Temples: Celestial Embassies

President Trump recently announced the move of the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, the capital city of Israel. My hope is that the news does not lead to increased Middle East unrest and hostilities.  The conflict between the Palestinians and Israelis has raged for thousands of years.  Unfortnately, one side-effect of the longstanding conflict, is the defamation of the idea of the temple in the minds of the people.  The temple is supposed to be a symbol of peace, wisdom, equality, human restraint, charity, and holiness.  Instead, the seeming eternal conflict has made the idea of the temple into a symbol of intolerance, oppression, and war.

Someone asked if I thought the LDS Church spends too much money on temple building.  “Are LDS temples too expensive?”  The short answer is— absolutely not. The long answers are:  

1. Like our courts of law and government buildings, Temples should be built as nicely as is reasonably possible. Beautiful and enduring construction shows the value we place in them.

2. Temples in 3rd-world countries should be just as nice as anywhere else in the world so that a family living in a hut with a dirt floor and have just the exact same wonderful experience in the temple as the wealthiest member in Salt Lake or anywhere else.  

3. Judas complained about the expense of the alabaster flask and ointment the women used to anoint Christ feet saying that the ointment could have been sold and money given to the poor. This was Judas' hypocritical attitude just before betraying Christ for 30 pieces of silver.

4. The temple is the answer/solution to global poverty by it enshrining the godly values of charity, integrety, covenant, unity, self restraint, selflessness, service, wisdom, and industry. The temple modo is “Holiness to the Lord, the House of the Lord”.

5. Temples are embassies of the Celestial Kingdom and are the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. Endowed members are its ambassadors.

6. Christ’s Second Coming is accompanied by the restoration of temples.  The Lord’s temple will ultimately serve as the mechanism by which peace and unity spread across the world ushering in the promised Millennium.