuals learn about God in preparation for receiving their endowments [she describes the endowment well, as “a ritual ceremony where followers make promises to God and receive knowledge about God”].

It was in these rooms, and the final Celestial Room, where I caught a glimpse of God.

You see, as part of our final stop on the tour, our guide took us to a room with a mural of the Missouri countryside painted by a local artist. The room had earthy colors, browns and greens and rows of cushioned seats. This was the first instruction room. From there, we took a step up — as if ascending closer to heaven — and entered a second room, similar to the first in shape and size but all white. This was the second instruction room. When we left that room, we took another step up and entered the Celestial Room, a space designed to give those who sit in it a foretaste of heaven.

It was a simple room yet ornate at the same time, all white with sparkling crystal chandeliers, large mirrors, and plump sofas and chairs reminiscent of those that must have existed in Joseph Smith‘s day. Our guide asked us to be silent and said we were welcome to sit wherever we liked and take a moment to pray. So I sat down on a sofa that seemed to envelop me, folded my hands on my lap and closed my eyes.

Like Dante, who saw God face to face but had no words to describe the encounter, I have few words to describe what I felt in that moment. But I can say this: While it did not convert me, nor did it make me want to be a Mormon, the silence and peace I felt reminded me of the many other times I’ve felt close to God, whether in an Episcopal cathedral, in a clear, warm ocean or in my ratty old car. And because of that, I came to understand why temples exist and why they are so important to Mormons across the world.

Thank you, Danielle Tumminio, for taking the time to write your experiences and observations. You captured well what our temples mean to us.

Read another article about the Kansas City Mormon temple open house.

Read another one of Danielle Tumminio’s articles, where she describes her experience at the Mormon Hill Cumorah pageant in New York.

The post Female Episcopal Priest Visits Mormon Temple in Missouri appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

News Stories, Posts about Draper Temple Open House

Women Seeking Christ — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 23:12:32 +0000

The Draper Temple Open House is in full swing in the southern area of the Salt Lake valley in Utah (United States). Tickets are required, but are free and still available if you are interested in seeing the temple before it is dedicated.

Following are some links about the open house, both news stories and personal stories. (Have a story to share? Include the link in a comment or send us an email at ‘mormonwoman’ AT ‘gmail’ DOT ‘com’)

News Stories

Elder M. Russell Ballard and Elder Quentin L. Cook in 30-second World News Tonight story

8+ minute segment on ABC’s Nightline (text of the Nightline story here)

(Proposition 8 was also discussed briefly in the story. More information about the Church’s involvement can be found here and here.)

People often wonder what goes on in temples. Temple worship begins by what we wear.

Elder Ballard explains: “When we come to the temple…we take off our street clothes and dress in white. I would have on a white shirt, white tie, white trousers, white socks and white slippers. … And everybody then is on a wonderful, equal basis.”

Elder Cook adds that as we enter the temple, we are reminded that “the workaday world isn’t nearly as important as your family.” Ordinances in the temples are both focused on our relationships with God, and on the eternal nature of family relationships in God’s plan for His children. For more information about the types of ordinances that occur in the temples, see here.

One of the ordinances for which the Church is fairly well-known is baptisms for the dead, where members of the Church are baptized for people (representing them, on their behalf) who have passed on. In the ABC story, Elder Cook explains that the ordinance “isn’t binding on them.” As we believe that life exists after this mortal life, we believe that people are able to hear the gospel message, and choose whether to receive it and the ordinances. “We, in a loving manner,” Elder Cook says, “make that available to them and they choose whether or not they want to have it.”

Although we are not official authorities of the Church, we loved how the news story ended, and echo Elder Ballard’s words: “Yes, it [the story of our faith] is a big story, it is a big message, but it’s true. We get beat up out there telling it, but so what? We’ll keep doing it the best we know how.”

Personal Stories

Some experiences from people who have attended the Draper Temple Open House:

Anna’s experience

Bethany’s experience

Mayne family’s experience

V H Family

The post News Stories, Posts about Draper Temple Open House appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

temple open house Archives - Women in The Church of Jesus Christ

Female Episcopal Priest Visits Mormon Temple in Missouri

News Stories, Posts about Draper Temple Open House