Warmest regards,
Rick Satterfield
LDSChurchTemples.com
So why would I want to include something about the open house in Manaus? It's not anywhere close to where I live and doesn't on the face of it appear to have anything to do with ancestors or the current topics I seem to be discussing here. Well let me explain.
I served my mission back in the early to mid 90's in Northern Brazil. I started out on the east coast (Fortaleza - Ceará) and then slowly made my way across to eventual end up serving literally in the Amazon rain forest. The city was basically accessible by boat only. I heard of a bus that went to another nearby city but again from there you took a boat to any other city worth talking about. And the nearest big city was accessible again by boat but we went in by airplane for about 1 1/2 hours flight from mission headquarters in Belém Do Pará. This region is just full of jungle and forest and waterways all over the place. Travel can be time consuming and some people don't go more then a few miles from home their entire life.
Secondly, this Temple is significant in that it is going to make things easier for thousands of people to attend. Previously members in this region were taking trips to far flung locations such as São Paulo, Brazil, Recife, Brazil or Caracas Venezuela. Any one of these trips would take days to get there and then days to return. Only the few well off members that could afford a plane ticket would be able to make the trip be less then a week. Many members due to financial circumstances would have to save up for years to be able to afford the trip. So getting to the temple once in your lifetime would be a big deal. I even heard of one family that sold their small home to help finance the trip. Now that is living by faith.
Selling your most valuable possessions to finance a trip that will likely last a couple of weeks so you can attend the temple.
With in the last couple of conferences President Thomas S Monson specified that they wanted to make the temples more accessible to the members and have them within about 400 miles (640 km)
See some of his comments at the following links: http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2011/04/the-holy-temple-a-beacon-to-the-world?lang=eng
http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2011/10/as-we-meet-again?lang=eng
They even created a special fund much like the Perpetual Education Fund called the Temple Patrons Fund that will assist those in far flung locations to be able to attend the temple at least once in their lifetime if their financial outlook is very limited. So why so much emphasis on the Temple one might ask. Why would a people in a church that was just a few years old work on building a Temple from day one knowing that might never see it's completion? (see D&C 109).
Those are the questions one should be asking. Temples are different from the normal meeting houses you find dotting the land and islands of the sea. In the normal meeting house or other such building being used for that purpose you find the regular Sunday meetings which include the administration of the Sacrament. These buildings might also be used for such things as social activities, youth program, and other such things that help to strengthen the members. These buildings are open to member and non-member alike. The Temple is literally a 'House of the Lord' "a holy sanctuary in which sacred ceremonies and ordinances of the gospel are performed by and for the living and also in behalf of the dead. A place where the Lord may come, it is the most holy of any place of worship on the earth. Only the home can compare with the temple in sacredness." - Bible dictionary Temples
Some of the many types of ordinances that are performed in the Temple include but are not limited to - The endowment, Sealing of Families for the Eternities, and Proxy Baptisms. Many of these ordinances are performed for the living and some are performed exclusively for our deceased ancestors that we have found while doing our family history or genealogy work.
You might say that some people will be taken aback by the fact that we do proxy baptisms. But, why should someone feel that way. Would it be just for God to deny one entrance into Heaven by the mere fact that they were not able to be baptized during their lifetime or for that matter even knew about Jesus Christ. We know that God not a respecter of persons. We know we are all literally spirit sons and daughters of God. So is it right to punish some people for the circumstances beyond their control that they find themselves in? Just because you were born in certain part of the world or to a certain kind of parents? So that is why we do proxy baptisms, to provide the same opportunities to everyone that has lived on this earth. To allow them the same blessing and privileges that they would have had while in their moral existence had it been available. This is not a new concept at all. For it was spoken of by early members of the Lord's Church - "Else what shall they do which are abaptized bfor the dead, if the dead crise not at all? why are they then baptized for the ddead?" I Corinthians 15:29
Actually, I used this type of example many a time in the mission field. And so that the people we were teaching would understand more easily we always talked about some long lost person out in the middle of the Amazon Rain forest. For there are tribes and others that are so far away from any population centers or that are so isolated from the rest of world you really have no idea what that know about. They might not have ever heard about Jesus Christ. Therefore, should those people be condemned? Should they be sent to hell simply because they grow up so isolated from the rest of the world? Heck NO!
And because ordinances are so sacred and special they can only be performed in the Temple. Those that attend are also instructed in the Plan of Salvation, and they take upon themselves sacred covenants. One of the outwardly signs of this is the use of the Temple Garments. These garments help the member dress modestly compared to the world as a whole. And they are a constant reminder of the covenants that one has made.
The Temple becomes a place of peace and a sanctuary from the daily hustle and bustle and noise that surrounds us so regularly. They are built to a higher standard and members that want to enter are also held to a higher standard.
In all attendance at the temple is the highest form of worship we as members can provide. It is taking things one level up. Though in reality we can have the same peace and comfort in our homes as we strive to follow the commandments and live the gospel to its fullest.
I'm going to include some pictures of the temples I have been inside. They are all marvelous in their own ways. each is unique but, after you have strolled the grounds and been inside you know that in fact they are "The House of the Lord". A truely a light set o a hill that will be a beacon to the masses, and a sign of what is to come.
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| San Diego Temple |
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| Los Angeles California |
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| Sao Paulo Brazil |
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| Provo Utah (The original) |
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| Newport Beach California |
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| Manti Utah (one of the few with live endowment) |
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| Saint George Utah |
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| Recife Brazil |
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| Redlands California |
I'm going to include also some pictures of the Manaus temple.
This show the quality level of the workmanship. Only the best when possible for with such eternally significant covenants being made there it's no wonder.
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| Baptistry |
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| Celestial Room |
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| Sealing room - Note Mirrors on apposing walls |
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| Reception/Waiting Room |
If you feel like doing a little family history after reading why not try one of the world's largest databases for free - http://www.familysearch.org
You can also find a family history center in your area where volunteers are waiting to help you find your ancestors.
Buaidh - NO - Bas
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