Why the Temple and not the Cross?

In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints we display and adorn the pictures of the temple as opposed to the traditional symbol of the cross. In our homes, on our jewelry, on publications, you will see the House of The Lord- a Holy Temple. Why is that, you ask?

The answer is not to take away from Christ or to forget the Atonement. It is quite the contrary. The very essence of the temple glorifies Christ and His infinite Atonement for us. In fact, Russel M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said,  "The basis for very temple ordinance and covenant is the Atonement of Jesus Christ."

If you take time to study the symbols of the temple, you will find that all depict the Savior in some way. The inside of the temple is decorated in murals of Christ and His scripture stories. In addition to the visual depictions of Jesus, it is as President Nelson stated: all ordinances and covenants performed within the walls of the temple testify, teach, and brin us closer to Christ. It is the temple, then, that is the ultimate symbol of our Savior. We are not forgetting Him, but rather coming unto Him by treasuring the temple. 

It is our belief to capitalize on the Resurrection and to see beyond the grave. Through the Atonement, Chrost gave us the ultimate gift of Eternal Life and progression. It is that life, not death, which we hope to magnify. The temple does just that. The blessings wrought through the Atonement are made possible in the temple. 

President Russel M. Nelson sums it up perfectly: 

Each holy temple stands as a symbol of our membership in the church, a a sign if life after death, and as a sacred step toward eternal glory for us and our families."

Midnight snack, anyone?

Another week has passed. Can you believe it? Tomorrow marks the half way point for Austin's first semester in medical school. We have been here two months today- Austin's second set of block exams go all day tomorrow. 

While he is studying hard, each day is like vacation for me and Eden. We really are lucky to be in the situation in which we enjoy. Not many people have the chance to be a stay at home mom like me, and definitely not at this stage at life. Most people look forward to retiring in a place like the Caribbean; here we are in our 20's doing just that. Now that we have a car, the world is ours to explore. The island is now at my demand rather than me being at the mercy of others. It's great! 

We took complete advantage and had lots of adventures this week. The Marriott has a good section of the pool that is only 6 inches deep with fountains that is perfect for entertaining Eden. We also made it to the island park, which is amazingly impressive, even compared to the States. It is very colorful and quite big. They have space for a good 50-100 kids to play comfortably, I'd say. They also have an adult "playground" off to the side designed for the parents to use to exercise while their children play. I even found a few things appropriate for Eden to enjoy. I was dismayed, however, to find that I was not allowed to enjoy the playground. I got in trouble by a local for climbing on the playground. All I wanted to do was take Eden down the slide! One of the other moms told me not to listen to her because, as it has been the custom, it is just like the locals to parent each other and have an opinion about everything you do and then boss you around. Well, I got in trouble with the same lady later for trying to ride a see-saw with Eden. Apparently, she had more authority that we both thought and must have worked at the park. It will be something to look forward to when Eden gets to the walking stages. For now, I was more disappointed that I couldn't play too. It didn't help that while my fun was ruined, I discovered that the grass was infested with nasty biting ants. SO even though I didn't sit on an ant hill this week, they still found me. 

We of course had our regular gatherings with the mom at the pool and did the routine grocery shopping. too. 

Things are going quite well, all considering. 

I taught my Primary today and will teach sharing time next week. The kids are just wonderful and our lesson went very well. I taught about the First Vision. We ended up talking about Satan a bit because of his part binding Joseph's tongue as he prayed in the grove. After talking about Satan, the 7 year-old girl in the class said, "I'm beginning to not like Satan very much." I thought it was funny; the other little boy went off explaining how Satan is a snake so we also talked about how Satan never got a body and is jealous of us because of it. I really enjoyed teaching though and look forward to being in Primary.... other than the meetings. 

Well, its almost midnight our time and Eden is just finishing her midnight snack. Crackers are a new favorite! It's been fun to see her rapid development with feeding her this week. In letting her feed herself, she has been able to figure out the juxtaposition and grabbing of her thumb.

Matthew 3

Here we learn of John the Baptist- one who was foreordained and prophesied. I found it interesting to learn that Elizabeth, John's mother, hid him in the wilderness so he would not be killed due to Herod's decree to slay all children under two. Zacharias, John's father was martered because he would not tell where his son was hiding. Once again, my theory on opposition stands.

Verse 9 stands out to me. (9 And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham as our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.) John is talking to the Pharisees and Sadducees about their right to baptism. He explains that they are not saved on account of birth or status, but on their works and covenants. Just like the branches of the olive tree can be grafted in and can produce good fruit, so can all men be "grafted" into the fold of God. As we are baptized we covenant to take His name upon us. Even so, it is like being adopted into His family, or Abraham's family as it is noted here. 

We learn from Christ that baptism is part of "fulfilling all righteousness." Thus, we see that there are steps we have to take and physical acts- called ordinances- that we must take part in so that we can return to God. Baptism is more than just being forgiven of all our sins, for Christ had no need to be forgiven of sin. 

From this account we also learn that baptism must be by immersion if we are to follow Christ's example:"he came straightway out of the water." 

Christ's baptism may be the only time, that I am aware, where the Godhead is present together. What a beautiful picture, imagining Christ emerging from the water as the Holy Ghost falls present and the Father watching from heaven, beaming with joy in His son. Undeniably, God, the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are three separate beings.  

John the Baptist held what we call the Aaronic Priesthood- the power of the God and laying on of Hands. We know that this Priesthood was lost soon after Christ left the earth, but was restored again in 1829. When John the  Baptist himself returned to restore this power, he taught that the Aaronic Priesthood gave power of three things, which power come by keys:

1. keys of ministering of angels
2. keys of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins
3. keys of the gospel of repentance

It is evident that John did indeed hold the keys to the Aaronic Priesthood. To be a ministering angel is to be a missionary. It is to declare the word of God and invite all men to repentance as John did (Matthew 3:2-3).

We know him to baptize by immersion and to have the authority to do so, for why else would Christ come to him to be baptized?  

I think it wise to note that baptism is one of the first things mentioned in the account of Matthew and in the New Testament. From here, Christ started His work and ministry. As it was for Him, we must also take that first step to make our way back to God. 

Opposition and Resistance

It may be strange to have a testimony in opposition and resistance yet it is something in which I strongly believe in. Time and time again I see patterns of the truest things on earth being trampled, disregarded, or argued over. It is evidence that the War in Heaven continues on earth. Satan is obviously fighting and trying to thwart God's plan. He is the reason there is opposition and the reason I believe even more in the things I know to be true. They have to be, or Satan wouldn't put so much work into convincing men otherwise.  

The examples are countless. The following are just some of the things most precious to God which meet the most opposition. 

Marriage and family are under attack. To understand why marriage and family are such a big deal to Satan, you have to understand the Plan of Salvation: God's plan for each of us. As a loving Heavenly Father, God wants us to return to Him. He sent us to earth to get a physical body, something we yearned for so that we could be more like Him, our Eternal Father. He sent us to families, with a mother and a father, where we were most likely to succeed. After proving ourselves on Earth and learning all that we can, it is our quest to return to God. If we follow His commandments and make covenants with Him on Earth, we are able to return to His presence. I'm jumping ahead, but it is important to know that ALL of God's children on Earth will return to some degree of heaven. What degree of heaven we get to enjoy depends on the covenants we keep and the ordinances we perform here on Earth. The highest degree of heavenly glory guarantees that we be with our families for eternity. Did you get that? We are guaranteed to be with our family for all eternity! AND we are promised that we can inherit all that the Father hath. In our quest to return to His presence and become like Him, we can no more become like Him and progress unless we are married, sealed, and bound to our spouse through the ages. Heaven is an extension of earth. We are taught that those who are wicked, shall be wicked still. Those who are righteous, shall remain righteous. So it is with the family. As we are organized here on earth, we will also be organized in heaven. 

The take away message is that eternal marriage is one of the means we have to become like God and the only way we will obtain the highest degree of glory in Heaven. It's no wonder that Satan degrades family morals, wants divorce, encourages premarital sex, places priority outside the home, prevents people from having children, convinces men that homosexuality and immoral behavior is appropriate or even normal. If the family fails, the plan fails, for there is no way to make it back to Him. (Read more: The Family: A Proclamation to the World)

Another topic of argument is that of the Bible. Men believe that we have no need for further scripture or guidance than what was already written. Of course Satan would have us believe that! If the word of God ends with the Bible, the precious mysteries of heaven are forever hidden and revelation has no place. Thinking the Bible is all that we need is like standing under an umbrella when God's blessings are raining around us. In addition to the Bible, we understand more fully Christ's teachings and receive a higher law. We recognize the need and guidance offered through living prophets, which also brings more scripture. Once again, with only the Bible we are missing complete instruction on how to return to God.

For the same reasons, Joseph Smith was met with opposition and hardship his entire life. Knowing how crucial the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ was, Satan tried everything to stop it. From a young age, Joseph contracted typhoid fever and fought the long consequences thereof. In the grove, Satan overcame Joseph and forbade him to speak. Mobs were sent to molest, prisons called his name, and death eventually named him a martyr. The restoration of the gospel is the most important event in our day. Satan knew it too. He met Joseph with affliction and he continues to persecute the true and living church today because he can't stand to see God's work go forth. With the restoration here, he is losing the war. Still, he fights. (Read more: page 25)

Possibly more than any other denomination, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints meets opposition, persecution, attention, and ridicule. Why? Because it is true. The church is picked on, made fun of, belittled, and criticized. It is Satan's ploy to prevent God's work from going forward. 

All things good and true stand to meet opposition. The greatest example of all, is that of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He knows opposition. Perfect and without sin, he was accused, spat upon, hated, and crucified. The Son of God, he was questioned, disbelieved, and mocked. He of all, is our key to salvation. With Christ Atoning for our sins, fulfilling the will of the Father, and doing all He was foreordained to do, Satan fails. 

And so it is, the battle continues even though Satan has already lost. He fights, and with his war, brings opposition, resistance, persecution, and enmity. It is proof that all he fights against is good and of God. Opposition is real and it testifies of God's work.