Sunday, September 29, 2024
Sunday, September 22, 2024
Changes In The Interior Of The Salt Lake Temple
(sic et non blog)
Many people care deeply about the Salt Lake Temple. My wife and I are among them. Although neither of us grew up in Utah, that is the temple in which we chose to be married. As I write, looking up, I see a very large framed photograph of the Salt Lake Temple hanging on the wall opposite me, showing it on a winter night with snow. The temple in Salt Lake has long been an iconic image of the overall Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and it has richly merited that status: When my wife and I lived in Egypt shortly after our marriage, we had a beautiful photograph on our living room wall of the Salt Lake Temple. It was a view from the south southwest, showing the temple all aglow in the rays of the setting sun. One day, a little boy whom we knew and who had been born and raised there in Cairo came to visit us. Wordlessly, he stood and looked up at that photograph. We hadn’t told him what it was. Allahu akbar, he said. “God is most great!”
We mourn some of the aspects of the Salt Lake Temple that are now irretrievably lost. But we felt the same way about the Logan Utah Temple when it was renovated quite a number of years ago. Once, during that renovation, my wife and I stood by it and realized, to our shock, that it was literally hollow. There was, so far as we could see, nothing whatever within its walls. Looking through the window nearest us, we could see up through a window at a higher level on the opposite side of the building and toward its further end. And, when the temple was re-opened, we were disappointed to see that its interior looked much the way other temples of the 1970s and 1980s looked; very little was left of its 1880s flavor.
Later, though, I happened to be speaking with a member of the Logan temple presidency. In the course of our conversation, I lamented the gutting of the building. But he told me something then that really helped me: When they began their renovations, he said, they discovered that the floors of the temple were literally dangerous. It was something of a miracle that they had not collapsed. They had to be replaced. It had to be hollowed out and re-reengineered.
The unavoidable fact is that the Salt Lake Temple is going to be very different inside (and outside, and in important ways that won’t be visible) from what it was. In some respects, people who knew it before and who remember it may find it unrecognizable. And that is indisputably a loss. Many will no doubt regret that more could not be preserved or, at least, restored to what they recall, and that so much history will have vanished. A renovation on this scale does damage. There’s no question about that.
But a few key points should be kept in mind by faithful Latter-day Saints.
-First of all, temples are not museums. They are very often beautiful, and many of them are historic. But historic preservation is far from their primary purpose.
-This renovation will make the Salt Lake Temple significantly more accessible to people with physical and other limitations. It will, for example, not require standing up and moving from room to room. It will feature an improved design for elevators. It will offer state-of-the-art accommodations for the hearing- and visually-impaired. It will be equipped to offer ordinances in scores of languages. Imagine what this will mean for non-English-speaking Saints who visit the headquarters of their church!
-The renovated temple will allow more work to be done — with, for instance, two baptistries (not just one), and significantly more rooms for ordinances. And this, of course, is the real purpose of the building.
-While it will be new, the interior of the temple has been designed to honor the original Victorian style. Not all of the previous renovations — and there have been previous renovations; this is not the first — have maintained the temple’s stylistic consistency. This renovation has an eye to the future, yes, seeking to ensure that (as Brigham Young hoped) the Salt Lake Temple will last a thousand years. But it also seeks very much to honor the past.
Harmonizing Sacred Past and Future: A Look at the Salt Lake Temple’s Interior Renovation
(newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org)
When visitors enter the newly renovated Salt Lake Temple, they will step into a holy space that honors the pioneer past and better accommodates the worship of God for more people for generations to come.
Church Prophet and President Russell M. Nelson has promised that all upgrades to the temple “will emphasize and highlight the life, ministry and mission of Jesus Christ in His desire to bless every nation, kindred, tongue and people.”
Honoring History and Moving into the Future
Preserving as much of the interior as possible while protecting the temple against earthquakes meant that substantial changes were needed. Even so, the completed temple will feel more consistent and more like the original Victorian-era temple completed in 1893.
Some portions removed in the current renovation were not original to the temple. This house of the Lord has been renovated several times since its original dedication — including in the 1930s, the 1960s, and the 1980s. The most extensive renovation took place from 1962 to 1966. At that time, many historic elements were painted over or removed.
Fortunately, many portions of the temple with particular historical and spiritual significance are being preserved and restored. These include the celestial room, two original sealing rooms, the large assembly room on the fifth floor, the four stone spiral staircases in each corner tower and most of the terrestrial room.
Additionally, exhaustive historic research was done to discover historic patterns and designs original to the temple. As part of the current renovation, these designs have been incorporated in carpets, draperies, fabric, paint, rugs and trims.
“The renovated temple will feel more consistent and more like the original Salt Lake Temple from beginning to end,” Bill Williams, the Church’s director of architecture said. “As soon as you walk through the doors of the north entry pavilion, it will look like a Victorian-era temple, which was never the case after previous renovations. I think for most people it will feel like, ‘Wow. Now it feels like the Salt Lake Temple from stem to stern.’”
Interior Changes and Expansion
Some elements could not be restored. The process of strengthening the temple and making it easier and safer for everyone to use required reinforcement throughout the building, changes to the floorplan and the removal of many portions of the historic interior.
For example, the complexity of the seismic upgrade required the removal of the staircase connecting the temple’s first and second floors. Many interior walls were made from unreinforced masonry which meant that those walls also had to be removed. The murals in the endowment, or instruction rooms, were hand-painted on plaster and were not saved.
Historians, preservationists, and conservators led efforts to document and preserve sections of the murals and other historic components. These artifacts were then photographed, and portions will be preserved in the Church History Library.
“While we were not able to keep all elements of the original temple, it’s also true that the Salt Lake Temple is a living building — with a past and a future,” said Presiding Bishop Gérald Caussé. “We have done everything possible to preserve this holy edifice. I rejoice that this significant renovation is creating spaces for future generations to have their own sacred experiences.”
Improving Capacity and Accessibility
Besides seismic safety, another primary purpose of the renovation was improving capacity and accessibility. These efforts to allow the temple to serve more people necessitated more changes to the interior.
The underground addition to the temple has an additional 100,000 square feet. The temple will have two baptistries instead of one. The original cast-iron oxen are being restored and placed in one of the new baptistries. It will have 22 sealing rooms (where marriages occur), up from 13. It will have five instruction rooms with increased seating space and one veil room.
The renovated temple will be like many other temples with single-room video presentations, available in more than 90 languages.
Improvements are also being made to enhance accessibility. New elevators (some with higher capacity) have been added throughout the building. Stairs and ramps have been eliminated between instruction rooms. The instruction rooms will have high-quality audio/visual systems for support of different languages and patrons with hearing impairment. As is the case in other temples, the endowment ordinance now has subtitles.
Lighting and mechanical systems are being upgraded to improve patron comfort and eliminate distractions. More efficient utilities, such as new heating, air conditioning, electrical and plumbing systems are also being added.
The current renovation remedies navigational issues created in the 1960s. The new design introduces a central corridor system in the north addition that will help patrons more easily move throughout the temple.
“We want to create a positive, seamless experience for everyone who visits the temple,” said Andy Kirby, director of the Church’s historic temple renovations. “We removed all 1960s infrastructure, with its low ceilings and confusing corridors. The new central corridor, with its skylight view of the temple, makes it easier to find your way.”
The increased capacity and improved accessibility allow more sessions to occur each day — and people from around the world to participate. The prophet Isaiah foretold that many will come to this house of the Lord from all nations (see Isaiah 2:2–3).
The Purpose of Temples
A temple is a place where loving family relationships can be connected by covenant for eternity. Latter-day Saints worship in temples to find greater peace and understanding of God’s plan of eternal happiness. Each of these holy houses reflects God’s great concern for all His children.
“As you are true to your covenants made in the temple, you will be strengthened by [Christ’s] power,” said President Nelson, who has announced 168 new temples in his time as Church president. “Then, when spiritual earthquakes occur, you will be able to stand strong because your spiritual foundation is solid and immovable.”
Monday, September 16, 2024
Refugee walks 728 miles to be baptized after reading Book of Mormon
(thechurchnews.com 8-28-24)
In his vision of the tree of life in the Book of Mormon, the prophet Lehi started out “in a dark and dreary waste” (1 Nephi 8:7). Praying for mercy from God, Lehi came across a tree “whose fruit was desirable to make one happy” (verse 10). After Lehi tasted of the fruit, he began searching for his family, desiring them to “partake of it also” (verse 12).
Lehi’s vision of the tree of life is one of many different witnesses of Christ found in the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. This vision also tracks onto the life of Amos Makulu, a refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Makulu fled from his home in 2006, finding safety in a refugee camp in Lugufu, Tanzania. While there, he met a man named Mchumbe, who also fled to safety from Nairobi, Kenya. Makulu became friends with Mchumbe and asked him if he had anything that Makulu could read while they were in the refugee camp. Mchumbe gave Makulu a copy of the Book of Mormon.
Mchumbe had been given the Book of Mormon by missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Nairobi, Kenya, and took it with him when he fled his home. However, Mchumbe had lost interest in the Book of Mormon and was looking for someone else to give it to.
According to Elder David Olson, a missionary who worked with Makulu, Makulu knew that the Book of Mormon was true the moment he first read it. He had been a preacher for Jehovah’s Witnesses before fleeing his home, but upon reading the Book of Mormon with another friend from the refugee camp, Denis Akulu, they both “started to learn, and we were very happy,” Makulu said.
Like Lehi before him, Makulu started to share what brought him so much happiness with others in the refugee camp, building a “family” of interested learners. While the Book of Mormon was an excellent teaching tool, he and “his family of 11 people” had many questions. “We had to find out the answers to those questions with the missionaries and Church leaders,” Makulu said.
Through the use of letters, Makulu and his family got in touch with the Kenya Nairobi Mission and spoke with missionaries. According to Makulu, they learned “many things about the gospel” over the next six years and wanted to be baptized and join the Church. However, the closest congregation to their location was in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, roughly 1,171 kilometers or about 728 miles away.
Makulu was undaunted by the distance. After he was unable to secure plane tickets, Makulu and two of his family members decided to walk across the country from Lugufu to Dar es Salaam. Makulu and his friends were baptized in 2014; shortly afterward, Makulu immigrated to the United States, settling in Buffalo, New York. He became one of the first Church members in the area who speaks Swahili, though he also knows French and Kibembe, a language spoken commonly in the DRC.
Elder Olson and Elder Abocha Ebakyelo, two Swahili-speaking missionaries serving in the New York Buffalo Mission, have worked extensively with Makulu as he has shared his testimony with those around him.
“From what I see in Amos, he just has such a passion,” Elder Olson said. “We’ve been working with him towards creating a branch with our Swahili group.”
Elder Ebakyelo agreed: “He is a good man, and he’s very comfortable with the gospel. We as missionaries have worked with him a couple times as he joins in on our lessons.”
There are currently 46 Swahili-speaking members of the Church who meet together, with 43 more people who are interested in attending. Makulu knows almost all of them and regularly attends missionary lessons with people, sometimes surprising the missionaries themselves when he shows up.
“He knows the gospel really well,” Elder Ebakyelo said.
“He knows that through the Lord anything is possible and that the group will be able to grow into a strong branch,” Elder Olson added.
Makulu has remained in touch with his friends in Africa, who have spread across Tanzania, Kenya and the DRC. “It has become a large group,” he said. He also said that “more than 30 families” living in Africa have been baptized and joined the Church.
“After knowing the truth of the restored gospel, I have changed, and my testimony has changed,” Makulu said. He said he plans to study “until I know this gospel fully,” and he encourages everyone to learn and “know the truth about our faith.”
“Our faith is good, and we have love for you and everyone,” Makulu said.