History of the Temples

The Tabernacle of Ancient Israel In olden times, the people of Israel were distinguished among nations asthe builders of sanctuaries to the na me of the living God. This service wasspecifically required of them by Jehovah, whom they professed to serv e.The history of Israel as a nation dates from the Exodus. No sooner hadthey escaped from the environment of Egyptian idolatry than they wererequired to prepare a sanctuary, wherein Jehovah would manifest Hispre sence and make known His will as their accepted Lord and King. The tabernacle was sacred to Israel as the sanctuary of Jehovah. It hadbeen built according to revealed pla n and specifications (see Exodus 26 27). It was a compact and portable structure, and, though but a tent, itwas made of the best, the most prized , and the costliest materials thepeople possessed. This condition of excellence was a nations offeringunto th e Lord. It was in every respect the best the people could give, andJehovah sanctified the proffered gift by Hi s divine acceptance. After Israel had become established in the land of promise, when, afterfour decades of wandering in the wild erness, the covenant peoplepossessed at last a Canaan of their own, the tabernacle was given aresting plac e in Shiloh; and thither came the tribes to learn the will andword of God (see Joshua 18:1; 19:51; 21:2; Judg es 18:31; 1 Samuel 1:3,24; 4:3 4). Afterward it was removed to Gibeon (see 1 Chronicles 21:29;2 Chronicles 1:3) and yet later to the City of David, or Zion (see 2 Samuel6:12; 2 Chronicles 5:2). Solomons Temple David, the second king of Israel, desired and planned to build a houseunto the Lord, declaring that it was unf it that he, the king, should dwell ina palace of cedar, while the sanctuary of God was but a tent (see 2 Samu el7:2). But the Lord spake by the mouth of Nathan the prophet, decliningthe proposed offering, because Dav id, king of Israel, though in manyrespects a man after Gods own heart, had sinned; and his sin had notbeen forgiven (see 2 Samuel 7:113; 1 Chronicles 28:2 3). Nevertheless,David was permitted to gather material for the house of the Lord, whichedifice not he but S olomon, his son, should build. Soon after Solomons accession to the throne he set about the labor. Helaid the foundation in the fourth year of his reign, and the building wascompleted within seven years and a half. The erection of the Temple ofSol omon was an epoch-making event, not alone in the history of Israelbut in that of the world. According to commonly accepted chronology, the temple was finishedabout 1005 B.C. In architecture and c onstruction, in design andcostliness, it is known as one of the most remarkable buildings in history.The dedic atory services lasted seven days a week of holy rejoicing inIsrael. The Lords gracious acceptance was manifest in the cloud thatfilled the sacr ed chambers as the priests withdrew, for the glory of theLord had filled the house of God (2 Chronicles 5:1 4; see also Exodus40:35; 2 Chronicles 7:12). Desecration of Solomons Temple The glorious preeminence of this splendid structure was of brief duration.Thirtyfour years after its dedication, and but five years subsequent tothe death of Solomon, its decline began; and this decline was soon todevelop into general spoliation and finally to become an actualdesecration. Solomon had been led astray by the wiles of idolatrouswomen, and his wayward ways had fostered iniquity in Israel. The templesoon lost its sanctity, and Jehovah withdrew His protecting presence fromthe place no longer hol y. The Egyptians, from whose bondage the people had been delivered, wereagain permitted to oppress Israel. Shishak, king of Egypt, capturedJerusalem, and he took away the treasures of the house of the Lord(1 Kin gs 14:25 26). The work of desecration continued through centuries.Two hundred and sixteen years after the Egyptian spoliation, Ahaz, kingof Judah, removed the altar and the font and left but a house where oncehad stood a t emple (see 2 Kings 16:79, 1718; see also 2 Chronicles28:24 25). Later, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, completed thedespoiling of the temple and destroyed the build ing by fire (see2 Chronicles 36:1819; see also 2 Kings 24:13; 25:9). The Temple of Zerubbabel

Thus, about 600 years before the earthly advent of our Lord, Israel wasleft without a temple. The people had become idolatrous and altogetherwicked, and the Lord had rejected them and their sanctuary. The kingdom of Israel, comprising approximately 10 of the 12 tribes, had been madesubject to Assyria about 721 B.C., an d a century later the kingdom ofJudah was subdued by the Babylonians. For 70 years the people of Judah

thereafter known as Jewsremained in captivity, even as had beenpredicted (see Jeremiah 25:11 12; 29:10). Then, under the friendly rule of Cyrus (see Ezra 1, 2) and Darius (see Ezra6), they were permitted to return t o Jerusalem and once more to raise atemple in accordance with their faith. In remembrance of the director o fthe work, the restored temple is known in history as the Temple ofZerubbabel. While this temple was greatly inferior in richness of finishand furniture as compared with the splendid Temple of Solomon, it wasneverthel ess the best the people could build, and the Lord accepted it asan offering typifying the love and devotion of His covenant children. The Temple of Herod About 16 years before the birth of Christ, Herod I, king of Judea,commenced the reconstruction of the then d ecayed and generally ruinousTemple of Zerubbabel. For five centuries that structure had stood, anddoubtles s it had become largely a wreck of time. Many incidents in the earthly life of the Savior are associated with theTemple of Herod. It is evident from scri pture that while opposed to thedegraded and commercial uses to which the temple had been betrayed,Chris t recognized and acknowledged the sanctity of the temple precincts.By whatsoever name it might have been known, it was to Him the houseof the Lord. The absolute destruction of the temple had been foretold by our Lordwhile He yet lived in the flesh (see Matt hew 24:12; Mark 13:1 2; Luke21:6). In the year A.D. 70 the temple was utterly destroyed by fire inconnection with the capture of Je rusalem by the Romans under Titus

Elder Melvin J. Ballard said: Study it out in your own minds, reach a conclusion, and then go to the Lord with it and he will give you an answer by that inward burning, and if you dont get your answer I will tell you where to go go to the house of the Lord. Go with your hears full of desire to do your duty. When in the sacred wall of these buildings, where you are entitiled to the Spirit of the Lord, and in the silent moments, the answer will come. Elder John A Widstoe said: The temple is a place of revelation. .the problems we have are very practical, very realistic, down-to-earth problems. I would rather take my practical problems to the house of the Lord than anywhere else. The temple is not just a union of heaven and earth. It is the key to our mastery of the earth. It is the Lords graduate course in subduing the earth, which, as only Latter Day Saints understand, ultimately will be heaven this earth glorified. A house of learning? Yes, and we learn more than about the earth. We learn ourselves. We come to comprehend more deeply, in an environment that surrounds us like a cloak, our own identity, something of the roots that we cant quite reach through our memory but which nevertheless are built cumulatively into our deepest selves an infinite memory of conditions that predate memory. The temple is the catalyst whereby the self is revealed to the self President Mckay said: I believe there are few, even temple workers, who comprehend the full meaning and power of the temple endownment. Seen for what it is, it is the step-by-step ascent into the Eternal Presence. If our young people could but glimpse it, it would be the most powerful spiritual motivation of their lives. I am now convinced that the sooner you can give our whole heart to covenant making, the greater can be our expectations of the Lords blessings. Its when you make a covenant and mean it, in the presence of witnesses, and even in the sense of the presence of God, that the heavens begin to shake for your good. And then He promises, I make the same covenant with you, and I will never break it

It interests me that no covenant is ever required of us that isnt immediately followed by a divine blessing to further enable us to keep it. So, if we are baptized, we receive the promise of the Holy Ghost. If we partake of the sacrament, we are promised the Spirit will be with us, even always. And in the house of the Lord, we likewise are promised an endowment of power, equivalent to the consecration of our own efforts in keeping our covenants. The culminating ordinance of the house of the Lord, which we call sealing, creates eternal families.