Christians Are Not Allowed In Temples

The week prior to Easter we were all invited to a gala affair on the Mormon temple grounds in Mesa, Arizona. A huge billboard situated strategically off loop 202 beckoned us to see the drama of the life of Christ. This yearly performance by the Latter-day Saint church portrays the Biblical account of Christ's birth, life, death and resurrection. It is well done and awe-inspiring. An uninformed person would assume that the drama represents what the Mormon church teaches.

As we sit waiting for the actors to take their places, our eyes travel to the imposing Mormon temple. And we think privately, "I wonder what goes on in there?"

As a former Mormon who participated in the ceremonies inside the temple, I can attest to the fact that a far different drama takes place inside than is presented outside on the lawn. Ceremonial washings are done; secret names are given; and oaths and signs must be performed accurately and carried out before a veil that is whole.

When Christ died on the cross the veil in the temple at Jerusalem was torn in two (Luke 23:45), ending forever the necessity of priests and the rituals of temple worship. As Christians we "...enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body..." (Hebrews 9:20).

The Old Testament gives us the design for what was to come through Jesus' shed blood; the new covenant made the first or old covenant obsolete with its ceremonial washings and external regulations.

The Visitor's Center workers at the LDS temple say that sacred ordinances are performed inside the temple and only LDS are allowed in. And yet only twenty percent of their own members are found worthy to enter, according to church statistics. Eighty percent of this nine-million member church is denied entrance into what they call "the house of the Lord."

What keeps them out? A cup of coffee can keep them from obtaining a "temple recommend." Why? Because one of the laws  Mormons must obey is the "Woord of Wisdom" found in one of the four "standard works of sacred scripture," the Doctrine and Covenants, Section 89. Bruce McConkie, a former LDS apostle elaborates:

"Three types of things are prohibited to man by the Word of Wisdom...tobacco, strong drinks, and hot drinks. By strong drinks is meant alcoholic beverages; hot drinks, according to the Prophet's (Joseph Smith) own statement, mean tea and coffee" (Mormon Doctrine, p. 845, insert added).

Abstinence from these four things has been accepted by the church as a measuring rod to determine in part the personal worthiness of church members. When decisions are made relative to the granting of temple recommends or approving brethren for church positions or ordinations, inquiry is made relative to these four items." Biblical Christianity teaches us we are found worthy only by the final and perfect sacrifice of Jesus on the cross (see Romans 4:9-31, 5:12-21). So at the very outset we see the flaw of the Mormon teaching of meeting man's requirements and laws in order to be found worthy.

No wonder Christians are not allowed in the temple. It would be immediately apparent to anyone who knows God's Word and is a follower of Christ that what goes on in there is far from Christian. Those who understand the grace so freely given to us by the final and complete sacrifice of Jesus on the cross for our sins would never go back to the old way. "For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; He entered heaven itself now to appear for us in God's presence" (Hebrews 9:24).

Let us who have been enlightened by the truth in God's Word, lovingly challenge those who are still trapped in the darkness of Mormonism: Compare what goes on inside your temple with the drama outside. Is it the same? If not, then "...come out from them and be separate." For "...what fellowship can light have with darkness?" (see 2 Corinthians 6 :14-18)